Did you know the Irish Wolfhound is one of the oldest breeds of dog, originating in Ireland and viewed with great esteem by the ancient Celts?
Beautiful Cleopatra came in for an appointment today on her birthday! Luckily she'd had her birthday presents this morning and received lots of good treats that she enjoyed while she was here 🥳❤️
.
.
.
#irishwolfhound #wolfhoundsofinstagram #birthdaygirl #gentlegiant #giantbreed #goodestgirl #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalcardiology #caninecardiology #helpingheartswagtails
Did you know, muzzle training can be a valuable skill to teach your dog, even if they don't usually need to wear a muzzle? While we generally don't muzzle our patients, there are occasions where we may need to.
By learning to wear one in a positive manner, the muzzle then doesn't become a trigger for stress.
Jo Jackson RVN MSc AABT (applied animal behaviour and training) demonstrates here how to go about muzzle training in a fear free way
(This is also useful for our XL Bully patients and their people 😔)
.
.
.
#positivetraining #positivetrainingworks #positivereinforcement #muzzletraining #dogsofinstagram #smallanimalvets #smallanimalreferral #helpingheartswagtails
Did you know, an Amplatz Canine Ductal Occluder (or ACDO) is a type of mesh plug designed to close a patent ductus arteriosus using interventional catheters? These are passed into the heart via the femoral artery in the back leg. You can see the ACDO being positioned in the ductus here.
The ductus arteriosus is a small vessel which connects the aorta and pulmonary artery in the foetus, allowing the non functional lungs to be bypassed. Once a puppy is born and their lungs are working normally, this connection should close separating the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. If this doesn''t happen, the open ductus is called a patent ductus arteriosus, which must be closed either surgically or interventionally (as in this case) to prevent the patient going into heart failure.
.
.
.
#smallanimalcardiology #patentductusarteriosus #interventionalcardiology #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalreferral #acdo #pdapuppy #caninecongenitalheartdefect #canineheartsurgery
Did you know occasionally we get to scan celebrities?! 🤩
Crufts finalist Trip, whose work includes the Anchor butter ad, tv dramas, and Britain's got talent, came for an appointment today and showed off some of his tricks for us ❤️
.
.
.
#dogswhodotricks #dancingdog #celebritydog #starstruck #smartdog #tvdog #performingdogs #helpingheartswagtails #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalcardiology #smallanimalreferral
Did you know 'The Princess and the Pea' by Hans Christian Andersen was first published in 1835?
Our own little Princess Adelaine discovered her first pea this week. She's healing well thanks to her round the clock nursing care and learning about lots of new things ❤️
.
.
.
#chihuahua #chihuahuapuppy #princessandthepea #puppylove #pdapuppy #congenitalheartdefect #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalcardiology #smallanimalreferral #helpingheartswagtails
Did you know we aim to provide complete catisfaction for our patients at their visits? The key to Bruce's heart turned out to be licky lix, which he thoroughly enjoyed before, during, and after his heart scan 😋 ❤️
.
.
.
#britishshorthair #bshcat #felinefriendly #catfriendlypractice #catsofinstagram #felinecardiology #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalreferral #helpingheartspowerpurrs #catsnack
Wishing all of our clients and patients a happy and peaceful Christmas 🎄
Did you know, hot weather can put extra strain on the heart and in patients with heart disease this can worsen symptoms.
Monty knows keeping cool is very important and is prioritising his health in the heat (although we wouldn't recommend the Stella 😂)
.
.
.
#goldenretriever #retrieversofinstagram #seniordog #keepingcool #pooldog #dogdays #smallanimalreferral #smallanimalcardiology #helpingheartswagtails
Did you know, changes in your pets breathing can be early indicators of worsening heart disease?
This is why we will often ask you about your pets breathing and why we suggest monitoring resting respiratory rate at home.
In this video, staff pet Koda demonstrates how to count respiratory rate at home (with some suggestions from his mum, cardiology nurse Emma)
.
.
.
#heartdiseaseindogs #heartdiseaseincats #veterinarycardiology #cardiologyreferral #homemonitoring #petshearts #restingrespiratoryrate #pethealth #pethealthathome #veterinarynurse #howto #helpingheartswagtails #sleepydog #gettingpaidinbiscuits
Did you know that cats with severe heart disease can be at risk of clots forming inside the heart?
As the left atrium (the chamber that receives blood back from the lungs) gets bigger, blood flow is altered, becoming slower. Cats are at higher risk of clots as their platelets are more reactive than other species and this slow moving blood can then begin to clump together and eventually stick to the damaged tissue, forming a clot.
The 'smoke' in the video shows the slow moving blood cells starting to stick together.
Once a clot forms fragments can break off into the circulation (called thromboembolism), blocking blood vessels which can cause paralysis or neurological symptoms depending on where they lodge.
This is one of the reasons we highly recommend getting cats with heart disease rescanned regularly to check their progress, as there are no outward signs until a thromboembolism occurs.
Luckily there is medication we can use to help prevent clot formation, which is prescribed commonly for any cats at risk.
.
.
.
#felinecardiology #felineheartdisease #smallanimalcardiology #catheartdisease #echocardiography #smallanimalreferral #cardiologyreferral #aorticthromboembolismincats #felinefriendlypractice
Did you know, the word ludic means full of fun and high spirits?
Hugsey was particularly ludic when he came for his heart scan last week - what a greeting!! 🥰
.
.
.
#flatcoatretriever #flatcoatsofinstagram #retrieversgram #happiestdog #ludic #happydog #smilingdogs #freekisses #letmein #dogsmile #waggingtails #helpingheartswagtails #veterinaryreferrals #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalvet #smallanimalcardiology
Wishing a happy and peaceful Christmas to all our patients and their people!
We will be closed from this evening until Wednesday morning, but if you need help during the festive period please call the usual number for details of our out of hours service.
Drago and Inky ❤️
Did you know, free soloing is a form of extreme climbing where no ropes are used??
Drago likes to practice free soloing in his spare time, although due to restricted access to mountains he is limited to practicing on the doors (with his brother Inky cheering him on!)
He definitely doesn't let his heart disease slow him down! 😻
.
.
#sphynx #sphynxofinstagram #hardcorekitty #catsrule #catsofinstagram #climbingcat #spidercat #freesoloing #catswithhobbies #hcm #felinecardiology #felinecardiomyopathy #cardiologyreferral #smallanimalcardiology #smallanimalreferral
Frank enjoying his spa treatments
Did you know, the word 'spa' originates from the Belgian town of Spa, where a natural spring was discovered in 1326 and a health resort grew around it?
Frank enjoyed his mini spa break with the nurses after he came in for an appointment with Ruth recently 💕
He was diagnosed with pulmonic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the hearts outflow on the right side, and he will come back soon for a procedure to correct this. (We don't think he'll mind coming back too much!)
Sound up for the biggest purrs!
Did you know, while purring is used as a form of communication in cats, studies have shown that at certain frequencies purring can also reduce stress in people and help with healing and pain relief in cats?!
Elphie had the happiest purrs all through her appointment this week, winning our loudest purr/happiest cat award 😻
(We almost didn't give her back!)
.
Did you know, today is national high five day?
Ella showed Beth how it was done when she came in for her recheck 🖐️🥰
.
Did you know, hypoprosexia means to focus on one thing over everything else?
Charlie was only focused on his lick-e-lix during his heart scan yesterday 😋🥰
We never anaesthetise patients for scans (and it's very rare that we sedate them). Instead we use gentle handling, treats, calming music and anything else that makes our patients comfortable. Our scanning table always has a padded bed with a cushion, and we don't keep our patients in while they're waiting, so they don't get stressed about being hospitalised.