South Downs Emergency Vets

03/06/2024

STRAY INJURED FERRET currently being cared for at our Storrington hospital. Female, brown & white. Found in Haslemere. Please contact us if you think it could be yours.

17/05/2024

Tomorrow is nearly here and we are leading the way to Goodwoof! We are delighted to be supporting Goodwoof as the event’s Pet Emergency First Aid Service. We will be walking around to meet and greet as many of Goodwoof’s four legged visitors we can – and their owners too!

Here at SDEV, we are truly independent. If we don't get to meet you during Goodwoof - remember - we are always here if you need us in the future regardless of your registered daytime clinic’s provider. No referral needed.

When you need an emergency vet, the choice is in your hands.

Chichester: 01243 978800 Storrington: 01903 746028



www.southdownsemergencyvets.co.uk

16/05/2024

Only 2 days to go until we launch our competition at this year’s Goodwoof. One of our prizes is a gift voucher for a free rehabilitation session at our Independent Referral Service provided by our sister company, . South Downs Veterinary Referrals (SDVR) provides a range of exemplary referral services including physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, opthalmology and more! – Our advanced practitioners deliver exceptional, bespoke care and accept referrals from practices across Sussex working alongside you and your vet to ensure that you and your pet receive the very best care.

Look out for us in our Navy scrub tops carrying our raffle bucket – ready for you to enter our competition.

Our Referrals manager Kerrie will also be attending over the weekend and will be happy to answer any questions about the range of services we can provide or how to use our referral service. Or drop Kerrie an email for more info at: [email protected]

15/05/2024

Today we are busy doublechecking we have everything we need from our dispensary before we arrive at Goodwoof.

In the unlikely event that your pet may experience an emergency necessitating additional care whilst at Goodwoof, we have two RCVS-accredited 24/7 hospitals in Storrington and Chichester where our day and night teams work seamlessly to provide your pet with round- the- clock care, giving you complete peace of mind at a worrying time.

Many pet owners are unaware that when their daytime vet clinic is closed, they may be redirected to an unfamiliar emergency service provider, without being given a choice of where to take their pet. That’s the last thing you need in a stressful situation.

If you are local to Goodwoof and we don’t get to say ‘hello’ during the event, always remember – we're here when it matters most should you need us in the future - no matter who your daytime clinic is.

Your pet, your emergency, your choice.

14/05/2024

As Goodwoof’s on site Pet Emergency First Aid Service this year, we have put together some pawsome prizes for you to win – including this amazing lightweight, water resistant pouch containing your very own Pet First Aid Kit – perfect to keep you prepared on long hikes or day trips with your four-legged friend.

All you have to do to win is to fill in one of our free raffle tickets at Goodwoof and follow us . We will be drawing the winners live throughout the day on Insta and FB live!

13/05/2024

Only 5 days to go until this years’ amazing Goodwoof! A dog event like no other at the wonderful Goodwood Estate - which is located only a few miles from our RCVS accredited SDEV Chichester hospital. With world-class competitions, wellness workshops, talks and more, we are proud to be Goodwoof’s on-site Pet Emergency Service.

Whilst we are hopeful that none of the pawsome visitors will need our assistance, we will be situated behind the Fortnum & Mason tent - just incase!

We will also be walking around to meet and greet as many four legged friends as possible and also running a raffle to win one of our amazing prizes.

09/05/2024

Did you know - we are delighted to share that we are providing dogs attending with Emergency Services at this years Goodwoof event. We will be walking around hoping to meet as many wonderful dogs and owners as we can as well as running a competition to win so great prizes! Please come and say ‘hi’ if you are visiting!

26/04/2024

Storrington Duck Race will be taking place this Sunday 28th April in the Storrington library carpark. Our emergency services will be operating as normal but you may find it difficult to get through to our carpark from 11.30am.

11/03/2024

This is Millie. She visited our SDEV Chichester hospital after eating some chocolate. Her owners called us quickly and brought Millie straight in to induce emesis.

She brought up the chocolate and was sent home with some supportive treatment. Top marks to her owners for reacting so quickly so that we were able to help Millie.

SDEV is always there for your emergency pet treatment - no matter who your daytime vet is. You don't have to be registered with our daytime Arun Vet Group sister clinic. Our emergency service is open to all.

Your pet, your emergency, your choice.

02/03/2024

Our Chichester Hospital team are currently caring for a golden retriever who was found in Kingley Vale. We estimate her to be approximately 5 years old. She is microchipped but we are unable to contact the owner.

24/02/2024

We have a stray dog at our Storrington Hosptial. She is a small Maltese terrier type, potentially quite young. Please contact our SDEV team at Storrington on: 01903 746028 for more information.

11/02/2024

*Owner found*

Our Chichester team are currently caring for an injured cat found in Church Road, East Wittering. She is currently receiving treatment including pain relief.

She is grey and white but has no microchip.

Please call us if she sounds familiar as her family are needed urgently.

01/02/2024

Our Storrington team is currently caring for a stray kitten which was found in Petworth on Tuesday.

She is approximately 4 months old and is a black, short haired female.

She was found at Lodsworth Water Supply Works between Langham brewery and Halfway Bridge Inn, Lodsworth.

She does have an injury to her cornea which she may or may not have been having treatment for.

22/01/2024

Our sister practice is running Meet The Team

Another Monday and a fresh week for our teams. We hope you have all stayed safe during the storms of the last 24 hours. Don't forget to keep your pets safe by checking any fencing, gates or hutches.

Its a long while since we have done some of these type of posts but as the team grows at quite a rate, we felt it was nice to introduce a few faces to any new followers. We know many of you have been with AVG a very long time and we would love to hear below just how long! Do let us know.

By popular demand!

Introducing

Meet Laura

Where are you based?
Chichester hospital but due to go on maternity leave very soon

What is your role?
Clinical Director and surgeon

How long have you been part of the AVG team?
Almost 3 years

What was your previous role?
Veterinary surgeon in another practice

Do you have any pets?
Bramble my little black moggie

What is your favourite part about being a vet?
When a surgery has gone so well that owners want to come back to you again and again to treat their animal. Gaining that client trust through being very honest and thoroughly explaining all the risks and benefits

Do you have any special interests?
Surgery, small furries

Hobbies
Being outdoors, gardening and cooking. I used to be much more sporty until now as family life has changed things

Interesting fact
As a vet student I planned to work with wild animals travelling the world, in reality I have been firmly in small animal practice since the day I graduated.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Laura well, she will be hugely missed whilst on maternity leave but we are all of course very excited to hear her news soon!

10/01/2024

Worried your pet may have eaten something he or she shouldn't?

You are of course always welcome to call us, but to prevent delays we would like to share the details of the Animal Poisons Line. Animal Poison Line is the only 24-hour specialised emergency telephone service in the UK dedicated to helping pet owners who are worried their pet may have been exposed to something harmful or poisonous.

The vital information you are able to provide them will determine whether or not you need to contact us for emergency treatment or whether you can manage the ingestion at home.

A reminder that all telephone advice from us is complimentary.

08/01/2024

The rain has finally stopped here in West Sussex and it has been replaced with a nice cold snap this week.

With this always comes the anxiety to emergency veterinary practices of the risk of antifreeze.

Often as the cold weather sets in, many of us are reminded to top up the antifreeze in our car. Antifreeze (ethylene glycol) is highly toxic and just a few laps of this chemical can be deadly to a pet. Almost all of these cases occur from a cat lapping a puddle containing spilt anti-freeze.

If topping up your car, please take great care ensuring any spillages are immediately cleaned up. Under no circumstances use anti freeze in garden water features or near wildlife.

Symptoms to look out for include

Lethargy
Vomiting
Ataxia (wobbly legs)
Seizures
Kidney failure and death

If you are concerned your cat may have ingested anti freeze, please call us immediately. Calls answered by qualified vets and nurses.

08/01/2024

Can anyone help?

Good morning to all of our followers. We hope you have had a great weekend and are enjoying the slightly drier weather! Its a cold one though so wrap up warm!

A little request from our lovely Storrington team please. They are running rather low on blankets and towels, the latter of which we often have a very high turnover of.

If anyone has any surplus, or are planning on having a turn out of cupboards, please can you keep us in mind? We have plenty of newspapers though so these are not needed at the moment.

A huge thank you to anyone who can help

04/01/2024

A day ago our Storrington night team received a deceased cat.

Very sadly the cat was a female and black and white but was not wearing a collar and neither did she have a microchip.

She was retrieved from a junction on the A27 with Jarvis Road.

Please call us if she is yours.

02/01/2024

**Please can we just say an enormous thank you for the team work here in the comments! You have all helped enormously and we believe her owner is on her way. Thank you all so much! **

Urgent help needed.

Our Chichester team is currently caring for a critically injured Labradoodle which has been hit by a car on Shripney Road near the Robin Hood Pub.

She is a female and has an unregistered microchip.She is wearing a collar.

Please call us urgently if she is yours.

31/12/2023

A reminder for anyone hosting a party this evening.

A open front door can be a hazard to our pets giving a quick escape route to an excitable dog. As we have discussed on our sister practice page Arun Veterinary Group consider providing your dog or cat with a safe space. This can be either a quite room away from visitors or a cosy den where they feel safe and wont be disturbed. This is of particular importance if you have a dog or a cat who is fearful of fireworks or bangs.

Do take care with any party food items particularly skewers, chocolates, alcohol, or any left over mince pies.

Our teams are available at both Storrington and Chichester, please do not hesitate to call if you need us.

23/12/2023

Its the start of the Christmas weekend and a reminder that our team will be available over the entire festive period. This includes not only patients of Arun Veterinary Group and our subscribed practices but also the wider community of pet owners who may not want to travel a long distance to their own vets emergency provider.
As well as our very own sister practice, a reminder of the practices who will be closed and who we provide cover for -
Cat’s Whiskers Veterinary Clinic
Chichester Vets
Farthings Veterinary Group
Huckleberry Vets
Meadow Hall Veterinary Practice
Mrs Darling Vets
Pet Practice Veterinary Surgery
Stellar Vets - Littlehampton
Vets4Pets Worthing
Vets4Pets Rustington
Vets4Pets Chichester
VetsCarePets
Petworth Vet Centre
Graylands Cat Clinic
The Countryside Vet

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

22/12/2023

When cooking and serving your Christmas lunch to your family and friends, it's often fun and as a special treat, to reserve some bits and pieces for the furry members of the family.

Whilst some of us may like to treat our pets, there are a few rules we must consider.
Not all of the food we eat on Christmas Day is safe for our pets. Not only that, but a sudden change in diet or a meal much fattier than they're used to, can cause vomiting, diarrhoea or worse still - pancreatitis.

Pancreatitis is an extremely painful condition. In most case it is unexplained (idiopathic) and we do not know what causes it. Some breeds of dogs are more prone to this condition than others. But often it can follow after your pet has been fed very fatty food or has scavenged something they shouldn't.

Foods to definitely avoid going in your pets dinner bowl are stuffing (garlic, shallots, onions), cooked turkey bones, gravy (salty and fatty), turkey skin (high fat), leeks, pigs in blankets (salt and fat), and of course keep all mince pies, Christmas pudding and chocolates out of reach.

Lastly, and this is a fairly obvious one, keep alcoholic drinks off the floor!

Our two RCVS accredited 24/7 hospitals in Storrington and Chichester provide out-of-hours advice, treatment and critical care whenever your registered daytime vet is closed. With Christmas Day itself being only a day or so away, please may we take this opportunity to remind you that our teams will be on site throughout the entire festive period.

22/12/2023

As a thank you for their hard work during the year, Matt treated the teams to a choice of Christmas gift voucher.

Our grateful thanks to the following local, independent retailers for their assistance.

Jan at Broadwater Sports
Neil and Rob at Browns Natural Pet Store
Martin at The Old Piggery Farm Shop And Tea Room
Vintage Rose Tea Room

In memory of a very much loved and missed work colleague and friend, the team were also given the option of Matt making a donation to Cancer Support We are delighted to announce that a total of £980 will be donated to this fantastic cause. This will be added to the amount already raised from Christmas jumper day.

15/12/2023

Poinsettias are a popular Christmas plant, and many of us love to buy these to make our homes look more festive. Poinsettias have a reputation for being a highly toxic plant but this is generally not the case. Unlike lilies -which are - these plants are not deadly. However, it is still advisable to keep them well out of reach of pets as the milky, white sap found inside contains toxins which can cause a variety of unwanted side effects.

Signs to look out for are:

Drooling
Licking lips
Vomiting
Diarrhoea
Redness/swelling/itchiness

Please bear in mind that whilst they are not deadly, it's best they are kept out of reach of pets. It's also worth remembering there are other plants and berries that should definitely be kept out of the way. Examples of these would be festive bouquets containing lillies, mistletoe and holly berries.

If you are aware of your pet eating any form of berry or plant please contact us without delay. Regardless of which practice you are registered at, here at SDEV we are truly independent and in the event of an out -of -hours emergency, we will be happy to see you regardless of your registered daytime clinic’s provider.

08/12/2023

With Christmas just around the corner, starting from this evening we will be posting some tips on how to keep your pets safe this Christmas.

Mince pies, Christmas puddings and cakes, grape juice and most dried fruit are toxic to your dog. There have been reports of cats and ferrets also being affected, but this does relate more to dogs. Even a small consumption of these foods can cause acute kidney failure, and unfortunately there is no way of predicting the severity in each individual animal. It is thought that the dried versions of these foods are more likely to cause severe symptoms.

Signs to look out for are:

Vomiting and Diarrhoea, sometimes with blood
Excess Salivation
Poor appetite
Weakness or wobbly when standing
Lethargy
Blood in urine
Excessive drinking

Normally symptoms start showing between 6 - 24 hours after consumption, but this may not always be the case and symptoms may start to show after several days.
Treatment will normally involve an injection to make your pet vomit; activated charcoal may then be given by mouth, and then depending on each individual case, blood tests may be performed to monitor your dog's kidneys.

Long term prognosis is often good if treatment is given immediately, otherwise a delay in treatment can cause irreversible, fatal kidney damage.

If you suspect your dog has consumed any of these fruits, you should contact us immediately by calling either one of our two hospital sites. You do not need to be a registered client of any particular practice, we believe in freedom of choice; that’s true independence. You’re at the heart of every decision related to your pet’s health, so why should your choice of emergency vet be any different?

Chichester 01243 978800
Storrington 01903 746028

07/12/2023

Overnight our team at Chichester received this lovely stray lurcher.

She was found on Hunston Road - fortunately uninjured.

She is microchipped but her details provide no address or contact number.

This is the third stray dog our Chichester hospital has received this week.

Proof of microchip number will be required to claim and she will shortly be transferred to the dog warden.

03/12/2023

Our Chichester team is caring for a stray Staffie, found in Tangmere.

He is a brown male but does not have a microchip.

Please call if he is yours.

24/11/2023

Our Chichester team are currently caring for a stray terrier found in Florence Park, Chichester.

He is microchipped but it is unregistered. He is a year old, energectic and sporting a red jumper!

Please call if you know someone who is missing him.

21/11/2023

We hope you have all had a good weekend.

Some of you who follow our page may already be aware that Westergate lead vet Lisa has rather a passion for hedgehogs and rumour has it, that her garden offers first class accommodation to any hedgehog who cares to visit!

Last Friday the team at Westergate received a badly injured hedgehog who we believe had received an injury from a strimmer. Strimmer's and lawn mowers sadly pose a big threat to out spikey friends as they love to snuggle into long grass or piles of leaves to hibernate.

This particular hedgehog was a healthy adult female but had a large laceration to the back of her head which required stitching. Lisa and fellow vet Emma set to work, carefully anaesthetising the hedgehog and repairing the wound.

After a night of hospitalisation, Lisa took the hedgehog to our friends at Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital who kindly accepted it with their usual grace and expertise. The hope is that she will continue to recover and then be returned to the garden where she was found in the spring.

Hedgehogs really do need all the help they can get and their numbers are sadly in rapid decline. If you find one which is injured or appears to be out and about when it shouldn't, then please always seek professional advice. They need care from professional people who understand exactly what they need. Resist the urge to ask for advice on Facebook but contact either a local vet or an organisation who can help. We are fortunate to have both Brent Lodge and Sompting Wildlife Rescue close by. It is important to note that as well as surgery this little lady needed treatment for dehydration in the form of subcutaneous fluids, antibiotics and also pain relief. Nursing at home can often do more harm than good and in fact feeding a dehydrated hedgehog can be fatal. Contacting a professional is essential as the first steps to treating an injured hedgehog.

Please note that we never make a charge to treat wildlife.

(photo of a recent patient)

19/11/2023

This time last week lovely Hugo was spending a few days with us at Storrington after swallowing some dense rubber material which required a general anaesthetic and surgical removal.

It was initially thought that 1 year old Hugo had swallowed some raw hide which was causing him to be very sick and unable to even keep any water down. Poor Hugo has a bit of a history for swallowing things he shouldn't and unfortunately this often goes hand in hand with being a rather handsome Labrador (we all know how much Labradors like to eat!).

It turns out that Hugo had eaten and swallowed something likely to have been part of a dog toy or ball, and it was a great relief to the team to be able to discharge Hugo home and to his family, just a few days later after his life saving surgery.

Hugo is registered at one of our subscribed practices and came to see us when his regular vet was closed, however being subscribed to a particular practice is not essential to use our service. As an independent emergency service, we believe in freedom of choice. Our two RCVS accredited 24/7 hospitals in Storrington and Chichester provide out-of-hours advice, treatment and critical care whenever your registered daytime vet is closed, reducing emergency time and miles of travelling.

Save our number and call us whenever you need peace of mind.