St Peter's Vets - Horndean & Farlington

30/08/2024

With the weather warming up again and today being we should talk a bit about beach safety for dogs. If it’s just a quick stroll in the beach or all day holiday fun, here are some steps to keeping your beloved dogs safe on the beach.

• 🗺️ Before you head to the beach check it is a dog friendly beach. Most beaches have a dog friendly zone and this can vary depending on time of year and also time of day.

• 🌡️ Check the weather. Dogs can’t regulate their body temperatures like we can in hot weather, so it is essential to avoid high temperatures. Even temperatures as low as 20 degrees Celsius can cause heatstroke, which can be fatal for them.

• 🌡️ Make sure the sand or stones aren’t too hot. If you can’t comfortably stand barefoot on the beach then your dog can’t either.

•🏖️Ensure your dog has access to shade to prevent over heating.

• 💧Fresh drinking water is a must to avoid dehydration and help keep them cool.

• ☀️ Avoid Sunburn - consider using dog friendly suncream on exposed areas that have sparse or no fur covering them, such as ears and nose.

A few more tips to keep your dogs safe and well.

• 🤢 Do not let your dog drink sea water, it can cause vomiting and even be poisonous in larger amounts.

•🦴Do take some treats to help swap over any unsuitable items your dog may pick up such a seaweed, discarded plastic, and other food. Be mindful of people having a bbq or picnic to avoid your dog joining in the fun!

• 🚿At the end of your beach trip rinse away any sand or seawater to stop any irritation this may cause your dog.

Most of all have fun and enjoy your time at the beach 🏖️

29/08/2024

🌟Charity of the Month 🌟

Portsmouth Greyhound Trust are an amazing charity. There are many ways you can support the charity and the hounds in their care. Here are just a few ways;

• Donations – Dry Kibble, Tins of Meat, Treats are the main things they are always in need of.
• Buy items off their Amazon wish list.
• Become a volunteer – help to walk the dogs, or help fundraise and events.
• One off or regular donations – these go towards vet bills, improvements around kennels, Fresh meat or extra dog food.
• Adopt a greyhound to get another into their forever home!

Do you think you would could offer a forever home to a greyhound? The charity are always at the end of the phone to answer any questions or advice you may need prior to and post adoption. The hold regular events and meet ups so new owners can meet older owners and become a part of the charities community. So if you would like to adopt a greyhound or wish to become a volunteer for the charity, get in touch with the charity directly.

https://www.portsmouthgreyhoundtrust.org.uk/

28/08/2024

Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day 🌈

This day is celebrated on August 28th each year. It is a day to honour and remember our beloved pets that have passed away. A day to remember the bond shared with our beloved pets and a promise to a reunion in the future.

We would love you to share pictures and memories of your beloved pets that are no longer with us. 🌈

26/08/2024

International Dog Day celebrates all breeds, mixed and pure and serves as a reminder of the large number of dogs that need to be rescued each year.

This Day also honours family dogs, dogs that work selflessly to save lives, keep us safe and bring us comfort. Dogs put their lives on the line every day - protecting our families, for their law enforcement partner, for their blind companion, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and helping to locate and rescue victims of accidents and tragedy.

Holly and Star are siblings from a rescue charity. This picture was taken 5 years ago just a few days into their new forever home 🥰

26/08/2024

** Update** Owner found.

We have a Bavarian Hound brought into the Petersfield surgery that was found wandering in Liss. If this is your dog please get in touch
(Proof of ownership is required)

25/08/2024

Happy bank holiday weekend to all our lovely client. We hope you are having a lovely weekend so far. Our beach surgeries are closed but our usual out of hours service at Petersfield, is available at all times for emergencies should you need it.

24/08/2024

Bobby came into our Petersfield Surgery this week for a dental. After a thorough scale and polish his teeth, were pearly white again and he didn’t need any teeth extracted.

It is hard to get the full picture of what is going on in a cats or dogs mouth with just a ‘quick look’. Until any tartar build up has been removed, the health of the teeth and gums are extremely hard to accurately assess and even then dental xrays may be required to get the full picture. This is why we often give a broad estimate for dental work. Sometimes they just need the teeth cleaned and other times once the teeth have been cleaned, the true extent of any dental disease comes to light.

23/08/2024

🩷 Meet Poppy 🩷

A beautiful 15yrs old West Highland terrier cross rescue dog, that found her forever home with Pat in 2013. She was a sprightly dog who showed caution at times as you often get with rescue dogs.

In 2018 Poppy started to show signs of an eye condition called glaucoma. A painful condition that occurs when fluid builds up in the eye, causing pressure that damages the eye. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to blindness or even the need to remove the eye.

After a year of managing the condition with medication, Poppy’s left eye sadly needed to be removed. Poppy recovered well from the surgery and adjusted to life with one eye. Roll on to 2022 and even though Poppy received regular checks and daily medication for her remaining eye, the pressure increased that much that one evening her eye ruptured and there was no choice but to her one remaining eye removed.

Poppy’s owner Pat told me about the first time she came home following her last eye removal “She ran straight into the house, went down the hall and turned into the lounge where she climbed straight into her bed with no hesitation or bumping into anything”. 2 years on and Poppy is still that happy dog enjoying life.

23/08/2024

Blind Dog Day is a celebration of all the blind dogs in the world, whether they were born blind or by injury or illness.

Owners support their blind dogs by creating a safe space, not rearranging home furniture and training methods such as audio cues to help make navigation easier. When it comes to play giving them sound based toys to make it easier for them. This is just a few ways which owners support their blind dogs.

Later today we will be sharing a story about one of our patients ‘Poppy’. This will highlight that whether a dog is partially or fully blind, they can lead a fulfilling quality of life! ☺️

22/08/2024

🏆⭐COVER STAR COMPETITION - September ⭐🏆

🐾Please comment your favourite photo of your pet & their name in the comments below to enter🐾

The animal with the most likes by September 1st will be used as the cover photo on this page for the month! ❤️

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will never contact you asking for your personal details. This is a free competition and winners are chosen based on picture reactions/likes alone.

(No branding must be used. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant; and acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook.)

21/08/2024

Our charity of the month Portsmouth Greyhound Trust will be at Jollyes this Sunday. Why not pop along to meet some of their greyhounds and find out more about the amazing work the charity does.

Want to see some greyhounds and have cuddles?
Find out more information about adopting!?

Stop by and see us on Sunday! 💚

19/08/2024

💙 Meet Gilbert 💙

2.5 year old Cocker Spaniel Gilbert was brought in to St Peter’s as he was lethargic, off his food and had started vomiting. Gilbert was admitted and an X-ray of his abdomen was taken which showed a large radio dense foreign body in his intestines. Surgery was preformed to remove the stone that that he had swallowed. As you can see from the pictures the stone was successfully removed and Gilbert made a full recovery 😊

Dogs are notorious for swallowing non food items. Foreign bodies can include items such as toys, clothes, bones, string and countless other items. Early symptoms of this include; vomiting, diarrhoea, inappetence, stomach pain, and lethargy. If the foreign body gets stuck in the intestinal tract, it can cause an obstruction which can lead to severe dehydration, sepsis, and even death.

If you suspect your pet may have eaten something they shouldn’t have please get in touch with your Vet immediately.

18/08/2024

☀️ Protect your dog from heatstroke ☀️

A lot of dogs like to lay in the warmth of the sun, you can see from the picture that Pigsy does. As long as your dog can get up and move to somewhere cooler then this shouldn’t be a problem. Heatstroke cases are all too common though and many dogs get heatstroke when their owners exercise them during high temperatures.

Prevent heatstroke by getting to know when it's safe to take your dog outside, and please contact us immediately if you think your dog might have heatstroke!

🚨 28 °C and over - This is dangerous for all dogs, especially puppies and flat faced, large or obese dogs.

🔴 24-27°C - Be very careful, as most dogs will struggle in these temperatures, particularly larger, obese, flat-faced or very young dogs.

✋ 20-23°C - Heatstroke is still a risk at these temperatures for some dogs so take precautions, ensure hydrated and go steady

🟠 16-19°C - It's usually safe to take your dog out, but take extra care if you've got a large, obese or flat-faced dog.

🟢 12-15°C – It’s safe to exercise your dog!

For further advice on heatstroke, please get in touch📞

17/08/2024

🐈‍⬛ Black Cat Appreciation Day 🐈‍⬛

This day celebrates the beauty of these black sleek felines. The day serves purpose to raise awareness about the low adoption rates for black cats. Statistics show these are the least adopted cat colour. Some believe they are bad luck and are superstitious about black cats or not wanting black fur around the home or because they are harder to photograph and read their behaviour. 🤦🏻

Next time you are looking for a cat to home don’t forget about the black cats. If you already have a black cat, August 17th is the perfect day to show them off on social media. Get sharing your black beauties.

In the picture is Beebe who is sadly no longer with us. Such a handsome boy 🖤

16/08/2024

Ever wondered how we remove grass seeds from dogs ears?

If your dog has a grass seed lodged in their ear canal, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to spot the seed because they are usually trapped deep inside the canal. Your dog could show symptoms such as, shaking their head or scratching their ears. A vet can make a diagnosis by using an otoscope to look down the ear canal and remove the seed with forceps if necessary. Your dog may require sedation to enable this if they are in pain or if the vet is unable to do it safely as it’s very important that the dog remains still throughout so as not to damage the dogs ear drum.

These photos are of a Cocker Spaniel named Ned. He was brought is displaying signs and as you can see he had a grass seed removed from his ear.

Don’t forget to check your pets feet and ears after going in longer grass. Sometimes these seeds can take a bit of time to work their way into crevices or under the skin.

15/08/2024

* National Check the Chip Day *

This is a day to remind pet owners of the importance of microchipping their pets and keeping their microchip information up to date. Not only is it the law in England that all cats and dogs must be microchipped but statistics show that 1 in 3 pets will get lost at some point in their lives, but pets with registered microchips greatly increases the chances that the pets will be reunited with their families if they are lost or stolen.

Here are some things you can do to ensure your pet's safety on National Check the Chip Day:

• Book into a vets to have your pet's microchip scanned to confirm it's working and present. Ideally when your pets are in for their annual booster ask the vet to scan their chip.

• Update your information. Make sure your contact information in the pet registry database is current and up to date with the correct address and phone number.
If you are unsure which database your pet's microchip is registered with use this handy website to tell you. https://www.check-a-chip.co.uk/

This website is a means to try and identify which UK pet MicroChip Database a MicroChip might be registered with, according to the format of the MicroChip numbers

14/08/2024

🌟 Charity of the Month 🌟

The Portsmouth Greyhound Trust is the original and longest standing Greyhound Trust branch. The care of the dogs is now onto the 4th generation of the family who run the kennels. They have a group of wonderful volunteers who work alongside them and help take care of the dogs whilst they’re looking to find their forever homes.

The charity ensures the greyhounds are treated like their own pets whilst in their care. Doing things like going out on day trips, meeting up with other dogs and other people. This helps the charity to assess how they are and helps them find the correct forever home for them.

In the next post we will explore the ways you can support and help the charity.

13/08/2024

Meet Florence 🩷

The lovely Florence was brought to see us as she was constantly licking and chewing her front paw and it was starting to get sore.

The vets examined her and suspected a foreign body between her toes. Florence was admitted and sedated so her paw could be clipped up and examined. Grass seeds were removed and the tract it had created was flushed with saline and explored to make sure nothing was missed.

Florence was sent home later that day. Her owners had to make sure that she didn’t lick the wound and that her paw was kept clean and dry until it healed. Thankfully she made a full recovery.

We are seeing so many grass seed cases at the moment. Please remember to keep checking your pets after they have been for a walk where there is longer grass. Especially, feet and ears.

12/08/2024

As some of you may already know, our much loved receptionist Ailsa has passed away. 💔

Ailsa joined St Peters Vets in August 2009 and was a well-Loved colleague and friend. Everyone at St Peters Vets is deeply saddened and she will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts are with Ailsa's family and loved ones at this time.

10/08/2024

Update: owner found!
**STRAY**
We have a grey & white male French Bull dog found on Frogmore Lane. Please call the Horndean branch if this may be your dog or you have any information.

09/08/2024

Our Green Team Champions, Vet Ella & Nurse Abi featured in the Petersfield Post, Clanfield Post, Horndean Post at the end of last month. Discussing the Investors in the Environment silver award and what the team had to do to gain the award.

01/08/2024

Charity of the Month

🌟 Portsmouth Greyhound Trust🌟

August Charity of the month is Portsmouth Greyhound Trust. The Portsmouth Branch of the Greyhound Trust was one of the original branches, and has been established since 1975. Since then, they have placed thousands of greyhounds in loving homes.

Portsmouth Greyhound Trust alway have approximately 20 dogs of all ages, colours and temperaments looking for a home.

Watch this space for more posts over the month about what the Portsmouth Greyhound Trust do and how you can help them.

30/07/2024

Happy International Friendship Day!

We all know our pets are up there on the top of friendship lists but we want you to tag your hooman besties!

This is Vet Abi’s daughter Felicity with her besties Holly & Archie. How cute are they! 😍 For children often one of the first friendships they form is with the family pets.

27/07/2024

Hope you’re all having a lovely weekend so far!

Seeing as it’s a Caturday we thought you would like to see a cute picture of the lovely ‘Pepper’ exploring her garden for the first time. 😻

26/07/2024

Happy National Dog Photography Day 🐶📸

Let’s celebrate our canine companions and share your favourite photos of them!

24/07/2024

🌟Charity of the Month🌟

So far this month we have learned a little bit more about what HART Wildlife Rescue does and how they came about. Now it’s time to find out how you can help support the charity.

There are many ways to support HART Wildlife and here are just a few:
* One off or regular donations.
* Buy an item of their needed list or a virtual gift.
* Sponsor an animal.
* Volunteer at the hospital - animal care, housekeeping & feeding.
* Become a volunteer driver - becoming me an essential part by picking up small casualties and bringing them over to the hospital for treatment. The charity don’t have enough members of staff, vehicles or time to collect them all.

Hart wildlife also have their own charity shop in Alton. They sell donated items to support the wildlife hospital. It has a wide range of goods for sale including clothes, books, CD’s, jewellery and bric-a-brac. The shop currently accept donations on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Head over to the website to find out more: https://hartwildlife.org.uk

23/07/2024

🏆⭐COVER STAR COMPETITION - August ⭐🏆
⛔Competition Closed⛔

🐾Please comment your favourite photo of your pet & their name in the comments below to enter🐾

The animal with the most likes by August 1st will be used as the cover photo on this page for the month! ❤️

IMPORTANT NOTE: We will never contact you asking for your personal details. This is a free competition and winners are chosen based on picture reactions/likes alone.

(No branding must be used. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant; and acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook.)

21/07/2024

Does your dog always look longingly at your ice cream? Or do you buy them their own dog friendly version so you can enjoy yours uninterrupted?

Today is National Ice Cream Day and we want to share an easy dog friendly ice cream recipe. As you can see from the picture Bruce is a big fan! 👅🍦

Ingredients:

• 1 medium , ripe banana
• 250g greek natural yoghurt 0% fat*
• 2 tbsp of peanut butter (xylitol free)**
• Crushed raspberries and strawberries for sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Mash the banana using a fork or potato masher until almost a puree.
2. Stir in the yogurt and peanut butter. Mix all ingredients until well-combined.
3. Pour the mixture into a freezer safe air-tight containers or mould for easy treat. Ice cube trays are good to make small portions. If you want to top the ice cream with crushed strawberries and raspberries, this can be done now but make sure these are very small pieces of fruit so your dog can swallow it easily.
4. Pop in the freeze for a minimum of 4 hours but preferably overnight.

The Ice Cream can be kept in the freezer for 8 weeks.
* You can use natural yogurt but if you want the ice cream to be scoopable use Greek/Strained yogurt.
** XYLITOL IS TOXIC TO DOGS - please make sure any ingredients are free from Xylitol.

Most dogs aren’t used to eating/drinking dairy based foods. We would always advise to try your dog with a smaller amount and see how it affects their tummy’s. For certain dogs this may be too rich or they may be sensitive to dairy.

20/07/2024

We had some fantastic news yesterday. Moriesha one of our trainee veterinary nurses found out she had passed her exams and is now a qualified Veterinary Nurse! 🎉🥳👏🏻💚

Here is what Moriesha had to say about the news. “Over the last three years of my ‘on the job training’ I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in so many different procedures and experiences, from inpatient care in kennels to scrubbing in to orthopaedic surgery in theatre. The last three years I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the most amazing team that helped me grow as a veterinary nurse. It has been a busy and stressful three years but very worth it to have my dream job become a reality”. 🩺💚

To say we are all proud of what Moriesha has achieved is an understatement. Well done!! 🎉🥳👏🏻