Vet life makes us sleeeeeepyyyy!

The Clinic’s New Year resolution this year was to write a new blog every week.

…

Oops!

December and January have been immensely busy here at the clinic, with many unusual and interesting animals turning up on our doorstep. The vets and nurses have all been working long hours and extra fast to keep up.

At a recent visit, ‘Shaz’ reminded us all just how blissfully happy it would be to be a puppy!

All the excitement of her first vaccinations, and it was time for a wee sleepy.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) Shaz fell into her very deep slumper upon our reception counter desk.

Needless to say, it halted our work a little as we all just had to gather around and smile!

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Walter and Tilly

A few months back, a man came in to the clinic carrying a green canvas bag. It was during a real cold snap in the weather in Christchurch, and it had been raining for days. The man had found the bag behind a dumpster next to a tavern. Inside it were two very cold, very wet and very hungry 4 week old puppies. How long they had been there we weren’t too sure, but we doubt they would have survived the night.

The tavern was directly over the road from our veterinary clinic. The person that dumped the puppies didn’t even have the guts to cross the road and bring them to us.

We are very lucky to have wonderful friends ‘At the Vets’ who help us out when we are overflowing! The two pups were fostered for many months with a caring family who named them ‘Walter’ and ‘Tilly’. They have now found loving homes and are doing well.

10 year old Jaden made this slideshow video of Walter and Tilly’s time with his family:

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Prickly Pigs

This year, we have been inundated with hedgehogs!

We have to admit that some of us are crazy about hedgehogs (as well as everything else!) Here are a few things we have learned about hedgehogs and a few photos of our latest prickly visitors:

These little creatures are harmless to humans and being nocturnal, normally only forage at night. If you see a hedgehog out during the day, it often is because the hedgehog is unwell and needs attention however, if it is during the warmer months, or early in the evening, it may also be out scavenging for food for its babies. All hedgehogs can hibernate but whether they will or not depends on temperature and availability of food.

Their main diet consists of snails, insects, worms and berries. They are scavengers for food and quite often get themselves into trouble by hibernating in compost heaps. They eat a LOT! Up to 200 grams of insects a night if they are given the chance! They also eat small land-based bird eggs and lizards and are frowned upon in areas where wildlife such as the Kiwi is protected.

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Aaaggghhh! The Kittens are taking over!

Here is a visual timeline of the last 6 weeks or so!

Who wants a kitten?! They are taking over! Every time the ward door is opened – a stream of mischievious kittens pours out and mahem breaks loose. 😀

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Mumma cat staying for a while!

Summer time is often a very busy and sleepless season for vets and nurses, as we spend weeks on end hand raising new babies, and orphaned or unwanted litters of the season. This summer had been reasonably quiet, until a stray tabby decided to bring a little excitement into the clinic.

It was two and a half weeks ago that a very rotund tabby cat was carried in to the clinic. She was heavily pregnant and looked like she was going to pop at any time! The man that brought her in had discovered her in his garden and, worried about her predicament, had brought her to us. We dropped a few flyers off around the neighbours, put up posters, phoned the spca, placed an advert on ‘trade me’ and waited…

Meanwhile, ‘Mumma Cat’ was given a snuggly bed in the hospital and a never ending supply of food, treats and cuddles. We were sure someone would to turn up at any time to claim their baby (and her babies), as she was the happiest, most affectionate and trusting visitor we could have dreamed of. Before long, she was upgraded to one of the extra large cages in another ward so that she could stretch out her ever increasing tummy and have some ‘quiet time’. (Actually, the quiet time was also for the other patients, as she tended to chat away to us any time we would walk past!)

As time went by, it became apparent that mumma’s owners weren’t coming, and so we phoned the spca, who said they could take her on in their cattery, and rehome her and the kittens when all were born.

There was however, one problem. Mumma cat had put a spell on us all. Her nature was astounding. Meowing to us every time we walked passed the door because she wanted cuddles, smooching everything in site, and every day her tummy getting bigger and bigger!

So mumma stayed…

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You gotta have a laugh

Just a few days ago, Annette – our head nurse came to me with a problem. She had decided to get in quick while the weather was good, and catch up on some clinic gardening. Unfortunately she only had her work uniform with her and she was bound to get a little dirty. She lives about 40minutes drive away from the clinic, so there was no time to race home for a change of clothes. What could she wear?

We found a solution promptly (as we know all nurses are quick problem solvers,) and dressed Annette up in true style:

‘Sponge Bob Square Pants’, bright sky blue surgical scrubs, red shoes and large sunnies. We then made sure we positioned her as close to the main road as possible, to hopefully help bring a smile to the faces of commuters passing by!

Now I promised I would make it up to Annette, and that as soon as we find some ‘Fraggle Rock’ scrubs to match that I would join her immediately.

(Ah What a shame, I dont think they are making that style yet!)

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Poppie’s Puppies!

The first Cesarian at ATV.

We had our first puppies born at the clinic on the 23^rd September. Six beautiful Boxer puppies with big round noses and wriggly bottoms! The mother ‘Poppy’ went into labour at 1.30 in the morning, but unfortunately – after many hours of panting and only a few contractions, nothing had happened. We rushed Poppy into an emergency cesarean surgery and all hands were on deck as nurses, vets and family all helped. We are very pleased to announce that all six pups and their mother recovered from the surgery very well and within half an hour of the final suture going in, they were suckling happily and all snuggled up in the kennel.

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The Open Day

Our official open day was held on the first Sunday after we moved – fathers day, and we had a blast! The doors were opened with a couple of speeches and the official ‘cutting of the ribbon’, and we spent a wonderful, sunny day celebrating with a glass of bubbly, children’s activities, music and competitions.

Click here to see some of the images of the day. (a big thankyou to Louise Ayling for her beautiful photos!)

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