THE HUNTER LOCAL BUSINESS AWARDS THE HUNTER LOCAL BUSINESS AWARDS —— WE WON!!WE WON!!

SUMMER 2018SUMMER 2018

Hunter Award winners, Heartworm update, Christmas fun & more... We won!! Fletcher Vet was chosen as the winner of the Hunter Local Business awards for Outstanding Pet Care. We

are so thankful to all our amazing clients who voted for us to help win this award, and for all your support over the

years. We are a team that strives to work like your pet's second family, to provide the best service for your pet's

health and well-being and that connects with our local community. We are thrilled to receive this recognition for

our hard work and dedication. Within this Summer edition we also give you the latest update on Heartworm,

discuss the complications that arise with cat fights, and talk about our Christmas fun within the clinic for December.

O ur team attended the

Hunter Local Business

Awards in November. Thanks

to our amazing clients, we

were voted in as finalists in the

Pet Care category within the

region. Included in the

category were other local vet

practices, grooming salons and

boarding facilities. These

awards highlight so many great

small businesses and reward

them for their hard work, so

being a finalist is wonderful

recognition.

For the submission

process, we were asked to

provide detail on some of our

practice policies, such as

environmental, community

involvement and customer

service. Here, we detailed

our achievements

throughout the year,

including hosting the

Newcastle Dog Olympics

for the second consecutive

year, our unique digital

process for anaesthetic

monitoring and consent,

our staff rewards

programs, as well as client

and patient stories.

We are thrilled to be

announced as the overall

winners in the category! We

believe this is a reflection of

the hard work our team show

each and every day, our

strive to provide best

practice to our patients, as

well as the support from our

wonderful clients. Thank

you once again.

4 Beech Close, Fletcher, NSW 2287 | Ph: 02 4955-6670 | E: reception@fletchervet.com.au | W: www.fletchervet.com.au

Clinic Hours: Monday—Friday: 8:30am—6:00pm. Saturday: 8:30am—12:30pm

SUMMER 2018 Fletcher Veterinary Practice

HEARTWORM DANGERSHEARTWORM DANGERS——IS YOUR PET AT RISK?IS YOUR PET AT RISK?

INTERESTING HEARTWORM FACTSINTERESTING HEARTWORM FACTS

H eartworm (HW) is a pesky bug.

It is an internal parasite that as

you may guess, takes up residence

within your pet’s heart. As it grows

and grows, it blocks off the arteries

of your pet’s heart, causing

weakness, collapse, and eventually

death. This process can take years,

and without a quick, on-the-spot

blood test, pet owners would not be

aware that their pet has HW until it

is too late.

HOW IS HEARTWORM SPREAD?

Mosquitoes spread HW. Their

microscopic larvae, named

microfilariae, live in the blood of an

infected pet. When a mozzie bites,

they suck up the microfilariae and

inject them when they bite into

another pet, wild dog or dingo.

IS HEARTWORM COMMON?

This seems to be an issue we are

facing at the moment. HW was

extremely common before

prevention came out, and many pets

passed away because of it. After this,

pet owners were extremely vigilant

with giving their pet prevention

medication to protect them, and the

disease has since only been primarily

found in rural areas of Australia.

However, due to lapsing of

treatment, HW is being seen more

and more again across the East Coast

of Australia. It is extremely important

that prevention is kept up to date

constantly to provide year-round

protection, otherwise a mozzie may

attack within that short window.

“Heartworm is being seen more

and more again across the East

Coast of Australia”

WHAT HAPPENS IF I MISS A DOSE?

Unlike tummy worming where you

can dose your pet when you think of

it, HW requires a special test if you

miss a dose. If your pet has not had

protection for 3 months or more, a

quick blood test is required to let us

know if they have contracted it in

that time. HW prevention given to a

pet which has contracted HW is

potentially life-threatening. Special

medication is used to kill the HW,

and careful monitoring in hospital is

usually required.

HOW CAN I PREVENT HEARTWORM?

HW is extremely easy and affordable

to prevent. We offer a convenient

annual injection that ties in well with

their annual health check and

vaccinations, or you may choose to

give monthly tablets to your pet.

Remember, HW tablets are monthly,

unlike tummy worming which is 3-

monthly. As it can be easy to forget a

dose, we prefer the injection option

for our clients.

If you have any questions about

HW, or want to talk about

prevention for your pet, please

contact our friendly team.

It can just take one mozzie bite to

infect your pet.

Cats can get heartworm too,

although it is most commonly

seen in dogs.

Adult heartworms can grow up to

30cm long within the vessels of your

pet’s heart!

SUMMER 2018 Fletcher Veterinary Practice

SUMMERTIME = FUNSUMMERTIME = FUN--NER TIME RIGHT?!NER TIME RIGHT?!

W arm days, summer holidays,

festive season and beach

runs! We’re sure that your dog loves

summer just as much as you do,

however unfortunately it’s not all

picnics and sandcastles. There are

serious threats that pop-up during

summer for your pet, and we want

to keep you aware, to ensure

summertime really does equal a fun-

ner time!

GOING AWAY ON VACATION

Whether you plan on taking your dog

with you on your holiday, or giving

them their own holiday at the local

cattery or boarding kennel, it is vital

that you check that their

vaccinations are up to date, and that

they have the correct one for

boarding. Relocating your pet to a

new location, or one that allows

them to interact with other pets can

expose them to numerous different

viruses. If you’re not sure if your pet

is up to date, call our clinic on

49556670.

HEAT STROKE

It can happen before you

know it, and usually our

short-snouted (ie,

brachycephalic) dogs are

more at risk . Allow your dog

access to shade at all times,

lots of fresh water (cool it

down with ice cubes), do not walk

them between 11am and 3pm, and

get veterinary help if you notice

them with increased frothy

salivation, collapse, laboured

breathing or panting, and hot to

touch.

PARASITE PROTECTION

Just as heartworm is more prevalent

in summer, so are fleas and ticks.

Keep all parasite protection up to

date with a handy all-in-one

treatment such as Nexgard Spectra!

THE SILLY SEASON NASTIES

Christmas and New Year can be a

stressful time for your pet, especially

cats. Not only do we have people

coming and going, but there are

ornaments, fatty foods, fireworks

and bon-bons. Keep anxiety levels

down by allowing them a safe place

of refuge to escape to if needed, and

purchase a Feliway or Adaptil

pheromone spray to keep them

calm. Always remember NEVER to

feed fatty foods to your pet such as

pork, rich meats, and no cooked

bones. For Christmas trees, deter

your cat by placing cellophane (or

other crinkly material) around the

bottom. This will hopefully stop them

ingesting the wrong thing.

For a cool doggy icy-pole recipe,

visit our last summer newsletter

on our website!

WHAT TO DO ABOUT CAT FIGHTSWHAT TO DO ABOUT CAT FIGHTS

D uring spring to summer, we

tend to see an increase in cat

fight wounds. This is usually due to

cats being even more territorial

during mating season (both males

and females). If outdoors, they may

come across another cat within their

territory, or vice versa.

Entire males are very territorial; they

will defend the area around their

home and try to expand that area

too. They will usually fight in order to

do so. This can be via scratching or

biting, and can have severe

consequences. Not only can these

wounds become severely infected

and lead to chronic illness, but the

spread of Feline Aids happens this

way.

Desexing your cat will help control

fighting, as will keeping them indoors

with a pheromone spray such as

Feliway. If you own a concession

card, we can help provide financial

assistance to subsidise the desexing

cost. Contact us for more

information, or to also discuss the

Feline Aids vaccination!

We’ve had a jam-packed 2017! Take a

look at our short video on our Instagram

or Facebook to see our year in review!

Here we show our success stories,

challenges, gorgeous patients and events

from the year. You may even see your

little one pop up!

SUMMER 2018 Fletcher Veterinary Practice

CHRISTMAS TIME AT FLETCHER VETS!!CHRISTMAS TIME AT FLETCHER VETS!!

C ome down and see

our spectacular

Chrissy-decorated waiting

room full of toys, treats,

and specials for your pet!

So what’s on?!

LUCKY DIP

Want to surprise your pet or a friend’s fur-baby with a

gift under the tree this Christmas? Purchase one of our

gorgeous LUCKY DIP PRESSIES! Each present is filled with

a treat and toy, as well as other goodies. We guarantee

you and your pet will love it! Best of all, proceeds from

every sale of our lucky dip presents will go towards

rescue organisations that we work with! Place your vote

in our rescue bucket each time a present is purchased to

donate to your organisation of choice.

DONATION TREE

If you have any spare blankets, toys, food or treats you

wish to donate as a gift to rescue pets in care, you may

bring them in and place them under our donation tree!

We will have a SantaPaws sack ready and waiting for

your gift for a special fur-baby.

PHOTO FUN

Join in on some photo fun. If you want to have your

pet’s photo taken here in the clinic with their elf hat,

Santa hat, or reindeer antlers on, come on down! Our

nurse will snap their pic and post all photos on our

Instagram and Facebook page to share the Christmas

joy.

OPENING HOURS

We will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and

New Years Day this year, and open as usual every other

business day.

For emergencies outside of our opening hours, please

contact NAREC on (02) 4957-7106 or 1300-VET-NOW,

located at 4 Lang Road, Broadmeadow.

We’d like to wish all of our clients and animal friends a

very happy and safe holiday season! We look forward to

seeing you all in 2018.

OUR YEAR IN REVIEWOUR YEAR IN REVIEW