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News from Pilgrims Vet Clinic and Pilgrims Petcare

Pilgrimsvets website closed (14/02/2010 @ 18:53:10)

I have combined the pilgrims pets.co.uk and pilgrims vets .co.uk websites this weekend. I hope this works for you.

New Pages Added (31/01/2010 @ 15:46:04)

Regular Payment Plans

2010 New Vet New Hours (31/01/2010 @ 15:35:24)

New Veterinary Surgeon

Dr Marco Tarantino DVM MRCVS is our newest member of staff He started work here in January 2010.
Marco qualified as a vet in 2005 in Perugia Italy. He has been working in Britian since 2006 as there are more opportunities here. Photo coming soon

Longer Hours and Out of Hours Emergencies

As a result of having a second vet we are now able to offer you longer opening times and do most of our own emergency work. See other pages on the site for details of opening hours but in brief we now open Sundays for an hour or so and longer Saturdays

2009 news (31/01/2010 @ 15:33:45)

For more information see www.petsmile.org

Free dental check ups with our vets or nurses this month and free goody bags. 10% reduction on all dentals in September and October 2009

Lift the Lip campaign 2009














Dog food and other large items: Order at on-line prices but collect next day

You can now order in the shop and arrange to collect items from the clinic.
Select 'Collection' as the shipping method in the shopping basket and then we will contact you when items are ready to collect normally 1 working day after ordering.

Lilys Kitchen (05/07/09 )

WE are now stocking a superb new range of organic pet food. Have a look in our shop for more details.
Special offers in clinic come and try some of this food for your companion.

Pick up and Delivery Services (06/02/2009 @ 18:01:08)

Pick up and Delivery Services (06/02/2009 @ 18:01:08)

We have a van to collect and deliver dog foods, patients and clients. If you are having problems getting up to West Kingsdown ring and see if we can help

New Clinic now open (05/01/2009 @ 18:53:28)

The new clinic in West Kingsdown is now open and in use.
The details are all elsewhere on the website.
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We will soon announce an open day so you can come and have a guided tour but if you wish and we are not busy you can see most of the rooms by just turning up.
Hope to see you here soon

Fear of Fireworks (13/10/2008 @ 17:32:00)

Many dogs are scared stiff by fireworks and it terrifies them. What can you do to help:

Long term it is best to go through a  desensitisation programme, preferably assisted by pheromonatherapy. Ask us for advice about this at the clinic.

 In the short term, here are some tips to help your pet.

1. Don't punish your dog when it is scared: it only confirms that there is something of which to be afraid.

• Don't fuss or try to reassure your companion when he is scared, as this rewards the anxious behaviour.
  

• Ignore any fearful behaviour that occurs for no good reason.
  

• Feed your dog a good meal rich in carbohydrate mid- to late afternoon (but do not to try this if the dog is prone to diarrhoea when it is scared, or at other times). If necessary, don't feed the dog at any other time in the day to ensure a good appetite.
  

• Do make sure she is kept in a safe and secure environment at all times, so that it doesn't bolt and escape if a sudden noise occurs.
  

• Move her at dusk into a blacked-out room that contains toys and familiar objects (and preferably things for the owner to do as well, so the dog is not abandoned in the room). Blacking-out the room removes the potentially additional problem of flashing lights, which often precede the noise.
  

• Put some music on. It doesn't have to be excessively loud, as long as there is a constant distracting beat to the music.
  

• ignore the noises themselves and try to engage the pet in some form of active game.
  

• If you know of a dog that is not scared by the noises and which gets on with the problem dog, keeping the two together during the evenings may help. Playing with the non-fearful dog may help to reassure the fearful dog that all is not so bad after all.
  

• Do consider making earplugs by taking a piece of cotton wool, dampening it and squeezing out any excess water. Roll it into a long thin cylinder and twist it into the dog's ear so as to pack the canal. Care must be taken that the cylinder is not so thin that it goes too deep into the ear canal or so fat that it cant be secured. The plug should be secure and firm but not so tight that it irritates the dog. Remember to remove it later that day and don't reuse earplugs from one day to the next.
  

• Do remember that drugs may be useful to calm some dogs, but they need to be given so they take effect before any noise starts or panic sets in. See us for more information
  

• Don't just ignore the noise phobia problem just because it only happens once or twice a year. Instigate a desensitisation programme once the season is over - and don't wait until the bangs start next year before you do something about it!

Ticks and Tick bourne Diseases (09/06/2008 @ 09:44:04)

With summer just around the corner we will no doubt be seeing a boom in the number of ticks that our pets pick up.
Ticks are not only a nuisance to pets, causing irritation and local inflammation and infection, they are also second only to mosquitoes throughout the world in transmitting infectious disease to humans and animals.
Ticks are not insects, but belong to the spider family and are found in gardens, parks, woods and other rural environments. They are very active in the spring and autumn but can remain a problem throughout the summer months if weather conditions are favourable.
Sometimes too tiny to be seen, ticks attach to pets and engorge with blood, increasing their weight by up to 100 times before dropping off after 5 to 10 days.
The most common places for ticks to attach to pets are around the head and particularly on the ears, this happens as the animal investigates undergrowth, burrows and hedgerows.

In the UK, the main diseases that ticks are responsible for transmitting are Lyme disease (which can also affect humans) and Anaplasmosis.
Although treatable these diseases can cause serious illness and occasionally death if left undiagnosed.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi which is usually carried by the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus). The bacteria are harboured by mice and picked up by immature ticks (nymphs) when they feed from the mice. The infected adult ticks later feed from sheep but the sheep do not become infected. In dogs symptoms include: lameness, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue and an abnormal enlargement of the lymph nodes, but very often (95% infected cases) can show no symptoms at all. In humans Lyme disease can produce local skin lesions around the area of the bite, fever, lethargy, muscle weakness and joint pain. This can progress to meningitis, arthritis or heart arrhythmias.

Anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophila) is also transmitted by the sheep tick. It is an infectious blood disease that attacks a dog's white blood cells, crippling the immune system. Symptoms include fever, depression, loss of appetite, weight loss, lameness and joint swelling, meningitis and seizures.

Another disease, Babesiosis (Babesia canis) that was previously only seen in continental Europe has also been identified in the south east of the UK in dogs which have never travelled abroad.
It is carried by European ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Dermacentor reticularis, the former becoming increasingly more recognised in southern parts of the UK. Babesia infects red blood cells to cause severe anaemia. Affected dogs are pale and weak, have a high temperature and pass red urine.
Severe cases may collapse and die. This disease can respond to a variety of treatments if caught early, although blood transfusion may be necessary in later stages. The microbes that cause all of these conditions are passed from the infected tick to the pet during the rapid feeding phase when the tick engorges on blood. This typically occurs after the tick has been attached for more than 48 hours.
If your animal is ill and has a known history of a tick bite this should be mentioned to your vet when he or she examines your animal.

When travelling abroad, pets can be exposed to several other tick-borne diseases including Ehrlichiosis and Hepatozoonosis. It is part of the pet travel regulations that animals coming into the UK be treated against ticks 24-48 hours prior to entry to help prevent these diseases from coming to our shores.
FRONTLINE® Spot On or PRACTIC are products licensed for use in both cats and dogs and when applied monthly will help to protect your pets against ticks and the problems they cause. They do not act as a repellent so ticks may still attach to the cat or dog, however it will ensure that they are killed within 48 hours, minimising the chance of a disease being transmitted to your pet.
Either of these can be supplied by us and see our special offers for Summer deals on these products