How does rat bait affect my
pet? Rat bait affects the liver and
stops it producing essential fac-
tors involved in blood clotting.
This takes a while to occur and
even with blood tests we cannot detect this clotting deficiency
until three days after eating the
rat bait. Even at this time we
see no signs. Generally, signs of
poisoning develop between 4-8
days after eating the rat bait. By
this time, the pet is unable to
clot their blood, and starts bleed-
ing freely – they can bleed into
their stomach, lungs, joints or
abdomen, hence the varied signs
we may see. Unfortunately, we
do see several pets die each year
from rat bait poisoning.
This year has seen a large
number of mice and rats invad-
ing our suburbs, including areas
where they are not normally
seen. Although we should be
getting to the end of this inva-
sion, many people are still hav-ing problems with mice and
wanting to put out rat bait.
Please be very careful when
using rat bait in houses with
pets. Not only can your dogs
and cats be poisoned directly by
eating the bait, they can also get
‘secondary’ poisoning from
eating a poisoned rat or mouse.
How do I know if my pet has
been poisoned? This can be difficult. Rat bait
works very differently to other
poisons, such as snail bait, that
cause vomiting within a few
hours after ingestion. Most pets
after eating rat bait are normal
for several days. Please don’t
assume that this means your pet
will be fine!
When we do see clinical signs, they can be rather vague.
You may notice your pet is le-
thargic, tired or out of breath.
Sometimes you may see limping
or swelling of a leg. Occasion-
ally you see blood in vomit or
faeces. However, by the time
clinical signs are seen, it is very
serious and many pets won’t
make it through the first 24
hours of treatment.
If you have any suspicion that
your pet has been exposed to rat
bait, please see your veterinari-
an as soon as possible.
Toxic Rat Bait:
I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E :
3-year
Vaccinations
2
What Vac-
cines are
Available?
2
Yearly Re-
minders
3
Clinic News 3
We’re 60! 4
Pets on the
Move
4
Opening
Times
4
J U N E 2 0 1 2
G A W L E R
V E TE R I N A R Y
S E R V I C E S
Gawler Gossip THE newsletter for furred or feathered creatures, and their two-legged friends
What is the Treatment? If you suspect your pet has
eaten rat bait within the last 1-2
hours, we will start by inducing
the dog to vomit to clear any
undigested poison out of the
system. Once this period has
passed but no clinical signs are yet visible, we begin on a certain
vitamin treatment that helps the
liver produce enough of the clot-
ting factor. This vitamin treat-
ment may continue for several
weeks until the body has been
able to clear the rat bait from the
system.
However, once clinical signs
are seen, this vitamin treatment may not be able to start working
quickly enough to save the ani-
mal. In these cases, emergency
care is required and the pet may
require a blood transfusion to
pull it through. Therefore, the
earlier we can start treatment, the
more likely we are to have a
successful outcome. It is better
to give the vitamin treatment as a precaution if you have any suspi-
cion that your pet may have eat-
en some bait.
P A G E 2
Staff:
Veterinarians:
Dr Tony Atyeo
BVSc
Dr Yvonne Pawson
BSc, BVMS (Hons)
Dr Michelle Starr
BVSc (Hons)
Dr Andrea McKinley
BVA, BVSc (Hons)
Dr Duncan Borland
BVSc, BAnimSc
Dr Trudi Power
BVSc
Receptionists:
Angela Hay
Connie Barker
Nurses:
Jenielle Burgess
(VN Cert 4)
Alex Bennett
(VN Training)
Katrina McDonald
(VN Cert 4)
Michelle Clark
(VN Cert 4)
Kate Hannaford
(VN Cert 2)
Lynda Bell
(VN Cert 4)
Kylie Armitt
(VN Cert 4)
Yvette Gasson
(VN Cert 4)
Katrine Milne
(Vet in Training)
Amy Dunn
(VN Training)
Practice Manager:
Chris Coad
G A W L E R G O S S I P
As many of you will have al-
ready been advised, we have
recently changed our vaccination
schedule to incorporate new 3-
year core vaccinations for dogs
and cats. We understand that
such change can be confusing, especially since different vac-
cinations are given at different
frequencies. Hopefully the fol-
lowing information will help to
clarify these changes.
Why are we using the 3-year
vaccinations? Veterinary associations world-
wide are recommending less
frequent vaccination, with an
increase in the number of pets
being vaccinated.
The 3-year vaccinations have
been developed to help reduce
the incidence of vaccine reac-
tions and vaccine-related health
concerns, from mild lethargy to
hives and other forms of allergic
reactions. In the United States
especially, several vaccine reac-
tions are seen, including skin
masses at the site of injection that need to be surgically re-
moved. To try to reduce the
incidence of such reactions, the
vaccine companies have com-
pleted modification and further
testing of the core vaccinations
to produce vaccines that provide
a minimum of three years protec-
tion.
While reactions such as skin
masses have not been reported in
Australia, we as a clinic are do-
ing all we can to reduce any ad-
verse vaccination reactions by
changing onto the 3-year vac-
cinations currently available, and
by only vaccinating for those
diseases seen in our area of Aus-
tralia.
What does this mean for me? The core vaccinations – C3 for
dogs and F3 for cats – can now be given on a 3-year vaccination
schedule. However, other vac-
cinations including kennel cough
for dogs and FIV for cats will
still be given yearly.
Although we offer the 3-year
vaccinations, this is not compul-
sory if you would prefer to con-
tinue with yearly vaccines.
Please discuss your preferences
with your veterinari-
an and we will
tailor the best
solution for each
patient.
3-year Vaccinations
What Vaccines are Available? For Cats:
F3 Core Vaccination - covers:
Feline Rhinotracheitis virus (one cause of
cat flu)
Feline Calicivirus (one cause of cat flu)
Feline Panleucopenia virus (causes bloody
diarrhoea and vomiting).
This vaccination starts with 2 injections over 1
month, a booster 1 year later, then boosters
every 3 years.
FIV Vaccination – Non-core vaccination for
Feline Immunodeficiency virus – the cat AIDs
virus that is spread through fight wounds from
feral cats. This vaccination starts with 3 injections over
1 month, then yearly boosters.
For Dogs:
C3 Core Vaccination – covers:
Canine Parvovirus
Canine Infectious Hepatitis (canine adeno-
virus that causes liver failure)
Canine Distemper virus (severe infection
that may affect intestines, chest or brain)
Starts with 2 injections over 1 month, a booster
1 year later, then boosters every 3 years.
Kennel Cough – Non-core vaccination that
can be added to the above C3 vaccination to
make a C5 vaccination. Covers:
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Canine parainfluenza virus
Starts with either 2 injections over 1 month or a
single dose of a liquid up the nose, then yearly
boosters.
Tetanus Vaccination – Non-core vaccination
that is recommended for farm dogs or those
likely to get several wounds from fencing mate-
rial. Starts as 2 injections over 1 month, a booster 1 year later, then boosters every 5
years.
For Rabbits:
Calicivirus Vaccination – This is a yearly in-
jection to protect against Calicivirus.
Unfortunately, although there is a vaccination for
myxomatosis, the vaccine is banned in Australia.
The best way to protect rabbits against myxomato-
sis is to keep rabbits out of any areas where affect-
ed rabbits have been housed, and to keep rabbits in
mosquito-proof runs.
For Ferrets: Ferrets are given a smaller dose of a C3 vaccine to
cover for distemper virus, which is fatal in ferrets.
This is given as a yearly injection.
Even if your pet is only requiring vac-
cinations every 3 years, we strongly
recommend a yearly health check.
Since each year is approximately equiv-
alent to 7 of our years, many things can
change during this time. At the yearly
health check, we will check and discuss any changes in:
Skin
Teeth
Eyes
Heart
Lungs
Temperature
Weight
Joints
Kidney
Liver
Bladder
The yearly health check is also a good
chance to discuss any concerns you may
have about behaviour, diet, worm and
flea control, and general care of your
pet.
We also offer basic blood and urine
tests at the yearly health check to check the function of essential organs such as
the liver and kidneys. These blood tests
are especially recommended for pets
over 7 years of age, or when changes in
health or behaviour have been noticed.
The sooner we can detect changes, the
better we are able to offer treatment to
help you keep your pet healthy and hap-
py.
If you have any questions about the
new vaccines, please don’t hesitate to
call us.
Why am I still receiving Yearly Reminders?
P A G E 3
G A W L E R G O S S I P
Bone to
Remember:
Regardless of the
vaccinations your pet
is receiving, a yearly
health check is
important for their
general health.
Clinic News: We would like to offer our congratula-
tions to Connie Barker nee Stanton on her
marriage to Russell in February. She had
a beautiful wedding day and an enjoyable
honeymoon on a cruise, and is now back
at work. We wish them joy and happiness
in their married life.
We also offer our congratulations to Alex
Bennett on her engagement to Graham.
We wish her all the best for the upcoming nuptials.
Drs Duncan and Glenene Borland are
very excited to announce the birth of their
first daughter, Gabrielle Theresa, on the
7th of May. We wish them
much joy in their new addi-
tion to the family.
You will also see Dr Trudi
Power around the clinic more
as she starts to get back into
work following the birth of
her second daughter, Honor, late last year.
We also have a farewell to make. After several years with us, Leanne is leaving at
the end of May. We wish her well in all
her new adventures.
We welcome Katrina McDonald, com-
monly known as Kat, to our nursing staff.
She has completed her Certificate 4 in
veterinary nursing. We are sure she will
settle well into our practice, mainly work-
ing at our Gawler clinic.
What Vaccines are Available? The Companion Animal Health Centre at the Veterinary College in
Roseworthy is establishing a weekend emergency service, covering
from Friday evening to Monday morning, and public holidays.
This service will provide weekend supervised care of hospitalised
patients, as well as providing veterinary consultations and care for
emergencies. In the case of an emergency, please call our clinic
and you will be given the best number to call for afterhours care.
Breaking News:
These forms of restraint
are also ideal to transport
your pet to the vet when a
check up is required. We
advise all clients coming
into the clinic to ensure they
have full control of their animal prior to entering the
clinic, as other animals may
already be waiting in the
clinic. For cats, we recom-
mend either bringing your
cat in in a carry cage or on a harness.
And for dogs, a collar and lead, harness
or halti collar is recommended.
Pets have now become an integral part
of people’s lives, and we know you like
them to be able to travel with you. Un-
fortunately, we do hear several stories of
animals escaping from people’s arms or
out of the car while travelling or coming
to the vet. For the safety of both your pet and the people around you, it is best
to keep your pet restrained when on the
move. Fortunately, there are now many
different types of restraints available to
suit your situation, from leads and har-
nesses, to pet seat belts, to specially-
designed transport cages, all with the
view to keep your precious pet safe.
Pets on the Move:
Opening Times Gawler Veterinary Services: Smithfield Veterinary Clinic:
3 Bright Street, Willaston Shop 5 Cnr Anderson Walk and Queen St
Phone: 8522 2055 Smithfield
Open Mon-Fri 8am-7pm Phone: 8254 1000
Saturday 8am-12pm Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Tanunda Veterinary Clinic: Saturday 9am-12pm
21 Murray Street, Tanunda
Phone: 8563 0235
Open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm
Saturday 9am-12pm
FOR ALL EMERGENCIES: RING GAWLER ON 8522 2055
IF THE CLINIC IS CLOSED, YOU WILL BE GIVEN A NUMBER FOR AFTERHOURS SERVICE.
EMAIL: [email protected] FAX: 8523 3541
WEBSITE: www.gawlervet.com.au
G AW L ER
V ET ER IN AR Y
S E R V I C E S
become more and more a part of our
practice, until we decided to change to
a purely small animal practice in 2002.
We will be celebrating this achieve-
ment at the Gawler Show this year, held the first weekend in September.
Keep an eye out for further infor-
mation, and come along to celebrate
with us.
We are very excited to be celebrating
our 60th anniversary this year. Yes, it
was back in 1952 that Gawler Veteri-
nary Services was first established at
the Willaston site, becoming the first
veterinary clinic in Gawler, and at the
time the only veterinary clinic north of Gepps Cross, including country South
Australia and the Northern Territory.
Dr Bruce Eastick initially started
with a mainly farm animal based clinic,
but over the years small animals have
We’re 60!
Bone to
Remember:
Please ensure your pet
is secure before
bringing to the vet or
travelling with them.
G A W L E R G O S S I P
P A G E 4