Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic Spring Newsletter 2020
As the flowers begin to bloom and the tulips pop up in Belmore Park, Goulburn is leaving behind a mild and wet winter for spring. In this newsletter we will talk about the Farm visits done in August, give another warning for laminitis in horses and talk about what is happening at the Clinic.
RSPCA NSW comes to town
RSPCA NSW in conjunction with Goulburn Mulwaree Council , Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic and Goulburn Vet Clinic were able to keep high levels of vaccination against Parvovirus in Goulburn. On Saturday the 12th of September Dr Peter and Dr Lloyd both volunteered their time along with veterinarians from RSPCA NSW to provide health checks, vaccinations and microchips to over 40 dogs and 20 cats of local residents with either pension or Health Care Cards. This year during a global pandemic, bookings were essential with owners staying in their car while animals were checked and vaccinated all while maintaining social distancing. Dr Peter Wright from the Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic is also President of the RSPCA NSW board and is a passionate advocate of the work the RSPCA does. Dr Peter said “these pop up RSPCA clinics enable pet owners who might be in a tough financial spot, to make sure that there animals are vaccinated against deadly diseases, thereby improving the overall herd immunity of Goulburn”.
What is herd immunity?
2020 is a year full of medical jargon including “social distancing” and “community spread” or “lattening the curve”. Most of these terms were not part of common vocabulary before 2020 however you might have heard of the term “herd immunity” when discussing vaccination rates. Essentially herd immunity means that when a high percentage of the population is vaccinated, it is difficult for infectious diseases to spread, because there are not as many individuals that can be infected. By having a higher herd immunity then it is harder (but not impossible) for outbreaks to occur, like parvovirus. This high level of herd immunity is especially important especially for young animals that are not old enough to receive their full course of vaccinations. At the Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic we recommend that puppies receive three doses of the core vaccinations approximately 4 weeks apart, starting from 6 weeks of age. We also recommend that puppies are not walked or socialised with other dogs of unknown vaccine status until 7-10 days after they have received their third and final puppy vaccine.
Covid procedures at the Clinic
With Covid 19 continuing to disrupt the world, the Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic continues to thank our clients for following the changes we have made. Given the low risk in Goulburn at time of writing, we will continue to allow clients into the consultation room with their animal however we continue to request that an appointment be made and that you limit the number of people in the consultation. Additionally if you are sick or self-isolating, then please do not come into the clinic. We also appreciate that clients spread out and maintain social distance with staff and other clients when entering the clinic. As a close knit team, if we are required to self isolate then the entire clinic will have to close and we will not be able to provide any veterinary care to animals of the Goulburn district.
If you think the appointment system is working better than the older system of “walk in appointments” we would love to hear your feedback.
Congratulations Dr Lloyd
Dr Lloyd welcomed his second daughter into the world at the Start of September. We congratulate Dr Lloyd and his family on the arrival of Bronte Marie Varga.
Farm visits completed in August
In June 2020 our large animal clients received a letter in the mail about our changing policy in regards to dispensing prescription medication to cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock species. Veterinarians supplying prescription medication fall under legislation including the Veterinary Practices Act, 2003 & Controlled Substances Act 1984.
In response to increasing scrutiny of the veterinary profession we at the Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic have had to change our policy about dispensing prescription medications to large animal clients. To be able to dispense S4 medication (antibiotics, anti-inflammatories or ram sedation) we can only dispense to “bona fide” clients of our clinic. This means that we have either visited your property or seen an animal at the clinic. That means that if we have not been to your property or seen an animal in the last 12 months that we can no longer legally dispense medication over the counter.
In August we organised 8 separate days traveling down each of the major roads out of Goulburn to visit properties at a discounted rate to ensure that clients remained a “bona fide” client. During these farm visits we inspected over 60 properties and enjoyed getting a better understanding of how each producer manages their farm. We had generally a positive uptake from these visits and we want to continue to work with farmers to help them manage their animals to the highest standards, however we need large animal clients to meet us half way. The Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic offers a range of large animal services including pregnancy diagnosis, OJD or Brucellosis testing as well as emergency visits. We want to get onto your farm and develop a positive relationship so that when you require medications we can legally dispense them along with providing the right advice about what medication to use, at what dose and for what time period. The veterinarians at the Clinton Street Veterinary Clinic have over 40 years of collective experience and we want to be able to provide great and tailored advice to clients that we have “bona fide” relationship with, so if you have a question, then please don’t hesitate to ask.
Laminitis warning
As we move into Spring and see lots of green grass producing high levels of carbohydrates in the form of Fructans then there is an increased risk of laminitis in your horse. During Autumn and Winter this year, the clinic saw particularly high numbers of horses and ponies suffering from laminitis and we expect spring time to be a challenge. If you are suspicious your horse is suffering a bout of laminitis then please call the clinic to organise a vet visit. We can also bring a portable x-ray machine that enables us to gather more information about the state of the coffin bone inside the hoof. We can then work with your farrier to help advise a treatment plan and long term prognosis. Prompt, correct treatment is essential to ensure ongoing hoof and horse health.
Joke corner
“A farmer rang up to ask about a goat giving birth”
“You’ve goat to be kidding me!”
(Thanks Dr Peter for that one).