News & Info

GET READY, GET THROUGH

You may have heard this slogan before from Civil Defense. There are some good resources out there to help you prepare for an emergency and as we’ve just seen with the recent fires these unexpected events can happen at any time with no warning, so planning ahead means you are more likely to get through. As a vet I thought I should let you know what preparations are important for your animals.

First identification; make sure your animals are identified with a collar and tag, microchip, or ear tag. If your property is threatened by fire and you can’t evacuate all your stock leave gates open and remove halters and covers from horses which could melt/burn or get caught up on things. If necessary write your cell phone number on your horses’ hooves with a marker pen. If any of your animals are microchipped (and we recommend this as a really good way of making sure they can be traced back to you), make sure your contact details are up to date on the NZ Companion Animal Register. If they have your email address you should get an annual email from them to this effect. Check your details online or through your vet if you’re unsure. If your pet has a microchip (eg from the City Council) but isn’t listed on the NZCAR you can add them for a small fee.

Secondly lay up supplies of non perishable food items and medicines for (you and) your animals. If you have a grab bag which is also a sensible idea remember to swap any medicines in it each time you get a fresh supply.

Make sure you know where leads, harnesses, carriers etc are stored so you’re not caught out if you have to leave in a hurry. Civil Defence recommends having a test evacuation run and I think this is a very good idea as it allows you to work out exactly what you’ll need to take with you.

A good knowledge of First Aid is always an asset, both for human and animal mishaps so refresh your memory by reading the first aid article in the archives section on the news and info page on our website. Make sure you have a well stocked first aid kit- bandages, antiseptics, painkillers, insect repellents, sunscreen etc.

Other really useful survival items are torches, batteries, candles, matches, a barbecue or gas stove and a battery operated radio. Get to know your neighbours and find out who has things like solar power, generators, landline phones, chain saws, tractors and diggers. An emergency supply of fuel and cash on your property will help you get through tough times.

port hills fire

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Both our clinics are open on Saturday mornings from 10am to 12 noon. We also have a large range of poultry and other stock feeds at Little River- we are the Peninsula agents for Weston Milling.

In January 2022 we joined the Christchurch After Hours Veterinary Centre and now refer our small animal after hours emergency cases through to them. We still have an option to contact our duty vet after hours for large animal emergencies. We also joined IndieVets in August 2021 so are part of a nationwide network of independently owned veterinary practices which helps us leverage better prices and gives us access to educational and collegial social networking while still retaining our unique flavour.

Under the higher Covid alert levels we've got good at tele consults and limiting face to face contact. You now have the option of booking a tele consult with our vet or sending us a message or email. Please note for all remote veterinary opinions (phone/video/email/message) there may be a small charge.

Our Diamond Harbour clinic is up and running at 9 Stoddart Terrace, Church Bay. Please call in and say hello to Sandy. We have beautiful cat greeting cards available to help fund our kitten rehoming and stray cat desexing work. Thanks to Cat Rescue Christchurch who also generously pay for many of our surgeries on strays! You can hire stock signs for your car or to put on the road, as well as orange flashing beacons and hi-viz vests from us to comply with the new regulations when moving stock.

We have a large of foods and animal health products, including the BlackHawk working dog food at great prices. Our cattery has proved very popular, and we've had many repeat customers. Masterpet has taken over the cattery's food sponsorship with BlackHawk cat and kitten food, we'd also like to thank Hills Pet Nutrition for their food sponsorship over the cattery's first 5 years.

We've upgraded our in-house blood analyzer, so we can run many tests while you wait. This allows us to offer pre-anaesthetic testing as well as health screening for older animals and provide an emergency laboratory service afterhours and weekends when the Christchurch laboratory is closed. We also now have a portable ultrasound scanner, good news for pregnancy testing.

We once again have the cheap mismating injection available for bitches. This has been off the market for a few years now, but Paul has been able to have some compounded. We have some ideas to help you save on animal health expenses- ask us about very competitively priced BlackHawk farm dog food specially designed at Massey for NZ working dogs, and get to feed a premium, performance enhancing brand. The RFID electronic ear tags are now compulsory for cattle and deer. Ask us about ordering NAIT tags for your stock, or about the new tagging requirements. There is a lot more flexibility in what visible tags are acceptable- they don't all have to be yellow! We are able to procure eartags at below recommended retail prices.

We also have a large range of Acana/Orijen, Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin dog and cat food in stock. We can deliver to Akaroa on Tuesdays.

Animal health information - Archives

Most of our articles are available to view as posts on Paul's Linkedin page. Please contact us if you’d like copies of any that are not yet online, also let us know if you’d like to see any other topics featured here.

A different perspective, Animal welfare, Accidental poisonings, Arthritis, Allergies, Above & beyond, After Hours, Akaroa or bust

Becoming a vet, Becoming a veterinary technologist, Birthing & midwifery, Be wormwise this Autumn, Barley grass

Calici vaccination update- rabbits, Canine cough

Dental care, De sexing, Dogs, sheep measles & farm etiquette, Distemper

External parasites, Euthanasia, EID's, Equine deworming recommendations & autumn animal health advice

First aid in animals. FIV and Feline Leukaemia, Five Freedoms

Grain Poisoning

Happy to be stuck with you, Human-animal bond, Heat Stroke

Internal parasites, Is it too late to spay or neuter my pet? Internet & Google- the good the bad and the ugly, It shouldn't happen to a vet, I don't vaccinate my animals, Insights from a vet nursing student, Indoor cats & ways to reduce predation

Kitten rehoming, Kennel cough

Lamb rearing

Mafikeng rhino, Memories of Mafikeng, Mr Talkative, Mycoplasma bovis , Microchipping,