Veterinary Medicine at the Zoo!

We are very lucky here at the Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic. Along with being able to provide veterinary care and a cuddle to dogs and cats, we also get to see more exotic styles of creatures. It is not unusual to see small mammals like rabbits, ferrets, chinchillas and rats in our reception area, or even reptiles and birds, along with the occasional fish! And on top of this, we may have a lion cub from Bowmanville Zoo strolling in the door to get weighed for a routine deworming, or we may need to actually go out to visit the zoo if one of their larger animals is showing signs of illness.

Zoo animal medicine is a highly specialized field. As a result, we have a lot of unusual equipment available to help these very special animals under our care. We have things like a pole syringe which can inject medication into a big cat from a safe distance, and a blow gun which can use a small dart to administer anesthetic to a primate. We even have a dart gun that can administer a dart from a great distance, just in case one of the larger animals accidentally escapes.

Most of the veterinary care provided to the zoo is preventative in nature. Just like your dog and cat, regular physical examinations and vaccinations are very important. The animals at Bowmanville Zoo are highly socialized, and many are leash trained and allow physical examinations. But some of the animals require sedation to safely examine them, and so we also take that opportunity to collect a blood sample from them. This provides a nice baseline set of normal values for the animal, and then if they happen to become ill, we can use these normal values to compare to the “sick” ones. Twice yearly we also run stool sample analysis on the zoo animals, and treat them with dewormers if we find parasites. And just like in domestic pets, dental health is extremely important- sometimes we can have one of the wolves or a tiger come in for a dental cleaning. They walk out again with a nice bright smile!

Then of course, there are the emergencies. Just like dogs and cats, sometimes zoo animals can suddenly run into trouble. We need to work fast in these situations, and so our equipment is always ready for a quick trip to the zoo. I remember a number of years ago when a female buffalo was giving birth, and the calf got stuck with only one front hoof out. The male bison were very protective and obviously we could not anesthetize the whole herd. So tractors and backhoes and trucks were driven in to form a fence around the now sedated female, and I could safely go into this little holding to deliver the calf. Not exactly a relaxing moment, with two huge male bison breathing down my neck!

It is a privilege to help keep the Bowmanville Zoo animals healthy and happy. They are fascinating and exciting creatures to work with, and certainly add variety to our day!

Dr. Wendy Korver

Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic

Gone and Still Going Green...

Going Green has been an incremental process at the Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic. 

Our first major step on the green journey began in 2006 when we transitioned to a “paperless clinic”; this means that we no longer use paper files to record and keep all of your pet’s medical information. Now they are stored safely on our veterinary management software system. All of our exam rooms, treatment rooms, doctor’s office and our reception area are on a network so all the information is available to us literally at the touch of a button. It has certainly cut down on our paper consumption and hopefully saved a few trees as well.  Of course we recycle bottles, cans and paper, uniquely the paper gets shredded and then brought to the Bowmanville Zoo for baboon enrichment and bedding; they play with it for hours.

We also recycle our used printer cartridges and work with a company that refills them and brings them back to us. This effort saves an enormous amount of trash from entering landfill. That is something we feel great about!

More recently we invested in our own composter which we will use on our garden beds when the compost is ready. It is hard to say how far along the Green path our clinic will travel, but we think our focused efforts will have a meaningful impact on our planet, even if only just a little!! 

Sandra McBride

Practice Manager

Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic

Dutch Dogs Have it Made!

I recently returned from an amazing vacation in the Netherlands. It did not take me long after my arrival in Holland to realize that I would not miss having dogs around. There were dogs every where. 

Dutch people are very active and I would estimate that 75% of the people I saw out walking, hiking and biking had dogs with them. They came in all shapes and sizes and seemed to vary in breeds depending on what part of the country we were in.  I spent the most time in the central region of Holland near Nijkerk. Here the Belgian Tervuren is apparently very popular. I saw at least 20 of them during my stay. In Canada I have not seen that many in all my years at the vet clinic. They are very athletic dogs and I assume that the biking enthusiasts choose the breed for their ability to run alongside the bikes for kilometre after kilometre. If the cyclists did not have a dog running alongside them, it was not unusual to see smaller breeds with them on the bikes. I saw one Mom with a basket for her dog and a child at the front with two older children on the back. Amazing how they get around.

In the northern province of Friesland the hunting breeds are very popular, especially bird dogs. I saw Gordon, Irish and English setters as well as many Labradors. We also got to see a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (right), a breed developed in Holland. Not only are there thousands of sea birds here but also a large population of wild pheasants.

We also saw a beautiful Keeshond (top left) which is also a breed native to the Netherlands.

In one of the fishing towns I also saw a very cute Schipperke (left). I always thought this breed was also developed in Holland but apparently they are from Holland's neighbour, Belgium

The other thing that I really loved was that all of the dogs were on leash, except the field dogs in Friesland.

 In Holland you are also permitted to have your dog on the bus or train. They have to pay 3 Euro, but many people do this. You are also allowed to have your canine friend go to dinner with you. I know there are some places in Canada that this can happen but I think it is uncommon. It certainly does not happen in Durham region. I think I read somewhere that the only place dogs are not allowed are in the museums.

I did miss Kenzie while I was away but certainly saw a lot of dogs for my daily dog fix.

Diane McGill

Technician

Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic

‘Twas the Week Before Christmas

 ‘Twas the week  before Christmas,

When all through the clinic,

The staff  were a-flutter,

Planning their Christmas picnic.

With salads and appetizers and goodies galore,

They ate and they drank until they said “Please, no more”.

While  felines, Phoebe and Carter observed from closeby,

And Myrtle & Shelley  watched, with turtle-y eyes,

Diane and Chantelle, Lori, Karen & Karin,

Looked after  Fluffy with kindness in their eyes.

With surgical packs to prepare and laundry piled high,

With all sorts of pets needing comfort and food,

Lori & Joanne toiled all the day through

And were at last able to breathe a very hearty sigh.

As Dr.’s Wendy and Helen and Brigitte and Vanessa

Met to discuss the patients that day,

They determined that everyone was good to go home

And shouted a joyful “Hooray”!

Feverishly fielding calls at the front desk,

Were Patty, Vicki, Lori, Lori & Laurie,

Greeting folks with a smile, multi-tasking all the while,

They greeted each pet with its own computer  file.

Kennel students Sabrina and Meredith  and Claudia and Hunter,

Worked hard to keep the place neat,

With nary a snarl or a “Bah, Humbug”,

They mopped and polished and cleaned.

Last but not least, was our manager Sandra,

Overseeing all with her practiced eye,

She missed not a thing, nor declined to sing

Whenever an audience was nearby.

As we all gathered ‘round

And shared a few tales, about all of the pets that we knew,

We realized our bounty, just how lucky we were,

To work with such a dedicated and compassionate crew.

Merry Christmas everyone, our very Best Wishes for a Happy & Healthy New Year

My How Things Have Changed!

Many, many, years ago, dogs and cats were important members of the family (just as they are today), but not many owners gave much thought to their diet and health beyond the basics, like rabies vaccines.  Visits to the veterinarian were few and far between.

When I was growing up we had a spaniel cross named Butch (back then you could call dogs Butch and nobody blinked an eye), who loved playing hide-and-seek in the tall grass and going for long walks with my brothers.  As was common back then, Butch was un-neutered (or intact as veterinarians like to say).  This was no big deal, until our family moved from a lot on the edge of town to a subdivision in another town.  Butch liked to go “looking for the ladies”, and, as a result, was picked up quite often by the dog-catcher.  So often in fact, that said dog-catcher finally stopped putting Butch in the back with the other dogs and let him ride up front with him AND delivered him home to my mother.  No doubt he felt some sympathy for my mother who, at home with four kids and a husband often away on business, had other things to do besides making frequent trips to the pound to pick up our dog.

We know so much more these days about the benefits of neutering/spaying.  In addition  to the decreased risk of testicular cancer, uterine infections (pyometra) and mammary cancer, neutering/spaying helps to prevent roaming, aggression and unwanted pregnancies.

Butch also had the odd ear infection.  Back then, Butch would come home from the veterinary clinic with a cardboard box on his head.  Thank goodness we now have new and improved methods of preventing self-injury with plastic collars designed like cones.  They work AND they are inexpensive.

We are discovering more about the connection between food allergies and ear infections, and ear medications have come a long way from 50 years ago.

Pet diets have improved greatly over the years. It used to be that your pet’s food was purchased at the grocery store – a kind of “one size fits all”.   We now have specially formulated diets for urinary, liver, and kidney issues as well as diets to help with dental health, obesity, cognitive function and even diets for pets with no issues at all but who need a high quality, maintenance diet.

Fleas!  My, how things have changed!  Do you remember flea powder?  Ugh! I clearly remember petting family pets who had been liberally dosed with the vile stuff.  If I was repulsed by the smell and powdery texture, you should have seen the expressions on their faces. With oral and topical flea/heartworm medications, our pets are so much happier and healthier these days.  No fleas or flea infestations in the house, fewer intestinal parasites and protection from heartworm – all in one convenient medication.

Back in the day, our dogs frequently received bones from the butcher at the grocery store.  We didn’t worry about fractured teeth or intestinal blockages.  They were dogs after all.

Our dog, Mukluk, (brought home as a husky puppy by my father who was working in the Arctic at the time) was perturbed one day because my mother had neglected to “bring home the bones”.  No worries – Mukluk simply walked up the road to the grocery store, right through the doors and followed her nose to the meat counter, sat down and waited.

Eventually, the butcher gave her one, and with bone firmly clasped in her jaws, Mukluk trotted out of the store and back down the road to home.

These days, we know more about the benefits of healthy teeth and gums (like how a healthy mouth can extend the life of your pet) and an intestinal system free of foreign bodies and obstructions.

So, you can see how things have changed. What hasn’t changed, however, is the significant role our pets play in our lives. They live forever in our hearts and in the family stories we like to tell over, and over, and over. 

Patty, Receptionist 

Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic 

Phoebe's Tale

It was a dark and stormy night.  Clouds scudded across the sky bringing with them torrents of rain.  Occasionally, the cloud cover would thin and the moon could be seen, as if through a veil, but only briefly, before the next bank of clouds blew in,  bringing even more rain to the countryside.

Inside the barn, most of the creatures had settled down for the night.  The barns cats and their kittens, snug in their boxes in their own little stalls, were just beginning to listen for the rustling of mice running across the floor, through the loft and across the rafters of the big, old wooden barn that was their home.

Invaders, however, were lurking close by.  At some point through the dark night, one of these intruders, one with sharp, pointed teeth, crept into the barn, ears twitched for the slightest sound, nose sniffing the air for interesting scents, keen eyes looking for the tiniest movement.   

Slowly, step by step, the intruder stole through the dark, cavernous barn, trying to avoid the moonlight that shone fitfully through the dusty windows that were edged with spider webs.  The resident barn owl, high up in the rafters, fixed its steely gaze on the intruder.  The mice ceased their movements, not daring to reveal their location.  The adult cats, alert to the sense of danger stayed quiet and still.  Meanwhile, the kittens, a brother and sister, both black and white with soft, silky fur, were oblivious to the danger and slept, snuggled together.

Suddenly, the kittens awoke.  The intruder with its bright, beady eyes was creeping into their stall.  As quick as lightning, it leapt at the tiny, female kitten, fastening its jaws onto her left, front leg, mauling it with its razor sharp teeth.  Her brother recoiled in panic, the adult cats growled and hissed and the mice ran for their lives.  The intruder, suddenly aware of the approaching adult cats departed quickly, leaving the wounded kitten huddling in the corner, nursing her wounds.

Oh, but she was a fighter, this little kitten.    She soldiered on, even though the wounds had left her unable to use her left, front leg.  Fortunately, the kitten had a kind and compassionate human friend named Diane who brought her to the veterinarian, who, after examining the leg, determined that the only recourse was to perform an amputation. 

The surgery was a success and the kitten recovered nicely.  The kitten, whose name is now Phoebe, lives at the Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic along with the other resident cat, whose name is Carter.

Phoebe gets around very well on three legs and jumps up onto chairs with no trouble at all.  She is a shy cat, wary of strange noises and people, which is understandable.  Yet, she is not at all shy about letting you know she is hungry or that she wants her belly stroked.  Phoebe loves to bask in the sunshine on her platform on the windowsill.  Most of all, Phoebe loves to be spoiled by her human friends at the clinic. 

We are happy and proud that we were able to give Phoebe a second chance at life at the veterinary clinic.  It is said that cats have nine lives; we are confident that Phoebe will spend  the rest of her eight lives with us for a good, long time.