Scooby a very cheeky rabbit visited us recently due to a sore leg. Scooby had to have an X-ray on his leg to see if there was any obvious broken bones or fractures. X-raying a rabbit can be very challenging due to their size, and easily stressed nature. X-rays are like light except they can travel through the body. For an x-ray a rabbit lies under the x-ray machine which sends a beam of x-rays through the rabbit’s body onto a photographic plate. When the plate is developed we

Meet Gus a very naughty boy. Gus decided to help himself to his mums sowing needle. He was very lucky. Gus was anaesthetised and a X-ray taken to see if the needle had caused any damage to his throat. The needle was removed will no permeant damage to Gus and he was sent home with some pain relief for his very sore mouth. Gus was very lucky as the needle had not started to move, Gus would of needed surgery to revive the needle. #mydogateaneedle #mydogate #Xray #laparoscopic #o

❄️Take care when walking your pets on snow and ice. Rock salt which is used to grit the roads during icy conditions can be toxic to some animals, Ingestion can result in a high blood sodium concentration which can cause thirst, vomiting and lethargy, and in severe cases there is a risk of convulsions and kidney damage. Prolonged contact during long walks can lead to chemical burns, dryness, and painful cracking of the pads. Always wash paws as soon as you get home to prevent

Alfie visited us recently having been unwell and off his food, on ultrasound Steven our vet could see some areas of concern and a exploratory laparotomy was preformed. A mass could be seen on the spleen so a splenectomy was preformed. A splenectomy is the surgical procedure performed to remove the spleen from the body. The spleen is an oblong organ that sits just below the stomach, in the middle of the abdomen. Comparatively, on a size-by-size basis, it is much bigger in dogs

poinsettia mildly toxic to dogs and cats 🌺 Poinsettias are originally from Mexico and are famous for reaching their beautiful red full bloom in December. Their bright red petals are actually leaves and, because they contain chemicals called diterpenoid euphorbol esters, they’re mildly toxic to dogs and cats. If your pets Eat poinsettia they can experience drooling, oral pain, diarrhoea and vomiting — but only if they’re ingested in large enough quantities. Please call the su

We have had a confirmed case of Parvovirus. The pet is recovering well at home. Parvo is more commonly associated with puppies, but in this case it was a older dog. Parvovirus is a highly infectious disease that can be fatal. Many dogs who are diagnosed with parvo will die. The virus attacks cells in a dog’s intestines and stops them from being able to absorb vital nutrients. This means that a dog or puppy will become very weak and dehydrated. It is also known as canine parv

Jaz came to visit us due to a very swollen ear. The ear had filled with blood causing an aural hematoma. An aural hematoma is a clot of blood that collects between the skin and the cartilage of a pet’s ear flap. It’s typically caused by overly aggressive ear scratching or head shaking that results from an ear infection. Dogs and cats can both suffer ear hematomas, though dogs (particularly those prone to skin allergies and ear infections) are more prone to them. Surgical rep

Meet daisy the beautiful Boston terrier. We have seen Daisy this week with a painful eye which had high ocular pressure due to glaucoma as it could not be medically managed the decision was made to remove the eye. Daisy has been very brave and is recovering at home with lots of TLC. Glaucoma is a condition in which pressure is placed on the eye, causing inadequate fluid drainage in the eye. If the condition becomes chronic or persists without treatment, it will eventually c

Bernie the Bernese Mountain dog visited us with a Hot spot on his leg. A hot spot is officially known as Moist Dermatitis, hot spots are found anywhere on the body and can increase in size very quickly. Your dog will experience them as itchy and sometimes painful patches and will often try to soothe hot spots with scratching, licking or biting. Treatment for a hot spot is to : Clip and clean – clipping the fur around your dog’s hot spot will allow air to reach it and speed up

We saw the beautiful Zinnia yesterday as she is currently in kitten but feeling under the weather. Zinnia Spent the day with us on intravenous fluids and had an ultrasound to see her babies were all okay. Cat pregnancy normally lasts between 63 and 70 days, cats don’t usually show any symptoms until they are a few weeks into their term. Generally, two types of temperament are seen in cats at kittening: the independent type which will go to extreme lengths to discover a dark e

As we head into Autumn and the nights draw darker we need to be conscious of the dangers around for our pets. * Conkers - While serious cases of poisoning are rare, ingestion can cause marked gastro-intestinal signs such as drooling, retching, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The conker’s case and conkers themselves can also cause intestinal blockages. *Oaks and acorns - The toxic ingredient is thought to be tannic acid, which can cause damage to the liver and kidneys

Paddy a whippet visited the Tyldesley surgery with a lump on his side. After drawing some cells out of the lump with a needle a decision was made to take a biopsy of the lump and send it off for further testing. Paddy was booked in a few days later to have the lump biopsied and sent to a canine pathologist to have a more detailed evaluation of the lump carried out. The results of the lump showed it was spindle cell sarcoma, so Paddy would need extensive surgery to remove t

Bonny visited the surgery and after consultation with Steven she was found to have a Grade 3 left sided heart murmur, she was admitted for a heart scan with Steven. The scan showed Bonny had mild cardiomegaly, mitral valve regurgitation and mild pulmonary valve regurgitation and Mitral valve disease stage B2. Bonny has been started on medication for her heart and we hope shes feeling much better. Having the most advanced and modern equioment allows us to offer the best pet c

Belle visited the surgery for her 2nd vaccination and scabs on her skin. Tom our veterinary surgeon preformed skin scrapes and hair plucks on Belle to establish the cause of the skin issues. skin scraping is the process of removing some skin cells to look at under the microscope. It helps identify some skin parasites, especially mites, and sometimes fungal conditions like ringworm. A blade is rubbed across the skin and the sample of cells and skin is mixed with oil and prepar

Lightning the ferret visited the surgery this week.. Female ferrets (jills) come into season (oestrus) in spring and summer (March to September) as the day length begins to increase. They will stay in season either until mated or until day length reduces again. During this time they are subject to high levels of the hormone oestrogen. This can suppress the production of red blood cells and lead to a life threatening anaemia. Female ferrets can die from the subsequent anaemia

A favourite past time for pets is chasing bees and wasps in the garden, Lily got a little more than she bargained for when the bee decided to chase her and sting her paw. If your pet is stung and starts to have difficulty breathing or showing signs of an allergic reaction like swelling, fitting excessive drooling call us Immediately. We can administer an injectable steroid or anti histamine medication to provide immediate relief (usually within about 30 minutes) and reduce th

Blu visited the surgery on Saturday after he ran into a fish tank, as fish tanks have sharp corners this made a deep wound on Blu. Wounds vary according to: Cause - puncture wounds, abrasions, or lacerations Location - paws, abdomen, eyes, etc. Level of contamination - clean (surgical) wounds, contaminated (infected) we consider all these factors when deciding the best way to treat a specific wound. Sometimes the location or the amount of skin loss prevents surgical closure o

Most of us will welcome the Storms and thunder but for some of our pets it can be very traumatic. A pet with noise phobia will pick up associated signals, such as rain indicating thunder or even a change in barometric pressure and become fearful long before they hear the sound they are frightened of. Some dogs have responses which are quite difficult to cope with, such as pulling all the contents of a cupboard out and clambering inside, hiding under the bed, running from room

Ariel the ferret recently visited us due to a lump growing on her back, after further investigation it was decided the lump must be removed due to the rapid rate of growth and ulceration. Ferrets have to be monitored very closely during an anaesthetic as they can develop hypothermia, heat pads and bubble wrap are used to help keep them warm during surgery. With any lump removal the veterinary surgeon must make sure they obtain good margins, Lumpectomy margins are the rim of n

Bella visited us for intermittent lameness on her back leg, after an initial investigation of X-rays at our Adlington branch, Bella was diagnosed with medial patella luxation. Bella was than transferred to our Standish Orthopaedic site. Medial patella luxation is a condition where the patella (knee-cap) does not stay in its normal position in the groove on the end of the femur (thigh bone) and will pop-out, or luxate, to the medial (inside) surface of the knee.  For most cats