Meridian News
JULY
2008
EXAMS
Good luck to our nurse Laura who sits her first year Veterinary Nursing exams on the 9th and 11th of July.
Studying while working full time can be exhausting - we know she has worked very hard and we have no doubts that she will come through with flying colours!

Meridian Veterinary Practice is committed to training potential new vets and nurses. We are registered by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as an Approved Training Centre and are lucky to have both Stephen Speak and Andrea Rhodes as qualified assessors to support our staff with their studies.
GRASS SEED ALERT
It's that dreaded time of year again. Fields and pavements are rife with grass seeds. Grass seeds have a very sharp end and a knack of getting everywhere. They seem to attach themselves to dogs and occasionally cats.
Over the past few weeks Stephen and Neerja have removed grass seeds from paws, nostrils and eyes!  Because of their shape and the movement of the pet, grass seeds can migrate a long distance from their entry point and can cause potentially serious problems. It is therefore important to investigate and remove them as soon as they are suspected.  We would advise you to thoroughly check your pets over when they return home from a walk or from the garden.
When we see pets for a consultation we often find grass seeds stuck in the fur. To remove a grass seed we usually have to sedate the animal to explore an entry point. Sometimes despite careful searching we do not find the offending grass seed. In these cases, we may apply a poultice dressing to draw the seed out. One of our patients, a lovely Airedale, had to have two dressings applied before the grass seed was recovered!

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KURI'S CORNER
Kuri has mastered the complicated mechanism of the cat flap!

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MERIDIAN'S OPEN DAY
We have set a date for our open day. Please keep the 4th of October free!  
We would like to welcome you to come and have a look around the practice and speak to our team. You also have the opportunity to meet Kuri (the star of our monthly featured Kuri's corner).

We pride ourselves here at Meridian for providing personal and professional care to your pets. We are fortunate to have state of the art equipment and a very dedicated team.

 
Continued Professional Development
Fiona, our head nurse, is starting a 10 week evening course at the Sussex Canine Centre. The course is 'Introduction to Dog Behaviour' - a subject which Fiona is very interested in!  The course will help increase her knowledge, and also help her to give you the best advice in her nurse clinic 'behaviour' consultations.
It will also be useful to answer any questions on puppy behaviour at our puppy parties.

We hope that those of you who have attended our puppy parties have found them fun and a great source of information. We enjoy hosting them and would like to thank all of you for your continued support!
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STARS IN OUR MIDST

A huge 'well done' to our nurses Karen and Amy who participated in the Peacehaven Players summer performance of "Anything Goes" - many of you I am sure will have seen the girls shining on stage! 

 
STAR PATIENTS
This month we have two star patients who both underwent the same treatment - a five year old dog and a one year old tortoiseshell cat.  Both of them had to undergo emergency caesarean operations.

It is vital to act quickly and safely when the mother or young are in distress during labour. Both patients were examined promptly on arrival at the surgery and taken through to theatre.
We are fortunate here at Meridian to have a surgeon of Stephen's calibre and experience and such a dedicated nursing and reception team.
The surgeon has to perform the operation as swiftly as possible so as to unite the mother and young and get them suckling straight away. The nurses play an invaluable part in resuscitating the newly born immediately after birth (the mother would normally do this).

We're pleased to say that both mums' have recovered well and the young are going from strength to strength!

* For reasons of confidentiality, patient names are changed for the 'Star Patient' feature



RACING PIGEONS
The British Veterinary Association recommends that if anyone finds a racing pigeon, the best advice is to leave it where it is.  Racing pigeons do get fatigued and a bird will often resume its flight once it has recovered.
However it is important to ensure the bird has protection from cats and other predators.  Food such as corn, rice, lentils and water can also be given.
Most racing pigeons are registered with the Royal Racing Pigeon Association [RRPA] and these carry a ring on their leg with a GB prefix.  The identification ring will have a specific registration number for each bird.
You can report details to the RRPA via their website www.rpra.org or phone 01452 713529.

If you suspect the bird is injured and are able to bring it to us here at Meridian, we are happy to admit it for examination and treatment.

 
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