Happy Easter! 
The clinic will be closed across the Easter weekend, re-opening at 7.30 am on Tuesday April 10th.
We wish you all a safe and happy Easter. Remember, chocolate eggs are for humans not pets!
If you require emergency assistance over the Easter break, the petER provides a 24 hour emergency service.
www.pet-emergency.com.au/overview or Phone 3359 5333.
March 2012 is Polite Pets Month!
Is your dog not delightful? Cat not too courteous?
Clayfield Veterinary Clinic will be running a polite pets promotion throughout March to raise awareness of pet behaviour problems, prevention and treatment.
An initiative of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), the aim of the campaign is to educate pet owners, especially new owners, about the benefits of reward-based training and early socialisation, especially how they can help prevent dog bites.
A dog that’s raised well and treated well can be a great companion but all dogs have the potential to bite if they’re frightened or feel threatened.
It is important to make sure pets, particularly puppies, are socialised well with people and other dogs before they are 14 weeks of age.
You need to continue to socialise and train your dog throughout its life. Using rewards is the best way to train your pets to avoid aggression and anxiety.
Children under the age of 10 should never be left unsupervised with a dog.
During March, Clayfield Vet Clinic will have lots of information on hand about how to make sure you have a well behaved pet, and be giving away pheromone samples for cats and dogs that help prevent and reduce stress-related behaviour.
If your dog or cat is behaving badly, you need to take action early and talk to an expert.
There is a comprehensive range of resources available for pet owners on the AVA website including top tips for training dogs, creating a courteous cat and teaching your bird to be on its best behaviour. Visit www.ava.com.au/polite-pets-month.
Don't forget, we have a fabulous Puppy Preschool Program. www.clayfieldvet.com.au/Services/PuppyPreschool/tabid/23857/Default.aspx
Toads!
This warm, humid weather is when we see Cane Toads out and about, especially at night. They are very toxic to pets and we have seen cases recently, including poor Phoebe.
Phoebe made a full recovery and hopefully will now stay away from toads. Go to www.clayfieldvet.com.au/PetCare/Articles/tabid/19239/Default.aspx for more information about how cane toads can affect your pets
Boss enjoying Christmas festivities!
Vale Olly
Olly lost his brave battle with tick paralysis 13/11/2011. He was a much loved family member who will be missed by all
We continue to see a much higher number of cases of tick paralysis than normal and are very saddened to report that we have had two patients die of the disease in the past week. Many of the cases we are seeing have picked up the ticks in their own backyards. The earlier a pet is treated -the better chance of a good outcome, although not all animals respond well. Stay vigilant during the tick season, use appropriate tick prevention & remember to do a thorough tick search every day!
Pet Insurance...wish we'd had it!
One in three pets will require unexpected veterinary treatment in the course of any one year. Even we, as vets, can get caught out. When Ella required intensive care, for example. Or poor Pete who, due to his epilepsy, required a CT scan. Susan's Toby 
(quite comfy here thanks) has recently had a very nasty infection of his paw that has needed a lot of laboratory work. Having Pet Insurance means that we, as the owners, can budget monthly for unexpected pet health care costs and, should our pets become injured or unwell, we can focus on getting the absolute best for them rather than worrying about costs. If you'd like more info go to www.clayfieldvet.com.au/PetCare/PetInsurance/tabid/25892/Default.aspx
Don’t let Barium bury ‘em..... A party trick we won’t EVER be repeating.
(Or the second only documented case world wide of acute barium toxicity in the dog)
We had a very close call with our beloved dog, Ella, a week ago. We found her at 3 am lying on our driveway. She was whimpering, salivating and unable to stand. Her eyes were glazed, her muscles twitching but, bless her, she still managed to wag her tail.She was clearly close to death so we took her straight to the Pet ER at Stafford Heights. They did some blood tests on her and it showed the level of potassium in her blood to be extraordinarily low. In fact it was so low, the test was run several times to make sure there was no error in the result.
There followed several hours of head scratching as everything that was possible was done to support her whilst we tried to determine the cause of the problem. She was on fluids with potassium supplement, tests were done for lead, snake bite and other intoxications but, despite all of this, she continued to deteriorate. Her breathing was becoming laboured, in fact we thought she might require ventilation. An Xray was taken and some sort of metallic substance was seen in her stomach.
That was when the penny dropped. Our son and his friends had, on the weekend, been messing around with sparklers. I imagine everyone knows about party sparklers and have, at some stage, used them to decorate cakes or at other celebrations. Boys are also often fascinated by fire and flames and there are a number of internet sites that show how to make “sparkler bombs” and other minor explosive devices by shaving the flammable parts off the head of the sparkler. What is not well known is that the flammable part of the sparklers contains a large amount (more than 50% in one product description sheet) of Barium Nitrate and Barium in this form is extremely toxic.
Somehow Ella has managed to access an unburnt sparkler and chewed it. Ella is not an indiscriminate eater which suggests to us that the sparklers may have some degree of palatability. Maybe they have a salty taste? The small amount that she ingested was enough to very nearly kill her.
By immediately pumping her stomach with a solution to bind the Barium and with constant monitoring and 2 days in intensive care, Ella pulled through. If Calum has not heard her whimpering at 3 am there is no doubt she would have died. Barium toxicity is very rapid (a mere hours after exposure) and very dangerous and IT AFFECTS HUMANS AS WELL AS ANIMALS. Humans can be poisoned by Barium by ingestion, inhalation or skin contact.
Whilst we have not been able to get accurate figures on the amount of Barium that will cause toxicity in a person, Ella is a reasonable sized dog (about 23 kgs which is similar to a young child) and we feel she was probably only exposed to 1 or 2 sparklers at most. We have rung the importers of the sparklers and alerted them to our concerns and have also passed information onto the Poisons Information Centre at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Sparklers are now banned in our household and we wanted to let others know what happened. They might be pretty and I think everyone is wary of the flammable potential but the greatest danger perhaps lies in the substance they are made of.
Abandoned
This lovely girl was left in a cage on the doorstep of a neighbouring business the Thursday before the Easter weekend. Sadly, but not surprisingly under the circumstances, she has no microchip nor any other form of ID.
As we already have our 2 beautiful rescue kitten boys seeking a home, plus Boss Cat we are unable to keep her indefinitely. She is a more mature cat and is very affectionate and clearly more used to being part of a family than kept in a vet clinic! If you would like to offer her a home, we would love to hear from you!
Guinea Pigs!
Jenny and Eve joined the Robertson household in late January. They were rescue Guinea Pigs from the Cavy Cottage ( thecavycottage.com.au).
It was difficult to choose from all the gorgeous piggies available. As an added bonus, Jenny was very early pregnant and on March 4th gave birth to two very cute babies; Barney and Carly. At 3 weeks of age, Barney went back to the Cavy Cottage (before there could be the chance of any more babies!) and was rehomed along with his friend Fred (who else?!) the very next day. The 3 girls continue to thrive.
Pete Robertson
10/06/2006 - 27/12/2010
Calum, Joanne, Declan and Angus are greatly saddened by the loss of Pete, who succumbed to epilepsy shortly after Christmas.
Pete was a loyal friend and a favourite with the local school children at the AVA PetPEP visits he often attended. He loved his walks and loved his food even more.
He was always pleased to see us and we all miss him.