Vets4Pets Walsall Reedswood

As a practice we are continually working towards reducing veterinary carbon footprint and this is how we have done so far!!

🐾 this little sweetie has been handed into us
If you believe this could be your kitten please call us on 01922 614454
All black with small white bit on chest approx 2-3 months old 🐾
Proof of ownership will be required

💚 Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 💚

Under the veterinary surgeons directions veterinary nurses control the anaesthetic.
They monitor and record all of our pets anaesthetics, detect any changes or problems and work to resolve them. They do this by monitoring the patient closely, which involves listening to their heart, observing their breathing, taking their temperature, feeling for pulses, assessing reflexes and using different monitoring equipment to monitor 02 saturations, ETCO2,ECG and blood pressure.
During the anaesthesia nurses also administer medications, record patient’s parameters, control intravenous fluids, keep the patient comfortable and warm and assist and communicate with the veterinary surgeon.

💚 veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 💚

Veterinary nurses are qualified to hold our own nurse clinics to advise clients and support them with their pets.
Nurse clinics can include
💉 2nd vaccines
🩹 post operative checks
🐕‍🦺 a**l gland expression
🐈 microchipping
🐇 nail clipping
🩹 wound care
⚖️ weight check
🪱 flea and worm checks

💚Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month💚

Did you know veterinary nurses can carry out schedule 3 procedures these are minor surgeries and other procedures.

Under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 schedule 3 was created stating specifically what tasks registered veterinary nurses can carry out. Schedule 3 tasks RVNS/SVNS can carry out include:
😷minor surgery (not entering the body cavity)
🐈 wound repairs
🐕‍🦺 tail amputation
🐇 lump removal
💉induction of anaesthetic ( the dose confirmed by the vet)
📝 monitoring and maintaining general anaesthetic
🦷 dental procedures (scale and polish only extractions are carried out by the vet)
🩸phlebotomy
🐾 IV catheter placement
Schedule 3 procedures can be carried out by registered veterinary nurses or student veterinary nurses enrolled with the RCVS if the veterinary surgeon is confident in the nurses skills, ability and competency to carry out the task.

💚 Veterinary Nurses Awareness Month 💚

So what does a qualified veterinary nurse do?!

💚Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 💚

So how is the qualification assessed??

🩺💉Portfolio of evidence

Students will demonstrate their practical competency against the RCVS Day One Skills and Professional Behaviours and the SQP Code of Practice requirements.

📖✍🏻Assignments

There are assignments throughout to demonstrate knowledge and understanding.

💻Multiple-Choice Online Examinations

There are online examinations throughout the qualification to assess un derpinning knowledge.

🩺💉Practical Skills Assessment (Formative)

A formative practical assessment comprising six tasks to provide feedback on their competency against some RCVS Day One Skills.

End point assessment
This consists of 2 practical assessments, a professional discussion and OSCES

🗣️Professional discussion (apprenticeship students)
This is a structured discussion with an assessor, 10 competency questions will be asked during the discussion.

🩺💉OSCE practical examination
Students will be given a practical assessment of 12 tasks to show competency and gain license to practice

💚Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 💚
So May is Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month so let’s kick off the month with how to become a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN).
There a two routes you can take to become an RVN either vocational route (college) or higher education route (university), both will lead to registration as a RVN with the royal college of Veterinary Surgeons. Training will take between 2-4 years depending on the route you decide to take
📖✍🏻What do you need to start the course?

5 GCSEs at grade C/4 (including maths science and English), or suitable equivalents (for example, our Level 2 Diploma for Veterinary Care Assistants, while Level 2 Functional Skills in Maths and English would be suitable in lieu of GCSEs in these subjects)
If studying the Diploma route at college via an apprenticeship you will need to be employed for at least 30 hours in a training practice

🐶🐾🐈 World Veterinary Day🐶🐾🐈
Vet world day is recognition to the profession for their hard work providing health care to our pets and dedication to the profession
This years theme is vets are essential health care workers

🌟Veterinary Receptionist Week🌟
The last week of April is Veterinary Reception Week.
Our amazing reception team (Kay, Helen, Tasneem, Natasha and Amie) work extremely hard every day making sure the day runs as smoothly as possible. Together as a team they bring years of experience and skills to provide the best for our clients and their pets.
Our wonderful team are the first point of contact at the practice and are always there meeting and greeting, offering help and advice to clients, answering endless phone calls ☎️ maintaining cleanliness of the waiting area🧹, replying to emails📧, booking appointments🗓and of course most importantly giving all our patients lots of cuddles 🤗(plus many other jobs)
So we would like to say a big THANK YOU to our reception team- our day would not run without you 💗 👏🏻

When 12-week-old Yorkshire Terrier Teddy choked on his food and stopped breathing his owner Kelly feared the worst – but thanks to the quick actions of Vets4Pets Walsall Reedswood he's now running around and back to his usual excitable self.

Kelly had brought Teddy into work for the day, but in his excitement at being in the office he rushed his food down and was struggling to breathe as some of it got stuck in his throat. Kelly called our practice who told her to bring him in straight away, so she jumped in a taxi and made the 10-minute journey to the vets.

Kelly said: “It was quite bad; I didn't know what to do. My colleague dangled him upside down while I phoned Vets for Pets. I remember I was stood there at work and when I realised he'd stopped breathing I thought I'd lost him. I adore him to pieces, and my heart was broken thinking I'd lost him to something as simple as choking on his food. I'm so grateful I was able to get him there so quickly and they were able to take care of him."

Head vet Samran, who has been a vet for 23 years, said: “Teddy was passed out when he arrived and not the best colour. We got him straight onto oxygen and cleared his airways, luckily he’d managed to cough up some debris on his way to us too. He responded well and we were able to send him home the same day. When he came in the next morning for a check-up he was pretty happy, back to normal and running around.”

When Kelly from our Colton store's Pets Grooming salon discovered a lump on the tail of nine-year-old Rufus she suspected something wasn't right, so alerted his owners Les and Andrea so they could get it checked out. They brought him to Vets for Pets Leeds Colton where it was confirmed he had a cancerous tumour which needed surgery.

Les, who adopted Rufus from Dogs Trust in Leeds as a puppy, said: “Rufus is such a big part of our life; we’re absolutely besotted with him. We probably wouldn’t have noticed the lump if not at the groomers as the tail isn’t somewhere you would usually stroke and feel. Kelly loves Rufus and really looks after him, so we want to say a big thanks for spotting it. Who'd have known what would have happened if she hadn’t noticed.”

Rufus had to have his tail removed, but is now making a good recovery. He's been visiting Kelly for a groom every six weeks for the last three years. She said: “You get to know everything about a dog as you groom them. I’ve discovered similar things before on other dogs so I mentioned it to the owners so they could get it checked out. Dogs are my life and you do worry; I’m so pleased they caught it. Now he’s got a fully docked tail like a little bunny rabbit. It’s lovely and suits him – when he gets washed he wiggles his bum.”

Arthur's owner Louise says he "looked like a brand-new tortoise" after having his beak filed at Sutton in Ashfield Vets4Pets.

Louise adopted the four-year-old Horsefield Tortoise from a family member in October. Although she has had other pets, Arthur is her first tortoise, so she has been doing some research on how to best care for him.

Louise said: "I noticed Arthur's beak was unusually long, so I brought him in to Vets for Pets; I bring all my pets there. When he came out, I thought 'you beautiful boy, look at you – you look so handsome!"

Vet Steph, who looked after Arthur, says that tortoise beaks continuously grow and normally grind down themselves while they're eating. She said: "Arthur needed a little help as his jaw isn't perfectly aligned; his lower jaw is further out than his top jaw, so I filed it around half a centimetre. He was really good; a real cutie."

Owner Claire says she couldn't be more grateful to Vets4Pets Hamilton after their quick diagnosis saved the sight of six-year-old Alba.

Claire knew there was something terribly wrong with her miniature dachshund cross when she called her in from the back garden last summer and Alba ran headfirst into a closed patio door. She rushed her to the vets, where investigations led the team to diagnose her with uveitis – an eye condition which causes inflammation of the middle layer of the eye.

Claire said: "It all happened so suddenly; Alba must have heard my voice and guessed where to go. It was quite scary seeing how bad she was. We couldn't be more grateful for the team in Hamilton spotting the uveitis as quickly as they did, otherwise Alba would have gone blind within a matter of days. Their knowledge saved Alba's sight. I still can't believe it happened. It's taken months of treatments, but it's such a relief to have our girl back to being her funny, bossy self."

Vet Neil, one of the team who treated Alba, said: "Alba's pupil was really narrow and wouldn't respond to light properly, which can be a sign of uveitis. Once we had ruled out other conditions, we were able to get her to an eye specialist for ongoing treatment. She's now doing really well."

🐾🐾. Just a gentle reminder 🐾🐾
Please check your pets microchip details are up to date. We are seeing an increasing number of stray pets which are microchipped but the owner’s contact details are not up to date so we are having difficulty reuniting them with their families 😊 🐕‍🦺🐩🦮🐈🐈‍⬛

Ducky's owner Antonia was in a state of panic when she saw a fox had dug its way into the field where she keeps him – killing two of her other ducks and chickens.

Antonia was about to move her brood into their pen for the evening when she saw what had happened and noticed that Ducky had severe bite wounds under his wing. She rushed him to Vets4Pets Vets Milton Keynes for emergency surgery – and after having his wound stitched up the one-year-old duck is now making a good recovery.

Antonia said: "I was so worried. You don’t often hear of ducks recovering from fox attacks, but there is something about Ducky and the way he was so brave. I'm sure he was protecting a lady duck, as he's a bit of a romantic. It's the first time we've gone to Vets for Pets, and the team were amazing; they've done an incredible job."

Vet Becca, who treated Ducky, said: "He's a really lucky duck, as it was quite a big wound. When he first came in, he was understandably subdued and quiet but when he came back for his stitches to be taken out, he wanted to explore and tuck his head into everyone’s shoulders."

Well done to the team at Vets4Pets Guildford who've been awarded a silver level certificate for being a rabbit-friendly clinic.

After head veterinary nurse Ella noticed that more customers were bringing in rabbits the practice took a series of steps to give them as stress-free an experience as possible. Ella, who also fosters rescue dogs in her spare time, said: "There was a long list of things that we needed to prove that we did from making sure the rabbits are kept separate from other animals and not booked in at the same time as barking dogs, to providing heated kennels for those who need to stay in, and using special equipment made especially for rabbits."

Practice manager Kevin said: "All of our vets have plenty of experience with rabbits we have some real rabbit geeks here, so it was a big thing to us. There are so many good people in this world and I'm so proud to be around them."

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
We have had a dog handed in by a member of the public.
Male,
white and grey shih Tzu has a microchip but unfortunately isn’t registered so we are unable to contact the owners
Found Beeches Road Bloxwich
Proof of ownership will be required
If you believe this may be your dog please call us 01922 614454
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Beautiful Bear was born deaf, so he's learned to follow his owner Lisa's visual commands.

Lisa, who shops at our Tamworth store – "it's my second home!" – got two-year-old Bear as a kitten and suspected he was deaf when he didn't respond to her voice. She had it confirmed by her vet soon after. She said: "He was very scatty, and scared of people he didn’t recognise. He wasn’t bothered by loud noises like my other cat Emily and when I came home from work he wouldn’t hear the door open.

"He's doing really well though. I try to do some sign language with him – I point at him and do a solid hand sign at him to stop. He picks up on vibrations and scents too. He meows, making a really loud chirping sound which I’ve never heard a cat do before, and he’s always rubbing his head against my legs and following me everywhere. I was advised not to let him out because he wouldn’t hear cars or other dangers, so he comes outside with me every morning to have a sniff around the garden and always comes straight back in." Bear and Lisa's other cat Emily are on Instagram as

Ten-year-old Dutch rabbit Alfie has been visiting vet Kate at Vets4pets Wolverhampton for dental treatment for the last eight years – and she says he's such a loveable character that he's become "part of the family".

He's one of the oldest rabbits treated by Kate and the team, and she says his longevity is down to the care and love he gets from his owner Tracy and her family. Kate said: "Alfie is famous in this practice – everyone knows him. We and his family are dedicated to making sure her little old man is happy. The beautiful thing about being a vet or vet nurse is you build these relationships with the owners and their pets – they become your surrogate pets."

Tracy's been keeping rabbits all her life, and says that having space and routine is key. She said: "Alfie is an old man now and has a routine. He goes into a hutch at night and is let out in the morning. He's out all day and has his favourite spots in the house. We clean him out every day and give him a lot of attention. When he was younger he would follow us around; if I was clearing a cupboard out he would be in the cupboard to help. Now he's old and wants to be warm and watch instead. I can't thank Kate and the practice enough. Kate's been fantastic with him."

Eight-year-old Winnie the Schnauzer cross is running around like a puppy again thanks to laser treatment and physiotherapy after two successful knee operations at Vets for Pets Basildon.

Worried owner Tracy brought Winnie in to the practice after she collapsed on a walk last year – and the team discovered the cruciate ligament in a knee had ruptured. She’s since had ops on two knees and is on a recovery plan led by vet physiotherapist Izzy.

Tracy said: "Winnie has had a tough year with 15 teeth removed, two cruciate ligament operations and two bouts of pancreatitis but thankfully she's hardy. She’s treated fabulously at the Basildon practice. Izzy is great with her – she totally relaxes in her hands and does little snores with her eyes open. Winnie has a new lease of life again and is running around like a puppy."

Izzy said: "When pets have surgery or injure themselves they move differently which causes them to be sore in other places. Winnie has laser therapy then a massage to help the healing process. Laser treatment is a specialist service that not enough people know about – it can help in so many ways after an operation.”

Veterinary nurse Mel from Vets4Pets Bristol Longwell Green loves cats so much she's helped the practice make a number of improvements to give cats as stress-free an experience as possible when they're brought in.

Mel, who has an Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour for Veterinary Professionals, helped introduce facilities like a separate feline waiting area and cattery and the use of quiet clippers – and the practice now has a silver level certificate for being a cat-friendly clinic. She said: "I love dogs but I'm really a cat person. Cats can be misunderstood which can lead to them having quite a stressful life, so if we can make things easier for them and help people understand what cats need then everyone will be happier.

"As animal lovers there's always more to learn and understand about what makes them happy. Enrichment at the home is important for a happy cat – and as cats are naturally solitary animals if you live in a multi-cat household it's important to understand what they need. The rule is to have a resource per cat, plus one spare. So if you have two cats you should have three feeding stations, three litter trays and three scratch posts spread around the house so they have the opportunity to move around to wherever they want to go. Scratching is as natural a thing for cats to do as going out hunting is, so if they're unable to go out it's about providing the chance for them to behave as naturally as possible."

Four-year-old Sebastian the Jack Russell is back to his usual boisterous self after being treated at Vets4Pets Abingdon for a condition that was causing the knee caps on his back legs to dislocate when he walked.

The condition, known as medial patellar luxation, would cause him to hop or skip when exercising. It's quite common in terriers and small dog breeds, but Sebastian's case was quite severe and he was given surgery by orthopaedic surgeon Joe to deepen the groove his patella runs in on his right hind leg, and also to move and reattach his patellar tendon.

Sebastian is owned by practice vet Hannah who said: "After the operation he just wanted to get back to normal straight away but he couldn't ... and that's where we struggled. He wanted to be out and about, charging around and playing with his toys but he needed to rest." Hannah had to give him medication for six weeks to give his knees time to heal. She said: "He's absolutely fine now – he's fully recovered and running around like a lunatic again!"

When 11-year-old lurcher Jess was brought into Vets for Pets Leeds Birstall 24/7 Small Animal Hospital on Christmas Eve feeling very poorly with pyometra – a life-threatening uterus infection – the team knew they had to act fast; so vet Emily and nurses JD and Hannah headed straight in to perform emergency surgery on her in the early hours of Christmas morning.

The operation went so well that by lunchtime nurse Krishna was able to call her owner Beth to say she was well enough to come home to recuperate – and Beth made the hour-long drive from her home in Keighley so she could bring Jess home before the family sat down for their Christmas dinner. Beth said: "It was a stressful start to Christmas, as we were worried about Jess because of her age and because she's never had anything wrong with her before. We're so grateful for everything – it was so nice of them to come in on Christmas Day to operate on her, to look after her so well and to get her home on top form. The vets were fantastic from start to finish. Jess is recovering nicely – you can see the happiness is back in her!"

Krishna said: "Our night team always do an amazing job, and performing serious surgery like that at that time of night and on Christmas Day of all days is just brilliant. Jess did amazingly well to bounce back so quickly, and it was amazing being able to call her owners to say that she could come home to spend Christmas with them. It's the sort of call we all love to make, but doing it on Christmas Day was extra nice."

Six-foot-long boa constrictor Astrix was the centre of attention when he called in for a routine "top to tail" health check at Vets4Pets Penzance.

Astrix, who's four, is part of a menagerie of six snakes, bearded dragons and six dogs belonging to veterinary nurse Lowenna, who works at the practice, and her partner Mark. The team looked at Astrix's eyes and mouth and checked his breathing to rule out any respiratory infections and also checked his scales.

Lowenna said: "He got a clean bill of health, he was absolutely fine and everyone had a turn holding him. Asterix is quite reserved, a little bit shy usually. He did really well when he came in as everyone wanted to touch him and he was like 'okay I quite like the attention.' Astrix has got a lovely big set-up at home. He's quite a big boy, weighing in at nearly 10 kilos, so the vivarium is more than seven foot long. We have a reptile room and he has the run of it. He has a large bucket of water too if he ever wants to submerge himself."

This brave girl is collie-cross Sherpa, who the team at Vets for Pets Livingston say was "impeccably calm" when she was rushed in for emergency injury after hurting her eye in a freak accident.

Sherpa's owner Caroline was taking Sherpa for a walk when Sherpa caught her eye on a stick as she went exploring a bush. She was quickly admitted into surgery where she received X-rays and, after a two-hour procedure by practice owner Dr Adam, aided by nurse Erin, the stick was removed. Adam said: "Sherpa was amazingly tolerant following an extremely random occurrence. It was astonishing." Sherpa didn't lose her sight and is now making a great recovery.

Caroline said: “We were suddenly thrown into the worst living nightmare, it was absolutely horrifying. It’s truly a miracle what Adam and the team achieved from the moment they answered our call for help. They gave us hope."

🥳 Happy New Year to all our clients and their pets from all the team at Reedswood 🥳

This little Christmas cracker is Molly, who survived against the odds and gave birth to three premature puppies after being brought in to Vets for Pets Cirencester as a pregnant stray with severe injuries from a fight with other dogs.

Martina, who owns the practice, said: ”It was really touch and go and we thought Molly might not make it. The team treated mum first, got her on a drip and stabilised her before successfully managing to deliver the puppies – two boys and a girl – by caesarean section."

Molly, who's a Cairn Terrier, and her three pups are recovering well at home with Martina. “As they needed 24/7 care I took them home and emptied the whole spare bedroom so there was a nice, warm and comfortable quiet place for Molly and her puppies. I was attached to her for the first five days – my husband Matt even brought food up to the bedroom for me as I stayed there all the time. It was really hard work but it was all worth it. They’re absolute darlings and doing really well now – mum is already brave enough to go on dog walks.”

Martina says Molly will continue living with her in the future, and the puppies will be adopted when they are stronger.

🐾🐾Hello I was found in Ambrose Close Willenhall, I have a microchip but unfortunately it’s not been registered and would love to be reunited with my family.
If you believe this is your cat please call us on 01922 614454 - proof of ownership will be required 🐾🐾

This beautiful buzzard is on the mend after undergoing surgery on a broken wing at Vets4Pets Newmarket after he was hit by a car.

A member of the public rescued the buzzard and brought him in to see if the team could help. After a successful operation and five days of recuperation he's ben taken to The Raptor Foundation rehabilitation centre to continue his recovery.

Practice manager Natalie said: "We put him under general anaesthetic and performed orthopaedic surgery. We'll see him again next month to see how he's progressing and then hopefully he'll be released back into the wild. We wish him a speedy recovery as he's such a handsome chap.”

💊💊 Ordering repeat medications and prescription food💊💊

Christmas is almost here! Due to the festive period the deliveries from our wholesalers differ🚚📦
Please make sure all orders for repeat medications and prescription foods are requested as soon as possible to allow us to process your order before the Christmas break - our last order will be 4pm 21st December.
Our last order before the New Year will be 28th December last order being place at 4pm

Here's a salutary tale in the run-up to Christmas Day ... the story of poor little Tego, who had to be rushed to Vets for Pets Morpeth for emergency treatment after snaffling 48 Quality Street chocolates, their wrappers and part of the box.

Owner Sarah realised chocolate was toxic for dogs so phoned the vets who told her to get the five-year Tibetan Terrier there immediately. Sarah said: "They were brilliant with him. The chocolates were a birthday present for my daughter Olivia, and they were all wrapped up and put in the lounge with the door shut. I went to work and when I came back Tego had somehow managed to get in the room and rip into them."

Vet Eleni and the team helped Tego cough everything up and took blood tests and put him on medication before he was allowed home. Eleni said it's a useful reminder to keep chocolates well hidden – and to act fast if your dog eats any and induce vomiting within one to two hours to prevent the body from absorbing the toxins.

Five-year-old Buddy will be thinking twice about picking up sticks in future after one pierced his tongue and he had to be taken for treatment at Vets4Pets Lisburn.

Owner Danielle says Buddy doesn't normally play with sticks but one day he saw other dogs having fun with sticks and ran over to join in. "We heard a loud yelp and he came sheepishly over to us, with his tail between his legs, and we realised he was in pain. We took him to the practice where Becky the vet found the hole under his tongue and treated him with dissolving stitches, antibiotics and painkillers. Becky was so lovely."

Danielle says: "Buddy is doing absolutely great now and we are keeping an extra eye on him – we've even bought him a fake fabric bendy stick from Pets at Home!"

This is gorgeous Ghost, who's been regularly visiting the team at Leeds Vets4Pets for some desensitising and socialising.

His owner Abbas said he often pops down to the practice so Ghost, a seven-month-old German Shepherd, can get used to the surroundings. Abbas said: "After he'd had his vaccinations, one of the nurses mentioned that it could be good to bring him in every now and again while he was a puppy so he's not timid or scared of the vets should he need any procedures in the future. Before he was quite nervous going to the vets, but now he gets excited to go in. Everyone at the practice is so welcoming."

Veterinary nurse Alys says: "Puppies who come in just for their vaccinations are understandably much more scared to come back in as they get older, as they associate us with injections. When Ghost comes in we make sure he has lots of positive interactions with the team – and now he walks in happily with his tail wagging and actively seeks everyone out for attention."

Paddy the Shetland Sheepdog is well on the road to recovery after undergoing a life-saving operation to remove his gallbladder at Liverpool Vets4Pets.

Owner Stephen took him to see the team as 11-year-old Paddy was extremely lethargic and his usually "beautiful blue eyes" had gone yellow. After an ultrasound and bloods, Paddy was diagnosed with a gallbladder mucocoele – a life-threatening condition. Paddy spent nearly two and a half hours in surgery but has since made a great recovery. Vet Andre, who performed the surgery with colleague Chloe, said: "It was a great team effort and our nursing staff were wonderful. Thankfully he's doing really well now. He is lovely – he's the sweetest dog."

Stephen, who's had Paddy since he was a puppy, said: "I can't thank the team at Vets for Pets enough for what they did – they saved his life. He's now walking around, eating well and getting back to his usual self."

Sadly we have had a deceased cat handed in to us today by a member of the public
Grey and white entire male no microchip no collar - found Goscote Lane.
If you believe this may be your cat please call us on 01922 614454

Massive well done Harley
Harley is one of our receptionist pets and he’s been so brave and has donated blood twice now - what a super star 🌟
Pet blood bank helps vets saves pets lives by providing blood service for pets.
Head over to their website for more info

https://www.petbloodbankuk.org/