Allen, Briggs and Turner Veterinary Surgery

08/07/2025

This week we are so pleased to welcome our fantastic nurse Molly Pearson back from her year travelling the world 🌎

Molly spent some of her time working as a veterinary nurse in Australia too and has had an amazing experience which we are enjoying hearing all about!

Welcome back to Allen, Briggs and Turner Veterinary Surgery Molly!
We missed you. 🐾🦥🦘🦘🐕🐈‍⬛

07/07/2025

A huge win for !

After years of campaigning by BVA & others, we're delighted that the has got the MPs' vote. It now heads to UK House of Lords - once passed, it'll help end puppy smuggling & import of pets with harmful mutilations. Danny Chambers MP

PS Danny Chambers MP is also a veterinary surgeon. He was elected one year ago and has been working hard to get this bill through Parliament. Let's hope it can now get through the House of Lords.

01/07/2025

Sharing this for everyone who walks dogs 🐕 🐾

‼️ REMEMBER...dogs don't die from missing a walk but they do die from heatstroke! 🔥‼️

30/06/2025

PLEASE do not walk your dog until the heat of the day dies down.
It's not worth risking potentially fatal heat stroke 🔥

30/06/2025

28/06/2025

Next week we are starting our Rabbit Awareness MONTH FOR THE WHOLE OF JULY!

We will be offering a free preventative healthcare check for rabbits during July.
Also 10% discount on rabbit neutering, dentals and vaccination.
Free samples of rabbit food available.
Free information leaflets available.
Also a COLOURING COMPETITION for children to win a prize.
Please call the surgery on 01205 722696 if you would like to book in for any of the above .

🐇 🐰 🐇 🐰 🐇 🐰 🐇 🐰 🐇 🐰 🐇 🐰 🐇

27/06/2025

We are very pleased to say that we have received 4 separate Petplan UK award nominations today !🥰

From left to right pictured below :
Nigel for Vet of the Year.
Nicky for Practice Support Staff of the Year.
Kate for Vet Nurse of the Year.
Maxine is holding the certificate for Practice of the Year.
We are very grateful for these nominations.
THANK-YOU VERY MUCH TO THE KIND PEOPLE WHO NOMINATED US !

For more information about the Petplan Awards and how to nominate see the link below....

https://awards.petplan.co.uk/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLLqpFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHhKW-tl8V5U543l1hsAhyKFzEITtQLKC9Q14qKTxnaT0D8HNa3U_lxlnMqic_aem_KMrzz8qB3suILw_06NqXAA

21/06/2025

We all know how important it is to keep our dogs and cats cool on warm days, but may not realise that it's just as important for small animals too ⛅

Small pets like rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, and rats should be kept cool and hydrated during warm weather to prevent them from developing life-threatening heatstroke.

Signs of heatstroke in small pets:
- Drooling.
- Quick breaths.
- Struggling to breathe.
- Acting very sleepy or lethargic.
- Collapsing.
- Seizures.

It's also a good idea to keep on top of cleaning their enclosures to prevent flystrike or a build up of wet bedding and mouldy food 🐰🐰

Learn more:
Rabbits - https://pdsa.me/gLqU
Guinea pigs - https://pdsa.me/EEcU
Other small pets - https://pdsa.me/RlMU

[Visual description: An infographic titled: "Keeping small pets cool." It features tips such as: Keeping pets in the shade, offering safe watery fruits and vegetables (in moderation), swapping out plastic houses for something cooler like cardboard boxes, freezing a water bottle and wrapping it in a towel before placing it next to your pets' enclosure, placing a fan in their room but not pointed directly at them (making sure they can't nibble any wires), grooming long-haired or fluffy pets, refreshing their water every day, and putting a cool tile or empty ceramic bowl/tea cup in their enclosure for them to sit on/in.]

18/06/2025

More information regarding keeping your pets safe in the hot weather 🔥 ☀️

➡️ Dogs DO NOT DIE from missing a walk. They might if you risk taking them out in hot temperatures.

➡️ 26.56% of the dogs with heatstroke died

➡️ Nearly half (48.7%) of the dogs with heatstroke were dog breeds with flat faces. Flat-faced dog breeds were four times more likely to develop heatstroke than normal-faced dogs.

☀️ Protect your animals from the heat ☀️

🌞Dogs can get heat stroke on hot walks

🌞Animals get heatstroke in hot hutches they cannot escape

🌞Animals can get heatstroke if left in rooms with no ventilation

🌞Animals can get heatstroke if they have no access to cool water

We are hopefully aware now of the national UK campaign 'Dogs Die in Hot Cars' - this advice remains!

However, work by VetCompass has shown that 10 times as many dogs present for veterinary care related to heat-related illness (HRI) following exercise as dogs that present following being entrapped in a vehicle.

The most commonly cited reasons for triggering heat-related illnesses were exercise (51.46% of cases), hot environment (31.02% of cases) and hot vehicles (12.41%).

➡️Remember there could be a number of risk factors including:

✅Brachycephalic breeds
✅Age - juvenile or geriatric
✅Thick Coated Dogs
✅General Health
✅ Other illnesses

❌Do not leave animals in hot cars
❌Don't take your dog to the pub all day in the heat
❌Do not walk your dogs in the heat - remember even when the sun is down they may still get too hot while exercising if the temperature is still hot
❌ Ensure they aren't locked in rooms with no ventilation
❌Do not lock rabbits and guinea pigs in hutches with no escape from the heat

✅ Provide plentiful cool, fresh water
✅ Provide shade, ventilation and cool breeze ( consider using a fan)
✅Give them cool mats to lie on
✅ Engage in enrichment to boredom bust
✅ Provide rabbits and small furries with cool frozen bottles, shade, ventilation, escape from the heat and plentiful water

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/research/research-centres-and-facilities/veterinary-epidemiology-economics-and-public-health/news/new-research-from-the-rvc-suggests-human-heat-health-alerts-could-help-prevent-heatstroke-in-dogs

18/06/2025

The heat wave looks set to last a while. Please be mindful of exercising your dogs. Best to walk in the early morning and late evening. Safer to miss a walk than risk damaged paws or even worse heat stroke which can be fatal. 🐾🐾

15/06/2025

Happy Father's Day!

11/06/2025

Did you know signs of cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) can look similar to other diseases?

There's no specific test for CDS, so your vet will have to rule out other illnesses first.

If you notice any behavioural changes in your pet, we recommend contacting your vet immediately.