A trip to Helsinki

I have just returned from a homeopathic seminar in Helsinki.This comprised of 2 days of teaching on autoimmune diseases in not only small animals but horses and cattle(and humans)too.Common autoimmune diseases I see in practice include Immune Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia (IMHA) certain inflammatory bowel conditions including colitis,thyroid disease,some respiratory problems and many of the common skin conditions to name only a few.
The group organising the seminar comprised of veterinary surgeons but also lay homeopathic practitioners who were not vets but have studied homeopathy for both humans and animals.In Finland it is legal to treat animals if you are a lay practitioner with the relevant qualifications However that is not the case in UK as only vets can treat animals regardless of what type of medicines are used
The main emphasis on Day 1 was looking at the conventional understanding of these diseases and explanations as to why the numbers of cases of autoimmune disease continues to increase every year.Theories extend to dietary factors,chemical exposure vaccination,genetics and in breeding (especially in some susceptible breeds),environmental pollutants,overuse of antibiotics and disinfectants.In this latter case it is thought that the immune system may not get enough to do early in life and therefore starts to turn on itself instead.
Day 2 looked at this group of diseases from a homeopathic perspective and how changes in diet exposure to toxins and good case taking to establish the triggers that may have pushed a susceptible individual into autoimmune disease can give insights into ways of treating that animal which didn't always require suppressive conventional medicines.In a lot of cases these same medications often ultimately cause the animal more problems and would usually be lifelong with associated long term side effects.The use of dietary manipulation,supplementation especially with omega 3's and in some cases herbal preparations can be successful in the support of autoimmune conditions
Day 3 was completely different with the emphasis being on the human-animal interface,what makes us as a species relate to animals(and animals relate to us),our roles in their development and our relationships with animals in food production,competition and day to day life
I however did manage to find a little bit of time on the last day to see some of the city of Helsinki A charming city easy to get around with Western and Eastern influences excellent food and some lovely shopping districts-who said it has to be all work!

Commonwealth Scottie Dogs

Scottie dogs at the Commonwealth Opening Ceremony

The waiting is all over and the secret is now shared,the Opening Ceremony at Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games passed without a hitch.
The “secret” is out -the placard bearer for each country’s team was a lovely little Scottie dog Didn’t they behave well?It’s quite daunting for these little dogs to go into that kind of atmosphere with their owners and walk around a track at the correct speed for the athletes and not be too fazed by it all.Some of the dogs are show dogs and used to a lot of fuss and noise but others were pets that had never been involved with this type of event and neither had their owners.When some people realised they were being watched by over 1 billion people worldwide there were a few butterflies in stomachs!

How did I get involved-well it was a phone call back in May which had my receptionist Fiona guessing as the caller would leave no details except a phone number.When I phoned back I was invited to a meeting in Glasgow but no details could be given and sounded like someone from MI5 I was intrigued as the quote of the day was”it’s to do with that large event happening in Glasgow in July work it out for yourself” Thats how my association with representatives Tom and Caz from Jack Morton Worldwide(the organisers of the Games) began.When they suggested finding 40-50 Scottie dogs to act as placard bearers I have to say I laughed as Scottie dogs have become very scarce and just finding suitable dogs was the biggest challenge, Step forward Elly from Casting who did an amazing job of getting the dogs from all over Scotland and England.
I started with a day in Barrowlands Ballroom meeting the first 30 dogs at the start of June,all dogs were vetted by me to see if they were healthy and if their temperaments were suitable.Following on from there a second rehearsal was held in Bellahouston Academy where costume fittings were done for handlers and dogs alike and dog coats were taken home to get the dogs used to the design of them.
From there we had 2 short rehearsals at Celtic Park allowing the dogs to walk around the track and get used to more people and more noise A large marquee was supplied for the dogs and handlers to wait in and their every need was catered for including even their own grassy toiling area!As the weather became warmer cold water and flannels were available to help keep them all cool along with huge fans inside the tent.All coped well with the heat especially on the last day.

Finally 2 full dress rehearsals took place over the preceding weekend from the ceremony opening. It was amazing to not only watch the show come together but also watch the dogs become more and more familiar with the venue until they started to think -as terriers do-they owned the place. First out onto the track was Rory or Mr India as he is now called leading the team from India,he is a tremendous little dog and with his grey hair around his eyes looked like an elder statesmen. Any of the dogs who weren't keen on walking were just scooped up by their owners and waved to the crowds.You will have noticed some of the Scotties were not black as we had a mix of brindle and wheaten dogs.

With 71 teams some of the dogs got to go around a second time and you could see from their whole manner how much they were lapping up the attention both in and outside the stadium.With over 2000 volunteers on site many people came up to talk to the dogs including some of the police!
In fact can I say a special thanks to the Glasgow Police who helped to make the transfer of the dogs into Celtic Park on 2 coaches as smooth as possible and tried to get us all through the intense security in as short a time as possible due to the hot weather.
I would also like to say it was a pleasure working with such professional people in the organising group and I now can see how these huge ceremonies actually happen,a lot of hard work with military style precision.
Now I wonder if they need a vet for the Olympics in Rio??!!

Natural Diets

We are pleased to recommend and stock a new range of natural dog and cat food.  Natures Menu is a genuinely natural pet food company who recognises the benefits that nature has to offer when it comes to health through feeding and also health and well being through a holistic and natural understanding of your pet.   We encourage our clients to follow an     integrated approach of both conventional and more natural approaches known as complmentary or holistic veterinary medicine.   By integrating both approaches you can be assured you have received the best of all worlds and have looked into all the possibilities available to help your pet with his or her ailments. Natural approaches aim to find a way that can solve the problem at the root rather than simply providing symptomatic relief.

Diet plays a huge part in an integrated approach and we feel that natural diets can provide all the nutrients that your pet’s body needs for optimal health.   It is now widely reported that feeding or changing to a natural raw diet can assist with both healing of ailments and alleviating the symptoms of these ailments.

Types of conditions that can be helped are eczema and inflammatory skin disorders, digestive conditions such as colitis and inflammatory bowel disease,  anal gland issues,  bad breath, flatulence, appetite loss, overeating and weight gain.

Natures Menu provides both single protein plain minces and a range of complete balanced ready made raw meals for your pet.  Raw foods haven’t been cooked or heated so all of the natural vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and enzymes are readily available to give your pet a completely natural diet just as their bodies are designed to digest and benefit from.  They also make tasty natural treats which your pets will love.

Come and speak to our nurse and reception teams for more advice.

Bringing home the bacon..

As we drove to see the litter of three kittens I distinctly remember cautioning the family that we were only going to pick one kitten.  "Just one," I said.  "Oh but, Mum, they're all so gorgeous and look at their wee tiger stripes." Famous last words and all that; their liquid amber eyes and tawny paws captured our hearts. We chose two.  I thought they'd be company for one another and reasoned to myself that there would only be a few more mice and small birds to contend with (such 'gifts' surely being the worst aspect of sharing your home with felines).And, to start with, that's how it was with Kizzy and her brother Hobbes.  Although Kizzy was a bit of amagpie and liked to purloin little shiny lip gloss tins and skittle them across the wooden flooring, Hobbes merely dropped the odd mouse on the carpet now and again.  He hardly ever kills his catches, just brings them home as presents for me, then sits a few feet away and watches intently.  Then one day there was a bit of a commotion at the cat flap.  "Mum", yelled my daughter "Mum, I think you'd better come and see this."  i don't know what I was expecting, but what I saw was a dead squirrel on the grass right outside the cat flap and Hobbes inside resting on his haunches looking rather.... rather what?  Judging by his rumbling purr he was rather pleased with himself.  Hobbes had been hunting and, living up to the early potential of his stripy markings, had clearly found his inner tiger!  

Next, he brought home a pigeon and also deposited it outside the cat flap.  His prey seemed to be increasing in size.  Did he mean to bring them inside?  Yet, despite what appeared to be his best efforts, hauling larger prey through the cat flap was thankfully not his forte.  He therefore changed tactics and reverted to smaller cat flap sized prey; bringing home a (live) duckling one dusky evening.  It was too late to put the duckling back on the nearby pond so Barry the duckling stayed overnight in the bathroom.  As Barry paddled and preened his downy feathers in the sink I had a fleeting vision of becoming like Joey and Chandler from the TV series "Friends" who kept a duck in their apartment. 

 Hobbes returned to the pond the next day.  However, presumably being mindful that his duckling had been taken away from him, he brought home a frog instead. Hobbes likes frogs. Very much.  In fact, he likes frogs so much that (as fast as I returned them to the pond in a bowl) he'd simply bring another one home.  He sits in front of them and stares at them, amber eyes shining with excitement like a small boy in a toy shop, almost daring them to jump so he can leap back in stunned amazement and then slowly creep forward again to resume his watching position.  I believe that became known in the family as "frog week." Come to think of it, we've had a "frog week" every year since.

Although the squirrel was the first in a long line of rather peculiar prey for Hobbes, the one which secured his reputation as a hunter extraordinaire was the live seagull I found standing on the lounge rug one day.  The live not-very-happy-at-all seagull. I  was talking to a friend on my mobile telephone as I entered the lounge that day and literally stopped dead in my tracks when I saw it. "Er, would it be all right if I called you back later? Only I really need to go now..... Why? Oh, er, well, it's a bit odd really but there's sort of a seagull in the lounge...... Hello? Are you still there?..... Yes, a seagull..... Yes, honestly, there's a seagull standing on the rug.... Yes, it's a real one.... Hobbes? Yes, actually you're right, he's here too..... How am I going to catch it? I've no idea but that's sort of why I need to call you later."  I ended the call and looked at Hobbes, "So, buddy, any hints on exactly how I should catch this??"  But he simply looked at me in a way that implied it was totally my problem.  After all, he'd brought it in, what more did he need to do? And, indeed, catching it was interesting for it was very much alive and exceptionally angry at finding itself inside being stared at by a rather smug cat. Having finally caught it and placed it in the cat travel basket, I telephoned Glenbrae vet practice.  "Er, can you help me? Is it okay to come down to the practice now?  Hobbes just brought a seagull in and I've..... Yes, I did say a seagull.... Really, yes.  A seagull.  Can I come down with it?"  So it was that I took the seagull to the practice and - for anyone who's ever travelled with a noisy animal in a car - try having an angry seagull in a basket!  That really makes for an interesting journey.  So too for that matter does a magpie in a basket.  I found the magpie wandering round my bedroom in stunned amazement some months after the seagull.  "Hello is that Glenbrae?  Hobbes has done it again.  I'm on my way down, only this time it's a magpie."   Now when I phone the practice or walk in with an angry occupant in a basket, I'm met with a chorus of "What's he done this time??"  Bless them for all their skill and assistance.  

Hobbes has unfortunately been quite poorly in recent months with blistered weeping sores in between the pads of his feet and great big scabby patches on his face. The staff at Glenbrae have again been wonderfully kind in their care and unstinting in their efforts to resolve this painful recurring problem.  As a buster collar alone did not stop the ever flexible Hobbes from chewing his feet and making them worse, Glenbrae advised that he should also wear baby socks.  I was incredulous at first, but they worked a treat and so it was that Mr. McBucket Head (as he was temporarily affectionately known) also sported bright blue baby socks.  Glenbrae diagnosed an allergy and referred Hobbes to a specialist dermatologist; where there was much discussion of his eating and hunting habits; followed by a skin prick test under general anaesthesia to definitively diagnose his allergy.  The dermatologist told me (with a slightly wry smile) that they had a positive result, noting however that this was a rather unusual result for a cat.  "Go on," I said with my face in my hands "nothing would surprise me with Hobbes."  But, oh yes, it was a surprise.  He's allergic to horses!!  Do I own a horse?  No.  Do I live near horses or know where he goes to come across a horse?  No.  "Gosh," I exclaimed "I don't know how he's allergic to horses.  It's about the only thing he hasn't hauled through the cat flap....."  Hobbes now goes to Glenbrae once a month for an injection; which thankfully controls his allergy.

So, while his sister Kizzy skittles lip gloss tins and stray buttons across the wooden floor, Hobbes has become a legend in his own lunchtime.  The cat flap broke one day and I implored family members to help get it fixed before nightfall that same day "No, no it HAS to be fixed today.  This is Hobbes we're talking about.  Otherwise he'll bring in the largest nocturnal animal he can find and I'll probably wake up to find a badger in my bedroom..."  BUT it seems his culinary tastes are changing as recently he's altered the type of "gifts" he brings home.  A few weeks ago he raced into the kitchen, threw something on the floor and hunkered his whole body over it growling ominously all the time.  Given that all previous "presents" have been deposited on the floor and watched curiously from a distance, I approached with a due sense of fear and trepidation.  What on earth would he guard so protectively? As I neared, he swished his tail and increased the crescendo of his warning.  I hardly dared to look but then burst out laughing; my first thought being that, despite this being Hobbes, nobody was going to believe me.  It was a string of raw linked sausages!  He had literally brought home the bacon!!  Much to his bewilderment, I couldn't pick them up for laughing.  He looked hurt.  His "gifts" are normally met with a sense of awe and wonder, not raucous laughter.  As with all "gifts", the tale of their arrival into the house have been much told to incredulous friends and family.  It would seem however that Kizzy has been aware her brother has been hogging the limelight as, one week after "Sausage-gate", I noticed she didn't come when I called her.  I eventually found her under my bed, curiously patting at a gently rolling white...."Oh my goodness, it's a pigeon egg! How and where on earth do you two get these things?" I wondered as I reached under the bed to retrieve it. I got the answer to the "how" the very next day when she proudly trotted in with another intact pigeon egg cradled in her mouth. Sadly the pigeon itself also followed suit on the third day. Honestly it's like living with two tawny tigers!  Yet as they slink along the sofa towards me in the evening and slide onto my chest for a cuddle and a tummy tickle (these are not lap cats), it seems I would forgive them anything --- even sausages and seagulls!!