Further Information

• Microchips - Keep your pet Safe
  No matter how much you care for your pet you can't be in control of them all of the time.  An open door, a loud bang, an accident - suddenly your pet is a stray.  In far too many cases pets are never retrieved and, without identification, end up in rescue shelters, sometimes with new owners because the original owner cannot be found.  This is why we urge our clients to have their pets 'chipped'.
• A microchip is the size of a long grain of rice and is injected into the loose skin of your pets neck where it sits permanently.  Every chip has its own 15 digit number which is linked to all your pets personal details: name, address, contact numbers and any other information that may be relevant.
• Veterinary practices, police stations and rescue shelters have special scanners that can detect and read the information on your pet's microchip, so that you can be reunited without delay.
• The chipping process is quick and although the needle is larger than a 'normal' needle most animals tolerate it well.  We always offer animals being sedated or anaesthetised the option of placing a chip whilst they are asleep.  It is permanent (unlike a collar or tag that can be lost or removed) and the details are available 24 hours a day on a national database, so that your pet can be returned quickly and safely.  The databases can even be accessed internationally!
• A microchip is also part of the legal requirement for a Pet Passport.  If you move house or rehome you pet you need to change the chip details.  You can find more information here.
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• Neutering and Spaying
  One of the many decisions facing pet owners is whether or not to have their pet neutered (or spayed as it is referred to in females).  The most obvious reason is to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but there are several other reasons too.  At this practice we advocate the routine neutering of pets; we do not consider there are good alternatives.
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• Affiliations and Declared Interests
  We are independent but have individual and practice associations with various groups.
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  • Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons - Veterinary Surgeons are obliged to pay an annual fee and register with this professional body.  Nurses are also encouraged to register and newly qualified nurses are automatically registered.  Vets are MRCVS, and nurses RVN.  The RCVS has many rules and comes under pressure from a variety of sources, they are also our disciplinary body.  Complaints can be made to the RCVS and they have the power to 'strike us from the list' meaning we can no longer practice.
  • British Small Animal Veterinary Association - This is a valuable resource for education and practice management materials.
   We usually attend the annual congress, which is a large international veterinary conference
  • British Veterinary Association - This has political, educational and resource benefits
  • British Veterinary Nursing Association - Our nurses are members and this provides similar benefits to BSAVA and BVA
  • International Veterinary Information Service - an online information service.
  • St Francis Buying Group - We are part of this buying group, enabling us to keep our drug and consumable costs down.  We have a very poor negotiating position as a small individual practice but it is much improved as part of a much larger group.
  • VEctAR - this is a date collection project for a nationwide survey of small animal disease.  Data is collected anonymously and then analysed at the Royal Veterinary College.
  • Veterinary Defense Society - This is a mutual insurance company, providing of our professional indemnity insurance.
  • Veterinary Poisons Information Service - This is not a commonly used service but enables us to get up to date information in the case of poisoning.  This is charged on a case by case basis.