Coco & Hugo Zagorski are both middle-aged Cavalier King Charles Spaniels belonging to Julie of Greensborough.  We have been seeing them both for many years and over time there was too much love in their home in the form of treats and good meals.

In April 2019, the family came in for their annual vaccinations to find that their weight had ballooned. This was making them tire easily and with their heart murmurs, which is not unusual for the breed, was increasing their risk of developing heart failure.  It was time to get ‘back on track’ and Julie was determined to make sure they were the happiest and healthiest they could possibly be.

Jonty is a 10-month-old, Miniature Schnauzer, who we originally saw for puppy vaccinations and was a participant of our puppy school.  At the time of examination, it was noticed that Jonty had some retained teeth.  This is not abnormal in young pups, but we still need to keep a close eye on the development of the teeth, to avoid issues as Jonty ages. 

Upon examination, it was noticed that both of his upper, fourth premolars were retained, alongside his permanent counterpart.  Since retained teeth interfere with normal development of permanent teeth, these premolars require extraction. 

Jonty was given an anaesthetic and had a set of intraoral radiographs taken.  This means a full mouth series of x/rays are taken of the patient’s teeth and adjacent hard tissue. This then gives an indication of any teeth that may not have yet erupted and also the root system. These radiographs allow for better patient care, decreasing the need for further anaesthetics for dental procedures.

Back in August 2015, we wrote about Mavis, an English Bulldog who whelped with 5 pups then followed up with a caesarean for another 2. Mavis had been a nurturing mother so it was an easy decision to decide to mate Mavis again.

The Rudnicki family kept a close watch on Mavis, now 4 ½ years old, towards the end of her gestation period as they were aware that once an animal has a caesarean it is not worth the risk of mother or pups, to give birth naturally the following time.

Marli Corcoran is a 7-year-old Miniature, black and tan, Dachshund.  She belongs to an ex-nurse of ours, Jaimee. Normally she is inquisitive and full of fun but Marli’s family noticed that she had been lethargic for 24 hours and were concerned that her abdomen seemed bloated.

Upon examination her abdomen was firm and uncomfortable so radiographs were required.  These X/Rays showed distended intestine loops with gas present.  This is suggestive of a foreign body. 

Late November, early on a Friday morning, Milo Amiguet, a beautiful German Short-haired Pointer from Hurstbridge came to our Greensborough clinic with a suspected snake bite. 

Milo’s family phoned ahead to tell us what they thought had happened so it was a mad rush to get Milo treatment. By phoning ahead, we arranged the medication and I/V fluids, so they were ready to be administered as soon as Milo arrived and had been examined by one of our vets. En route, the family confirmed that they had found a dead snake in the backyard!

In October, Scrunchy, the ginger coloured chicken was bought in for treatment.  Scrunchy is a 12 month old chicken who belongs to the Bulenda family of Greensborough.

Scrunchy was lame in the right leg after being chased by the dog about a week ago.  Due to the size of Scrunchy’s leg, she was x-rayed with our dental x-ray machine.  The x-rays confirmed she had a fracture.