At this time of the year, one generally reflects back on the year that was and looks forward to the year that will be. Coming to the end of 2014, we celebrate our 2 year birthday at Drovers Vet Hospital and what a year it has been. We even managed to get ourselves on TV! This year has seen our hospital grow in leaps and bounds and we do need to give a great big shout out to all our clients and the wonderful community of pets around us and say thank-you.

2 weeks ago Dr Wayne headed down to Bunbury to give a talk to vets from the area on practical aspects of oncology and cancer treatment in veterinary small animal practice. As many may know, Dr Wayne is passionate about this aspect of pet care and has many patients currently undergoing treatment at our Drovers hospital. The evening was sponsored by the main supplier to the Australian veterinary industry, Provet, and a great evening was had by all. We are really proud that Drovers vet hospital can be represented in this way in our veterinary community.

Dixie, a 7-year-old Airedale Terrier, was presented with her brother Murphy both suspected of having been bitten by a snake. Murphy was found carrying the snake in his mouth! Both pets were rapidly brought to our sister clinic the Midland Veterinary Hospital by very astute pet-sitters, as the dogs’ owners had just gone overseas on holiday. While Murphy was bright, alert and very happy about his achievement in catching a snake, Dixie was drooling excessively, limp, and had stopped breathing just as she arrived at the clinic.

Spring and summer are a wonderful time of the year. But whilst they stir up visions of sun baked beaches and time outdoors, they are also the time where our venomous snakes are out and about. December and January see our highest numbers of snake bite incidents amongst patients visiting our hospital and not only can these cases be very costly to treat, they are often fatal.

From an early age we all learn the importance of looking after our teeth with daily brushing and regular dental check ups for life. It is no different for our pets. Unfortunately, brushing our pet’s teeth every day is not something that many pets will allow us to do. This means that many pet's dental health is overlooked leading to a high incidence of dental disease.

For our third and final segment on Channel 7's WA Weekender we took presenter Mat behind the scenes to find out how far pet care has come. Filmed at our new Drovers Vet Hospital, he follows the story of Sammy, the Cavalier spaniel cross who came in for a sore leg but had some abnormalities come up on his pre-anaesthetic bloods. The show ends with Mat bring so pleased with his fancy surgical attire that he tries leave the hospital with them!

Billy, a 2 year old Doberman presented very unwell, with vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss at our Midland Hospital last month. He was not eating and very dehydrated. After examination in consult by Dr. Shipham it was thought Billy may have an obstruction in his intestines. This was confirmed on ultrasound which was able to be done on the same day along with blood testing, which revealed the extent of Billy's dehydration and the stress on other organs. Billy needed surgery as soon as possible to remove the foreign body but he was not in a great state for anaesthetic, and the risk was high.

Our second segment on WA Weekender aired on Channel 7 yesterday afternoon. This fortnight's show was filmed at the Midland Vet Hospital where Dr Martine chatted to the lovely Dan Paris about microchipping and sterilisation. With the recent introduction of new cat laws in Western Australia last year all cats now must be both microchipped and sterilised by law.

Our first segment aired on Channel 7 on the 6th of September and was filmed at our Drovers Vet Hospital with Dr Martine van Boeijen. She talked the show's presenter Mat through the basics of puppy health care including vaccinations, heartworm preventive, and worming. She gave Mat a copy of our easy-to-follow Puppy Checklist to help him remember all the necessary important information.

We have all been a buzz with excitement for our up and coming TV début. Our Midland and Drovers Hospitals have been chosen to feature on the Channel 7 series WA Weekender. We have been busy filming the three part series over the past two weeks with the first episode airing on Saturday the 6th of September on Channel 7 at 5.30pm.

Our three hospitals under the management of Vetcare include the Midland Vet Hospital, Drovers Vet Hospital and the Bullsbrook Vet Hospital. The ownership has reduced from the previous partnership of six vets down to a more streamlined three, namely Dr. Chris Edwards, Dr. Martine van Boeijen, and Dr Wayne Shipham. We are very excited about the change and look forward to continually working towards providing the best vet health care possible for our furry family members.

Join our Dental Focus from January to March 2015! We're offering a free dental check for your pet, followed by a discounted fee for a thorough teeth clean under general anesthesia. Take home a show-bag of goodies too! Many don't realize pets need anesthesia for dental care. It ensures a safe and thorough cleaning, similar to human dentistry. Cleaning every tooth is crucial, and pets won't cooperate for long procedures without anesthesia. Let's keep your pet's smile healthy!

COVID-19 update for Drovers Vet Hospital: We are living in unprecedented times and it appears as if things are changing on a daily basis. With this in mind, we wanted to keep all our pet owners informed. Firstly, we are still open for business and able to see your pets during our normal consulting hours. Secondly, we have introduced numerous initiatives to keep both our staff as well as our clients safe during these times. These include: