Category archive

Animal Health

Animals Get Goose Bumps Too

As we get further into winter and the weather gets colder, we start to light our fires, turn on our heaters, bask in the warmth under our blankets, and drink our hot drinks. Our cats and dogs love to curl up next to us to soak up the warmth. Keep Reading

Saving the rhinos: Journey to South Africa with Aeronavics

On Saturday, July 30, 2018, Linda Bulk, director of Raglan-based drone company Aeronavics, and Hadley Boks-Wilson, Flight Engineer, took off to South Africa. Some 18 months earlier they were approached by Sarah Jones from the Raglan charitable trust supporting rhino conservation, ‘Tusk and Horn Wildlife Trust’.

At that time, Sarah had just returned from a trip to South Africa that she had undertaken with Peter Eastwood from the Auckland based charitable trust ‘Tanglewood Foundation’. During this trip they had met with world renowned wildlife vet and rhino specialist Dr William Fowlds, famous for his work in rhino conservation and rehabilitation. In 2012 William and his team managed to save their very first rhino from certain death after having fallen victim to a vicious poaching attack. It made headlines worldwide and propelled him into instant fame, a position he never aspired to, but which he reluctantly accepted in his quest to raise support for the fight against the soaring rhino poaching crisis. Keep Reading

Raglan dog pack walk forging human and canine bonds

Raglan Dog Pack Walk makes taking the pooch for a walk fun for both humans and canines.

Founded by Amanda Church several years ago in order to provide a safe environment for dogs to hang out with their four-legged buddies, she also noticed the humans were getting just as much socialisation. Keep Reading

The perils of roaming dogs

Roaming dogs are a common occurrence in our little town of Raglan.

There are many problems with this situation, for instance, a roaming dog is more likely to chase and potentially injure stock (also putting themselves in immediate danger); they are at a much greater risk of being in a road traffic accident (putting people in danger, i.e. drivers swerving to avoid hitting the dog); plus the risk of other events such as eating poisons (rat bait, ethylene glycol), or swallowing fish hooks etc. Keep Reading

Pre-anaesthetic blood testing for your pet

Pre-anaesthetic blood testing is essentially a ‘safety check’ that can be performed before your pet is put under an anaesthetic.

This screening test can provide you with very important and useful information about your pet’s overall health and wellbeing. When it comes to your pet’s health status, what you see on the outside may not always correlate to what is going on internally. Keep Reading

A tasty treat to humans, but toxic to pets

When your dog is part of your family, sharing your food feels natural. However, many of us are unaware that some of the food we eat may actually be toxic to our pets.

There are many reasons why we recommend that people do not feed their dogs leftovers. The main reasons we say this is because people are often unaware what is toxic to their pet, or the foods may contain high fat or sugar levels, which are detrimental to your pets weight and potentially damaging to their organ systems. Instead, we recommend you feed your pet a nutritionally balanced, quality-assured pet food.

Refer to the below list – a basic guide to foods that are harmful to our pets

  • Garlic and onions
  • Chocolate
  • Mouldy/spoiled foods and rubbish
  • Avocado pit
  • Alcohol
  • Fat trimmings (meat)
  • Macadamia nuts

Keep your pets safe this Easter (dogs, we are looking at you!)

We shine the light on dogs here because – surprise, surprise – they have great sniffer noses and love to find all the hidden stashes of goodies!

Did you know that chocolate can be toxic, sometimes even fatal to our pets? Dogs are easily the most commonly affected, as previously explained.

The toxic compound in chocolate is called theobromine – it is similar to caffeine.

What are the symptoms of chocolate toxicity?

Animals will commonly become nervous and excited with an elevated heart rate. Vomiting and diarrhoea are other common signs, as well as increased thirst and urination.

The end result may be muscle spasms, seizures and death due to heart rhythm abnormalities.

Signs of toxicity are usually seen within 12 hours of ingestion of the chocolate.

How much chocolate is needed for a reaction, and what does treatment involve?

The size of your pet, the type of chocolate and the quantity of chocolate ingested will determine how toxic it may be for your pet. The darker the chocolate, the greater the risk of toxicity.

There is no specific antidote for chocolate toxicity. If you seek help within less than four hours of ingestion, it may be possible to induce vomiting. Other treatment may include intravenous fluid therapy, anti-seizure drugs, and heart medication.

If you suspect toxicity in your pet, contact your local veterinary clinic immediately.

The Anexa Team

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