Nearly-Dr Ferox

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Protect your Australian Rabbits
2008-02-06 14:00:00
 Recently I performed my first mammalian euthanasia: a rabbit with Myxomatosis. I felt so sorry for this rabbit, because it had a beautiful, friendly nature and the girl that owned it was absolutely devastated. Even as I stood with it as the rabbit died, it was very gentle and didn’t make a sound. Myxomatosis is a disease of rabbits caused by a virus that was released to control the feral rabbit population of Australia. It is illegal to vaccinate pet rabbits against Myxomatosis in Australia, because the available vaccine is a live virus, and could theoretically be spread through the feral rabbit population. The myxoma virus causes a wasting disease over two weeks with most rabbits dieing. It’s spread from rabbit to rabbit by insect bites: mainly from mosquitoes in Australia but also by the rabbit flea. Calicivirus (or Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease) is another virus released in Australia to kill feral rabbits. Fortunately there is a vaccine available for this one. Once a p...
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Clinic Mascot
2008-02-03 23:00:00
My name is Patrick and I am the clinic cat where Ferox is doing some work experience. I am very clever and help out in lots of ways around the clinic. Ferox took some photos of me while she ate her lunch so that I can introduce myself to the Internet! (more…)

Aural Haematoma
2008-02-02 01:30:00
An interesting case walked into the clinic recently. A large dog had been playing with a puppy, and suddenly the owners noticed that his ear had become very swollen. They brought him into the vet, who diagnosed an Aural Haematoma (also spelled hematoma). That’s basically an accumulation of blood in the ear. Not in the ear canal, but in the actual ear itself. Aural Haematomas are pools of blood in the ear that can actually be felt. If it had occurred somewhere fleshly like the leg, then it the blood would most likely have spread out into the sift tissue and become a bruise. However, because the flap of the ear is essentially one piece of cartilage with skin on either side, there is nothing for the blood to spread into, so it swells up like a balloon, which you can see clearly with a side-on view. Although haematomas can and will heal naturally by themselves, when they are in the ear this can cause problems. They tend to contract as they heal, which would cause the ear to scru...

Update on the Screaming Pooper
2008-01-31 14:00:00
Back in December I wrote about the Mystery of the Screaming Pooper; a dog that would scream in agony each time it went to do a poo. I promised an update on his progress when I knew more, and now the time has come. (more…)
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How Antifreeze Kills
2008-01-29 23:00:00
Ethylene glycol is a major constituent of antifreeze, and an all-round dastardly poison. Pets and children may be its accidental victims if it is left within their reach, and in some cases it has been used to deliberately poison dogs. Ethylene glycol has no odour, no colour and is pleasantly sweet to taste. It’s rapidly absorbed from the gut and quickly crosses into the brain, producing euphoria similar to drinking alcohol. The ethylene glycol also produces thirst, which generally results in the pet or child drinking more antifreeze, more euphoria, more thirst, more drinking……a vicious cycle. This could end suddenly in seizures and sudden death, but usually the poison takes a longer course. (more…)

Lamb Autopsy
2008-01-27 14:00:00
 Australia is knows for it’s merino sheep and their wool production. We have some of the best and most economical merinos in the world, and despite animal activists trying to get us to stop farming them or adopt alternative husbandry practices which are not yet viable, we’re still breeding merinos for better fibre and increased efficiency. One of the key aspects where merino efficiency could be improved, is their reproduction. Each season up to 50% of the lambs that are born may die. Nobody likes picking up dead lambs, so it’s very useful for a farmer to know whythe lambs are dieing, so that he can increase their survival rates. Knowing how to perform a Lamb Autopsy is key to this. (more…)

Thinking Blogger Award
2008-01-25 19:32:00
Every day I log in here and see that I have new comments. I get really excited about having comments, they’re what make this whole blog worthwile, so I get really dissapointed when I find that they’re spam. However, yesterday I logged in to find I had been awarded a Thinking Blogger Award from Saving Lives One at a Time. And here it is:  Ta-Da! I’m told there are rules that go with this award too. To quoteSaving Lives: There are rules attached to this award 1. You must write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think 2. Acknowledge this post 3. Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote **Of course all of these things are optional…it’s just a nice way to recognize your favorite blogs. So, here are the five blogs I nominate to recieve the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ from me. Animals Need Help Lagorama Vet School Down Under Homeward Bound Puppy The Rabbit Whisperer

Can my Cat or Dog give me Tapeworm?
2008-01-25 03:15:00
Sometimes owners notice segments of tapeworm in their cat’s litter tray, or the cat will be diagnosed at the vet and the owners will be concerned about having contracted a tapeworm from their cat. In most cases there wont be a tapeworm swimming merrily in the owner’s intestines, but some species of tapeworm can infect humans as an intermediate host, which is much more serious, even though they’re more common in dogs than in cats.  To contract adult tapeworm, you would have to ingest the tapeworm larvae, which typically live as a cyst in the intermediate host. If you’re unlucky you can contract the tapeworm cysts by ingesting the tapeworm eggs which are passed out in faeces. Having a tapeworm cyst inside you is much worse than having the adult live inside your intestines. Fortunately most tapeworm species are very fussy about their hosts, but there are some that can infect humans, and they are sometimes found in cats and dogs. (more…)
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The Thief Returns!
2008-01-24 03:15:00
A few months ago I told you about a cunning theif that broke into my house, took some bites out of an apple, stole a tomato and piddled all over the floor. The Thief , as it turns out, was a brushtail possum who has chewed through the flywire of my kitchen window to get at our food. He returned to try this trick again, but fortunately we had closed the glass protion of the window so he couldn’t get in, and I didn’t have to clean possum piddle off the floor again. It does mean that we can’t replace the flywire until he’s finally given up for good though, because he keeps coming back and making his holes bigger.

Anthrax, It’s all over the place
2008-01-23 03:15:00
It’s on the news. It’s in the mail. It’s in the soil. It’s everywhere. It’s ANTHRAX! Dun dun DUUUUN!!!! It’s overly dramatic. Anthrax spent some time in the news over the last few years, amidst fears it was weaponised and being posted around the world in envelopes. What failed to be reported is that Anthrax is one of the few remaining bacteria that are still vulnerable to penicillin. Yes, that’s right, this ‘deadly biological weapon’ can be treated with the most basic of antibiotics. So why was their such a panic? (more…)
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Fleas on Chickens
2008-01-21 08:40:00
Fleas are probably the most talked about parasite on pets. There is a huge market for flea treatments for dogs and cats, the main players being Frontline and Advantage. However, fleas are not limited to cats and dogs. They can feed off all warm blooded animals (though some have thicker skin than others), and most are not fussy about which species they bite. Chickens can also be bothered by fleas, and if you have backyard chooks then those birds could be a source of fleas that then go on to bite you and your pets. The main species that occurs on poultry is Echidnophaga gallinacea, pictured above, commonly known as the Poultry stick-fast flea. (more…)

Things I Will Not Do At College
2008-01-19 10:21:00
Getting ready to move out to Kendal Hall is so exciting! I’ve started collecting things I’m going to need- like stationary, a light, linen, unbreakable cups, new underwear etc - and putting them into boxes in the attic ready to go. I have some new clothes, by clinical clothes are squeaky clean and all my past subjects are organised and ready to take with me. I’m planning to get a fridge too, once I know how small it has to be to fit in my room. I’ve begun to rearrange my budget too. This made me realise that there is a possibility that I could go off the rails if I’m not careful. I think my budget is going to be ample, so the situation may arise where I am severely tempted every week to buy things that I really shouldn’t, like comfort study food. With that in mind, I have made a list of the things I pledge NOT to do at college. (more…)
More About: College , Things

Working with Pigs
2008-01-15 09:26:00
These little guys above are a pair of piglets I had priviledge to work with at the Darwin Piggery in 2006. It was always hot up there, and the piggery is primitive by Australian standards, but for me it was two weeks well spent. The way the piggery is set up allowed me to observe births, matings, vaccinations, weaning and the treatment of disease in those two weeks because the piggery is a year-round operation. For comparison, a beef farm usually only has calves once a year, only breeds the cows once a year etc. (more…)
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Vets Over the Phone
2008-01-14 03:40:00
  For some reason people seem to think that if you call up a vet and tell them that your dog (or cat) seems a little unwell, that the vet will be able to tell you what’s wrong and how to fix it just like that. That’s the equivalent of ringing someone up to say “Do you know what the answer to 8 across on the crossword is?” without providing anymore information. You can’t answer the crossword over the phone, not without a lot more information (clue, length of word, shared letters etc), and the vet isn’t going to be able to tell you what’s wrong over the phone either unless they know your pet’s history in great detail and it’s a complication that was expected. (more…)
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Memmories
2008-01-11 04:47:00
  The last two years of Veterinary Science have been an experience and a half.  Not only was there a broad range of physical activities I didn’t imagine I would do, including removing brains from skulls and putting dead calf skins on orphan calves, but there were also many Golden Moments where precious pearls of wisdom were offered, to make our future careers more rewarding, or at least to give us something to laugh about. I’d like to share some of these gems with you, and I encourage you to offer any others you can remember. (more…)

Supplies for the Veterinary Student
2008-01-09 05:58:00
It’s that time of year again. The back to school sales have started, and students with a stationary addiction like me go on shopping sprees for things that “I’m absolutely sure I’ll use this year.” I easily spend over $200 at an office supplies store at the start of every year getting writing books, pens, pencils, folders etc. But for Veterinary students, there are more supplies we need during the year for our course. We need stethoscopes, thermometers, scrub suits, overalls, lab coats, etc. Then there’s the things that we don’t need, as such, but want, such as textbooks. Oh, and for those of us lucky enough to be moving into Kendal Hall, we need things to furnish our room. (more…)
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Hookworm- What Big Teeth You Have
2008-01-04 07:25:00
That’s a scary looking face isn’t it? That face belongs to a hookworm commonly found in the small intestine of dogs. They’re pretty common in cats too, and other species can be found in livestock and even humans. They have a huge mouth for a worm, even though they’re very small themselves, and they use it to take big bites out of your pet’s intestine. These worms suck blood, not for feeding but to get some oxygen. Each worm can use 0.1ml of blood per day, but that’s not all. When the worm detaches and moves on the wound it created continues to bleed. To make it worse, the worms secrete an anticoagulant to stop blood clotting. Cats and Dogs can lose a lot of blood this way. (more…)
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Python Swallows Golf Balls
2008-01-03 01:18:00
Australia’s magnificent wildlife occasionally do bizarre things. The X-ray above is a recent example of a case vets in Queensland had to treat. Can you see what it is? The title of this post might give you a bit of a clue- it’s a python that swallowed four golf balls. (more…)
More About: Python , Golf , Balls , Allo

Happy New Year Readers
2008-01-02 05:52:00
As a fantastic start to 2008, this blog won the Blogging4Life Blog-of-the-Month award for December 2007. I’m so proud. I also won $5 from it. This year I intend to keep up with this blog and provide a broader range of articles as we cover those topics in Uni. Ther will be more posts about being a student and living in college when I’ma ctually there, at the moment I’m on holidays.Stay tuned my friends.
More About: New Year , Readers , Happy , Happy New Year , Year

Equine Influenza- the Horse Flu
2007-12-29 10:48:00
In August 2007, Equine Influenza was detected in Australia. The outbreak has since been contained, and the virus is slowly being eradicated. Previously, EI had never been in Australia so was of great concern to quarantine, the racing industry and other horse owners. Although the virus is rarely fatal to otherwise healthy adult horses, it can be dangerous to foals or horses which are old or weak. Performance horses are rendered unable to race or compete for weeks after infection, and the virus is highly infectious. (more…)
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Garlic Toxicity
2007-12-26 03:18:00
 Humans often enjoy a little (or a lot) of garlic in their food because it’s quite tasty and many believe that it has wonderful health benefits, ranging from supposed parasite control and blood thinning to keeping away vampires. However, garlic (and its relatives) are bad news for our pets. Both dogs and cats can be poisoned by any member of the Allium species of plants, which includes garlic, onions, leeks, chives and others. Cats are typically harder to poison because of their fussier eating habits. (more…)
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Dear Readers
2007-12-24 09:00:00
It’s Christmas Eve here, and I know I haven’t posted for a few days but I do hope you’ll forgive me with it being holidays and all. You may or may not hear from be between now and New Years, but it’s the season for friend’s and family, not blogs and forums. But since you’re bothering to read this, here is a medical term everyone should know. Gossypiboma: A retained surgical swab. The word lierally means “Concealed Cotton” and refered to a surgical swab or sponge that was left insde the body.
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Ninja Jellybeans of Doom
2007-12-20 08:59:00
They’re Deadly. They look like Jellybeans. They are undetectable until it’s too late. They are the Ninja Jellybeans of Doom ! They are paramphistomes, parasites which live mostly in the rumen and reticulum of cattle, sheep and goats. They also spend some of their lived hidden in snails, in a sneaky ninja-like way. (more…)

Tetanus - Clostridium tetani
2007-12-18 04:43:00
 Tetanus is a condition that you have probably been vaccinated for. It can affect all mammalian species, including pets. Horses are especially susceptible to tetanus. Tetanus is a condition where a toxin produced by bacteria deactivate inhibitory neurons. This means that muscles cannot relax, producing the rigidity known as tetanus. The animal cannot move normally due to the contracted muscles, and may stop breathing if the toxin reaches the diaphragm. (more…)

The Greyhounds: Racers, Pets, Blood Donors, Kadavers
2007-12-16 00:44:00
One of the byproducts of animal racing industries, both the horses and the greyhounds, is the production or a lot of animals that the trainers don’t want because they’re not fast enough. When it comes to the horses many end up as pet food in the knackery, although a few find good homes that patiently train the highly strung race horse. For the greyhounds it’s a similar, but often less public story. In Melbourne there are a few greyhound racing tracks, and more than a few greyhounds. The dogs that aren’t fast enough are often also unsuitable for pets because of the strong tendency to chase and catch things that run, including children and other pets. Fortunately for some of these dogs, the Greyhound Adoption Program rehomes many of these dogs with families each year. (more…)
More About: Pets , Blood , Hound , Dono

Skin cancers
2007-12-13 10:49:00
We all know that spending too much time in the sun is bad for us, and causes skin cancer. The same is true for our pets. Cats and dogs that like to lie in the warm sun are particularly prone, but other animals including horses can get them too. They typically appear on areas of skin that have little hair and little colour, such as the ears and noses of white cats and dogs or on the underbelly. Cancers on the underbelly can usually be removed fairly easily if they haven’t already spread, but cancers on the ears and nose are much more difficult to treat because there isn’t any loose skin there. Carcinomas on the ears usually mean that the ears need to be amputated, which is what happened today to the cat featured in these photos. Be warned, if you don’t think you can handle viewing images that contain a little bit of blood, then please don’t read on and remember to keep your pets out of the sun. (more…)
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Students & Money
2007-12-12 04:49:00
  We work long and hard hours in this course - 9 to 5 most days- and then during our holidays we are expected to do work experience on farms, at shelters or at veterinary clinics. We don’t expect to get paid for any of these, and even if we are they pay isn’t much more than compensation for our own expenses, but this doesn’t matter because it’s a learning experience. Some of us try to hold down a part time job during the first two years, but it gets harder and harder to do so, particularly if you need to travel to get to Uni, and most jobs have a minimum hours required per week and aren’t very undertanding about our fluctuating timetable. Some of us are lucky and manage to find part time work in vet clinics as nurses, where the vets understand what it’s like being a vet student and you get to pick up a lot of hands on skills, including dealing with crazy clients. (more…)
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The Mystery of the Screaming Pooper
2007-12-10 22:32:00
  I love working in a Veterinary centre, getting some hands on experience with real, living animals under conditions where the veterinarians can guide me as I learn. I got to draw blood from an extremely obese Labrador cross and do dental work on a miniature poodle. We also did X-Rays and gave an enema the the previously mentioned lab-cross. Plus I got to stand in on consults and experience just how vague clients can be about their pets habits. The lab cross (pictured above) was quite interesting. The story is basically that he would scream in agony whenever he went to do a poo. The owners were worried and the neighbours were frustrated at hearing an animal in agony so frequently. (more…)
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Farm Work Experience
2007-12-09 09:58:00
  You can study in great detail every aspect of the anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of an animal until you have memorized every fact before you, and still not know what an animal actually is unless you have seen and handled one. That’s why a significant component of the University of Melbourne’s Veterinary Science course is actual work experience on farms, zoos, shelters and other animal enterprises, so that future vets can actually learn how to handle cattle, how to put a halter on a horse and how to pick up a cat without visiting the hospital afterwards. (more…)
More About: Work , Experience , Farm

Bound for Werribee (song)
2007-12-06 22:28:00
 Bound for Werribee: Sung to the tune of ‘Bound for Botany Bay’. Farewell to Old Parkville forever, Farewell to the parking as well, Farewell to the Avista cafe Where they make their coffee so well. Chorus:Singing toora-li oora-li-addity Singing toor-li oora-li-ee Toora-li oora-li-addity Oh we’re bound for Werribee There’s Tammy who is our librarian, There’s the lab hands and counsellors too, There’s the faculty with all the lecturers, Knows what we poor students go through Chorus:Singing toora-li oora-li-addity Singing toor-li oora-li-ee Toora-li oora-li-addity Oh we’re bound for Werribee ‘Taint leaving the city we cares about ‘Taint ’cause the peak hour was bad But because now we get new lab coats Not soiled or stained from a RAD Chorus:Singing toora-li oora-li-addity Singing toor-li oora-li-ee Toora-li oora-li-addity Oh we’re bound for Werribee If I had my time to do over, I’d start VPH instantly Over and do...
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