Northlands Animal Care Hospital Winter Newsletter – June 2024
Here’s what has happened in the last six months!
Dear Valued Clients,
We hope this newsletter finds you and your furry companions in great health and spirits as we embrace the winter season, and as we navigate through the colder months it becomes essential to pay extra attention to their health and well-being.
In this newsletter, we’re shining a spotlight on the crucial aspects of pet care: joint health.
Winter is of course the perfect time to snuggle up with our furry pals and show them some extra love and care. If you have any questions about keeping your pet happy and healthy this season, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’re here to help make winter wonder-fur for you and your pet.
We have an incredible new product for pets with arthritis that has changed the lives of dozens of our patients: Beransa for dogs and Solensia for cats.
We are also celebrating the launch of our new nurse Weight Management Clinic run by Tatanya, and two all star patients have received Bravery Awards! Read their stories inside.
Lastly, some exciting updates from our team – Bree is back and Erica is a winner!
Thank you for all of your love and loyalty over the last 3 years of our ownership. We have loved getting to know so many new furry family members.
Follow us on Facebook & Instagram for regular updates, health tips from our nurses and adorable photos – and occasionally a giveaway!
Stay warm!
Keryn & Bree
Joint Health: Staying Pain Free & Warm in Winter
Just like humans, pets experience joint issues, especially as they age. Arthritis and other forms of joint disease can impact their mobility, happiness and quality of life.
Here are some tips to promote joint health in your pets:
- Keep ‘em Lean: Extra pounds can weigh heavily on their joints, so let’s make sure they’re on a healthy diet and exercise routine to keep those pounds in check! See the next page for our new Weight Management Clinic if you are struggling to keep the winter weight off your pup.
- Move It, Move It: Gentle low-impact exercise is the name of the game to help keep your pet’s joints flexible and strengthen the surrounding muscles! Consider activities like swimming and short, controlled walks or indoor playtime to keep them moving and those joints limber and muscles strong. They say a 10 to 15minute sniff walk is as stimulating as a 45minute run so there’s just no excuse, dress up warm and head on out.
- Warm & Cosy: Other simple things you can do at home can make a massive difference to their quality of life and include providing your pet with a warm, cozy bed and easy access to food, water, and litter boxes to minimize the need for strenuous movement, especially during colder weather. And of course, easy access to the cosy spots that may be high up to minimise jumping up or down and exacerbating strain on any joints
- Nutritional Value: Sometimes our pets need a little extra nutritional help. Chat with us about effective supplements and incredible all in one diets like Hills J/D, Royal Canin Mobility or Purina Joint to keep those hips and knees in tip-top shape.
New Product Alert!
- Beransa/Solensia: There is a new arthritic pain injection available offering a month of pain control after just a single injection. This is not only extremely effective but also kinder on the old lady/man organs and we have personally seen incredible results in many cases.
Get in touch if you need assistance with any of these issues or wish to try out any of the products. Then we can set you up with a comprehensive orthopaedic exam that may include blood work and X-rays to establish a diagnosis and best plan of action for your favourite friend.
Weight Management Clinic Graduate Gucci
Sweet Gucci is being celebrated as the first graduate of our Weight Management Clinic!
Gucci had a starting weight of 13.5kg in September 2023. She was happy in day to day life but couldn’t walk very far without getting out of breath and couldn’t engage in activities like jumping on the couch or chasing the ball for very long.
Gucci is currently 9.1kgs with an amazing weight loss of 4.4kg!!! Mum has reported that Gucci appears much happier, even when visiting us in clinic, and can jump on the couch, chase the ball and go for longer walks without tiring easily. Overall Gucci has had a big quality of life improvement.
Well done, Gucci!!!! Check out her before and after photos!!!
If you have a pet that needs to lose some weight, give us a call to sign up with Tatanya. More details available on our website.
Bravery Awards!
In the last few months, we presented some beautiful patients with well-deserved bravery awards! Indie & Coco both recently had rather comprehensive hospital stays, and were absolute stars the entire time. Read their stories below.
To follow along with more amazing successes like these, follow us on Facebook at Northlands Animal Care Hospital, or Instagram @northlands_animal_care.
Coco
Coco got into some lily flowers at home and became very sick! Lilies are toxic to cats, and can damage their kidneys quickly.
Brave Coco spent several days with our amazing hospital team receiving IV fluids and care for her kidneys, and was so brave. Coco gave us lots of smooches and purrs, and after a couple of weeks, her kidneys are doing just great.
We were so happy to see her brighten up and get back to her usual self. Well done, Coco!
Indie
Indie came to us extremely unwell and had to spend several days in hospital, back and forth between us and the AfterHours Veterinary Centre, but she was such a trooper.
Our amazing team diagnosed her with atypical Addison’s disease and found the right course of treatment to make her well again.
Throughout it all, she gave us lots of love and cuddles and now feels SO much better back at home with her family. Well done, Indie, you are a star.
Clinic & Staff Updates
Reception Renos
If you haven’t already noticed the mini overhaul of reception, do pop in for a look. We now have a larger more appropriate waiting area and dedicated food section, but also a 3rd consult space which when not in clinical use we hope to use as a calm waiting area for cats.
This consult room has been such an amazing asset on busy days with our growing team. Watch this space as further improvements are due.
3 Years
Recently we passed the 3-year mark of ownership for Keryn and Bree who are still going strong thanks to our incredibly supportive team, and of course all of you our beloved clients. It has also been over a year now that we have been a stable full time 3 vet team after Dr Erica joined us over a year ago already.
We hope you all agree what an asset she has been to our team in general but especially to Silvi and Keryn and of course all of you.
Erica’s Wins
Erica recently won the NZAC national indoor bouldering series round 2 in Christchurch!!! Congratulations, Erica!
Bree is Back
Lastly we welcome Bree’s long-awaited return from maternity leave (much to Keryn’s delight), and of course welcome to the world baby Phoenix and possibly the future of NACH.
With love from the team at Northlands Animal Care Hospital.
