Grass seedSpud is a 13 month old Schnoodle who visited us in November with some painful lumps on his side which he had been trying to lick. Spud had recently been to the groomer, who noticed that he had lots of grass seeds hiding in his coat. We placed Spud on antibiotics in the hope that the grass seeds would be ejected by the body. However, once the antibiotics were finished and Spud was reassessed, it was noted that one of the lumps had burst and was draining. It became apparent that Spud would require surgical exploration of his wound under a general anaesthetic to get to the bottom of it.

Ally is a 14 month Schnoodle and she belongs to our veterinarian Dr Seina. Last month Dr Seina brought Ally in to the clinic for a thorough orthopedic examination. Ally had recently started hopping down the stairs and was very sore in her left hip after her normal morning run. After some pain killers she was feeling much happier but continued to hop down the stairs. In order to thoroughly examine all Ally's joints, a sedative was administered and x-rays were taken.

As veterinarians we are often asked how we know what is going on with our patients when we can't ask them. While this sometimes makes things difficult, we rely very much on the human companions of our furry friends to help us out. Milo is such a case. His very perceptive owners noticed that he was chewing his food a little unusual on one side of his mouth. They brought Milo to the clinc to find out why.

Cookie the cheeky Cavalier came to our clinic limping and looking quite overweight. At nine years old, she was found to have moderate arthritis so she was started on appropriate medications. At the time of diagnosis she was over her ideal body weight by more than 20%. That's the equivalent of a 60kg person being 12kg overweight!

Biggles recently visited us for a routine vaccination. He has been clinically well at home and seemed to be bright and happy at his visit. However, as Biggles is now a mature pet of nine years, we recommended doing a urine screen to ensure that his kidneys are functioning properly and also to check that other parameters are normal.

Late one night Ace was chasing the bats in the fruit trees in his yard when his owners heard an almighty cry. They went out to find Ace unable to put weight on one of his back legs. He was admitted to a late night emergency clinic where his leg was splinted. Soon after, Ace was transferred to us at Essendon Veterinary Clinic for further evaluation of his leg.

As our loved ones head into their twilight years and get older, it is important to remember that animals age at a significantly higher rate than we do. This is especially the case with large breed dogs like Labradors, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds. Eight years of age is the equivalent of a 70 year old for these pooches. As such, it is important that we keep a closer eye on our golden oldies.

Millie is a 12 month old curious puppy, often getting into things she shouldn't. Most times this is simply annoying for her owners, however there was one time recently when her curiosity (and her appetite) got her into a whole heap of trouble. On the day in question, Millie thought it would be a good idea to raid the pantry and found herself a bag of cooking chocolate which she freely indulged in.

With the onset of summer, the Essendon Veterinary Clinic has been experiencing more and more cases of heatstroke. One such case was Molly, an eight year old King Charles Cavalier who was presented to us in a distressed state on a very hot day. Molly's frantic owners had found her lying on her side panting heavily in the backyard with an excessive amount of saliva around her mouth.

Spike is a wonderfully gentle 9 year old Kelpie who came to see us at Essendon Vet Clinic for his vaccination and 6 monthly senior pet health check. Spike was pretty healthy overall, apart from carrying a bit of extra weight. He had been having some problems getting up after he had been lying down.