In an effort to contribute to our local community we sponsored Ashfield Public School’s 2021 Movie Night.
The sponsorship involved the clinic showcasing a little video introducing you to the Summer Hill Village Vet Team, we hope you enjoy it! 🙂
After working-from-home for the past few months it can be a stressful transition for your pets having to deal with you returning to work.
We have come up with our very own Anti Anxiety Pet Packages to help your pet through this change.
To celebrate the launch of these packages we are currently running a competition through Instagram or Facebook to give away 3 x Free Anti-Anxiety Packages to three lucky winners!
If you have an Instagram account make sure to follow us and post a photo of your pet ‘working from home’ with the hashtag
#SHVVrelax and a short 50 word explanation of how your pet would benefit from one of our anti-anxiety packages.
If you do not have an Instagram account then just message our Facebook page with your entry.
We will be posting our own staff’s pets working from home regularly to give you inspiration.
Deadline for entries is Sunday the 19th of July 2020 so get snapping 🙂
At Summer Hill Village Vet we are constantly monitoring the Covid-19 situation with respect to our pets and to keep you accurately informed.
Our information is primarily sourced from:
To date there have been NO CASES of transmission of virus from animals to humans.
WHO reports that the primary source of SARS-COV-2 transmission remains human-to-human contact.
This does not mean however that the virus cannot be found living on animals.
There have been a few cases of humans transmitting the virus to an animal: it has been reported in a dog, in cats, in ferrets and even a tiger!
It means we need take some common-sense precautions which we have summarised below:
Avoid letting other people pat your dog in public.
We want to prevent your pets from acting the same as any other surface you might touch in public.
Don’t panic if someone does touch your dog for some reason…you can always just give them a bath (soap kills coronavirus).
You will see us maintaining the integrity of your “bubble” in the clinic by using masks, hand washing, alcohol based hand rubs and sometimes gloves.
At this point we would advise you to keep your pet isolated in your home, and minimise close contact (such as smooching with your face, etc).
We recommend good hand hygiene before and after handling your pet and their food/water bowls.
If there are non-infected members of the household it would be better if they looked after the pet.
We would also advise you to make a care plan for your pet in the unfortunate event that you are hospitalised.
Please feel free to call us with any questions or concerns you may have.
If you have a specific situation you would like to discuss please reach out by calling
02 9797 2555 or email us contact@summerhillvillagevet.com.
We are happy to provide more detailed information on any topic if needed.
Emergency boarding is available for cats if required.
We have protocols and procedures in place for dealing with folks who are self-isolating because they are at risk, as well as for folks who are unfortunate enough to become infected with coronavirus.
Always call us first and we will advise on best way forward to treat your pet under your individual circumstances.
Q: What is SHVV doing to make their hospital as safe as possible for me and my pet?
A: We are monitoring AVA, NSW Government & WHO guidelines & updating our practice protocols constantly. We are asking clients who are unwell to stay at home, keeping employees home if they are unwell, cleaning surfaces within the clinic & maintaining distance as much as possible. Please help us by following our requests to stand back from reception, use hand-sanitisers etc.
Q: What can I do to help keep SHVV a safe place?
A: We need to minimise contact time between people so please
Q: My pet needs to be seen by a Vet but I’m in self-isolation (maybe I have tested positive to COVID-19). What can I do?
A: Call us! We will discuss options – rest assured we will find a way to care for your pet. Please do not break quarantine and put other people at risk.
Q: I need to come to the Vet hospital but I don’t want to (because I’m elderly or immunocompromised). What can I do?
A: Call us! We will discuss options – rest assured we will find a way to care for your pet. Options include dropping-off medications, house-calls or collecting your pet to be examined at the hospital.
Q: How does COVID-19 spread?
A: The World Health Organisation states: People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 1 meter (3 feet) away from a person who is sick.
Q: Can I catch Covid-19 from my pet?
A: The World Health Organisation states: While there has been one instance of a dog being infected in Hong Kong, to date, there is no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit COVID-19. COVID-19 is mainly spread through droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. To protect yourself, clean your hands frequently and thoroughly.
Q: Can humans catch COVID-19 from animals?
A: The World Health Organisation states: Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in animals. Occasionally, people get infected with these viruses which may then spread to other people. For example, SARS-CoV was associated with civet cats and MERS-CoV is transmitted by dromedary camels. Possible animal sources of COVID-19 have not yet been confirmed.
To protect yourself, such as when visiting live animal markets, avoid direct contact with animals and surfaces in contact with animals. Ensure good food safety practices at all times. Handle raw meat, milk or animal organs with care to avoid contamination of uncooked foods and avoid consuming raw or undercooked animal products.
We know this is an anxious time for everyone and you may be concerned how best to look after your pet in this current situation.
Until advised otherwise, we are open as normal – here are some guidelines to help both humans and animals stay safe and healthy.
If your pet needs veterinary attention and:
Please phone us for advice and we will make a plan together with you.
In line with social distancing recommendations, we are keeping waiting times to a minimum and ar reducing the foot traffic in our waiting rooms by requesting the following.
We ask you to:
Please use hand sanitisers located in the clinic.
Please phone ahead to order required prescription medicine repeats or food, worming and flea control in advance so we can arrange to have them ready for you without the need to wait.
Call or email us with questions and check our web site for updates.
We are working hard to ensure we can continue to provide complete veterinary care.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. This situation is rapidly evolving, and we will provide updates as required.
Note that this is a rapidly evolving situation and advice provided here is reflective of the evidence at hand. For up to date information on the COVID-19 situation in Australia go to health.gov.au
Preparing for the holidays can be stressful- to help make things easier for you Dr Lydia has put together a checklist to ensure you don’t need to have that last minute emergency visit to the vet!
Print a copy of the checklist below and take some time to go through it – if you notice there are some things you aren’t sure about please feel free to call us on 9797 2555 so we can make sure you and your pet have a fun and safe holiday!
A lost cat is one of the most heartbreaking things a pet owner can experience. Unfortunately having an outdoor cat will always carry the risk of kitty not returning home and going missing regardless of what precautions you take (a safety-release collar with your phone number is aways a good idea to have on an outdoor cat).
Having a completely indoor cat does not also guarantee that your cat may never go missing – indoor cats are still prone to running out of an open window or door! For most cases, particularly for indoor cats, the missing cat is hiding somewhere very close to home so it is a good idea to regularly do a scan of your immediate area (look under nooks and crannies and other small places where your cat may have become trapped)
An example of a ‘Missing Flyer’ used by one of our staff members who was luckily enough to have been reunited with her missing cat after more than a month!
These tips are based on real success stories (the sooner you are able to carry out the suggestions the higher your chance of finding your cat).
There are cases of people being reunited with pets that have been missing for more than a year!
Whilst it is easy to lose hope of ever seeing your cat again it is important to remember to not give up. Our own staff member Beatrice had found her lost cat after more than a month of searching, she followed all of the points we have provided and her eventual success was the result of a letter box drop.
We also post ‘Missing Cat’ posters on our clinic window and on our Facebook page so please feel free to email us your flyers if your cat is missing.
Once you do find your cat make sure you book a visit to your usual vet ASAP for a general heath check.
Ticks aren’t always immediately visibly, they can be in hidden places such as in between your pet’s toes.
His owner was vigilant and kept up to date with his flea and worming treatment however not all flea products protect against ticks. Luckily his mum did the right thing and brought him to us straight away with the tick she managed to pull off for identification.
We have also had a couple of clients report to us that they have seen ticks around their yards! Warmer weather is definitely tick season and if you plan on going to any bush area with your four-legged friend it is important to confirm that the parasite protection you are using includes ticks.
Cats are also susceptible to ticks so be cautious if your feline goes outdoors or in particular has access to overgrown, leafy areas.
We stock a couple of products that protect cats and dogs against ticks so if you have any doubts feel free to drop by our clinic or call us for a chat.
If you would like more information on ticks, what symptoms to look out for in particular and what to do you can read on here
A) This is a special low resistance carbon dioxide scrubber, this allows us to run a re-breathing circuit for animals down to 2 kg (previously 10 kg was the lowest we could go). B) This is the attached heating circuit.
When our patients are under anaesthetic it’s very important to stop them getting cold which can slow their recovery and healing but the smaller they are the harder it is to avoid them getting cold. Now not only are they lying on a hot water bed, our new anaesthetic machine helps keep them warm.
On a non re-breathing system a patient is getting a constant flow of fresh, COLD oxygen to breath. But on a re-breathing system only a small amount of fresh cold oxygen is included in each breath.
When you add a heating device to warm the air then you make a real difference to their body temperature during an anaesthetic. They recover faster and their anaesthetics are more stable, perfect for the little oldies.
Add to that a hot air blanket that we can cover them with if needed and you’re talking toasty warm cats & dogs.