A new vet, Kelly Osborne has been appointed at Amicus and will be taking up her position in July 2008. Kelly is well known to regular visitors to the Centre as she has spend many weeks over the past few years at Amicus as part of her final training as a veterinary surgeon. We are all looking forward to welcoming her to Amicus in a few months time and wish her all the best with the final exams.

On 12 April 2008 we again open opened our doors at Amicus for a fun day. The main aim this year was to strengthen the Amicus Rescue Team (ART) fund which we use to care for and treat young and injured wildlife and other animals without owners.

To help us with the day, Fred Adams of Proteus Reptile Rescue was once again a major attraction exhibiting various rescued snakes and lizards. This gave several people their first chance to touch some of these animals and to glean valuable information about how to care for reptiles as pets.

The very friendly and delightful ferrets of Peter Hillman performed well being stroked and fed by many of the visitors. Peter is very enthusiastic about his ferrets which were all rescued after being kept under unsatisfactory situations by their original owners.  He is a wealth of information on these animals.

The Midlands Bird of Prey Rescue occupied the front car park with several of their well known owls in attendance.

The opportunity to look behind the scenes in the operating theater, the kennels and the laboratory lead to interesting discussions with the staff about our day to day work at the Centre. The resident Giant African Land Snails at Amicus also attracted a lot of attention and touching these animals was uniquely experienced by many of the visitors.

One of the major attractions this year was the opportunity to WET THE VET. For a small donation to ART visitors could throw wet sponges at the Vet which turned out to be great fun!!

We would like to thank everyone that attended our open day this year for their support and especially to Karine Riddington and Donna Foxworthy for supplying the lovely cakes that was enjoyed by everyone.

(If anyone has any photos from the open day that they would like to add to these, please let us know)

Roy A. Earle & Louise Prowse

This article was first published in The Veterinary Times October 2000

Clcik here to Download Article

How do vaccinations work?

Vaccines contain harmless (either weakened or dead) variants of the viruses and other infectious agents. When the animal is vaccinated the immune system in body responds by generating a protective mechanism through the formation of antibodies.  The antibodies then prevents the infectious virus from causing the disease in the animal that has been vaccinated. Vaccinations only provide a relative short period immunity and that is why yearly booster vaccinations are recommended. In cats and dogs there might be an immunity gap present and the first vaccinations given to puppies and kittens thus consist of two vaccinations  give two or more weeks apart. The reason is that the natural immunity that these young animals receive from their mothers will sometimes  be a hindrance to effective vaccination. High levels of Maternally Derived Antibodies can ‘block out’ the vaccine. A second vaccination is thus necessary to catch all those that did not respond the first time.

Which animals need to be vaccinated?

Dogs, cats, rabbits and ferrets need to be vaccinated against several diseases for which there are no effective treatments. The only way to ensure that your animal is not at risk from these diseases is to make sure it is vaccinated. There is no alternative. Only healthy animals are to be vaccinated and a full health and weight check is carried out on each animal before the vaccination. This health check by the vet will ensure that all aspects of the health of the animal is addressed on a regular basis. Slow developing health problems such as gingivitis, allergies and thyroid problems can be detected by the vet at the vaccination consultation.

Which diseases are prevented by vaccinations?

Dogs: Distemper, Herpes, Parvo, Parainfluenza, Leptospirosis

Cats: Cat Flu, Feline enteritis, Feline Leukaemia, Feline Chlamydophilia

Rabbits: Viral Haemorrhagic Disease, Myxomatosis

Ferrets: Distemper

Since September 2006 are using the services of the Southside Emergency Clinicfor our out of hours emergency care. After five years this has become necessary as the Amicus clientele has grown to more than 6000 (11000 patients) and the amount of after hour calls has become overwhelming resulting in Dr Earle having to work up to 18 to 20 hours every day of the week. This is not a desirable situation and the best care could not be given to the animals that deserve it.

If your pet is in need of emergency care outside of the normal opening hours of Amicus and you telephone us, the recorded message will give you instructions of how to contact Southside Emergency Clinic. Just as you would attend the A&E department in an out of hours emergency, your pet can now do the same. The staff at Southside Emergency Clinic work specially in emergency and critical care medicine and receive regular training to ensure they remain up-to-date with the latest advances. Leaflets on the service that Southside Emergency Clinic offer and directions are available at Amicus.

The Southside Emergency Clinic staff will also give you advice over the phone if it seems not to be necessary to attend the out of hours clinic. The staff will direct you to the clinic when you do need to visit and will assist you in any way to make your out of hours emergency as painless as possible (both for you and your pet).

Southside Emergency Clinic is equipped to a high standard and permanently staffed by qualified and dedicated professionals and offers a full spectrum of emergency veterinary services. The Clinic is sponsored by a wide range of veterinary practices including Amicus. If you need help with an emergency when Amicus is closed, do not hesitate to call Southside on 0121 7052008.