What are your terms of business?
Accounts are due for settlement at the end of consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection of medicines, diets etc.
We accept payment by cash, cheque with valid banker’s card, Visa, Mastercard, Switch and Solo.
We will happily provide a written Estimate for the probable cost of treatment. Please bear in mind that any Estimate can only be approximate – a pet’s illness may not follow a conventional course.
Professional fees, medicines, diets and sundry items are subject to VAT at the current rate.
If you are unable to settle an account we ask you to please discuss the matter with us as soon as possible and before fees are incurred.
Any account not immediately settled will incur additional administrative and accounting fees. Please contact us for details.
I want to take my pet aboard, what do I need to do?
The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) allows cats and dogs, including guide and hearing dogs, to enter the UK from certain qualifying countries without the need for quarantine, providing they meet certain stringent requirements.
The conditions of the scheme:
Your pet must conform with all the conditions carried out in the order below:
- A microchip must be implanted under the skin of the neck of your pet before rabies vaccination. This gives the animal a permanent and unique identity number
- Vaccination against rabies with an approved vaccine
- A blood test must be taken 3 weeks after vaccination. The blood sample is tested at an EU recognised laboratory to ensure your pet has acquired a satisfactory level of protection against rabies
- If a pet does not respond to the vaccine, it can be re-vaccinated and tested again
- Your pet cannot enter the UK from abroad until 6 months after a successful blood test was taken
- An official EU PETS passport is required, signed by a Local Veterinary Inspector (LVI) appointed by DEFRA. Stephen Posnett MRCVS is such an LVI.
- Treatment against ticks and tapeworms with an approved products is necessary 24-48 hours before re-entering the UK. A certificate of treatment contained within the PETS passport is required to confirm this, signed by a veterinary surgeon.
Once your pet has a valid PETS passport it is important to have the rabies vaccinations boosted within the time specified by the vaccine manufacturer. Ensuring your pets’ rabies boosters are kept up to date enables your pet to have its certificate renewed without further blood tests.
Hot dogs are not cool in cars
On a warm day cars heat up like ovens so don’t take your dog along for the ride.
If it’s very warm outside and you’re going out in the car, think very carefully about what you are going to do with your dog. You should never leave a dog alone in a car.
It can get unbearably hot in a car on a sunny day, even when it’s not that warm. In fact, when it’s just 22°C/72°F outside, the temperature inside a car can soar to 47°C/117°F within 60 minutes.
Dogs have to pant to help keep cool. In a hot stuffy car, dogs can’t cool down – leaving a window open or a sunshield on your windscreen won’t keep your car cool enough. Dogs die in hot cars.
Under the Animal Welfare Act you now have a legal duty to care for your animal and if you put your animal at risk, you could face prosecution.
If you see a dog in a car on a warm day please call the Police on 999.
Heatstroke - early warning signs
Heatstroke can be fatal. Do everything you can to prevent it.
Some dogs are more prone to heatstroke like dogs with short snouts, fat or heavily muscled, long-haired breeds, very old or very young dogs. Dogs with certain diseases or on certain medication are more prone to heatstroke.
If dogs are unable to reduce their body temperature, they will develop heatstroke. Look for these signs:
- heavy panting
- profuse salivation
- a rapid pulse
- very red gums and tongue
- lethargy
- lack of coordination
- reluctance or inability to rise after collapsing
- vomiting
- diarrhoea
- loss of consciousness in extreme circumstances
Heatstroke - first aid
If your dog shows any symptoms of heatstroke, move it to a shaded, cool area and ring your vet for advice immediately. Heatstroke can be fatal and should always be treated as an emergency.
Dogs suffering from heatstroke urgently need to have their body temperature gradually lowered:
- Immediately douse your dog with cool (not cold) water, to avoid shock – you could put your dog in a shower and run cool water over it, or use a spray filled with cool water and place your dog in the breeze of a fan
- Let your dog drink small amounts of cool water
- Continue to douse your dog with cool water until it’s breathing starts to settle – never cool your dog so much that it begins to shiver
Once you have cooled your dog down you should bring it straight to the veterinary surgery.
Top tips for warm weather
- Your dog should always be able to move into a cooler, ventilated environment if it is feeling hot
- Never leave your dog alone in a car. If you want to take your dog with you on a car journey, make sure that your destination is dog-friendly – you won’t be able to leave your dog in the car and you don’t want your day out to be ruined!
- If you have to leave your dog outside, you must provide a cool shady spot where it can escape from the sun at all times of the day
- Make sure your dog always has a good supply of drinking water, in a weighted bowl that can’t be knocked over. Carry water with you on hot days and give your dog frequent small amounts
- Never leave your dog in a glass conservatory or a caravan. Even if it is cloudy when you leave, the sun may come out later in the day and make it unbearably hot
- Groom your dog regularly to get rid of excess hair. Give long-coated breeds a haircut at the start of the summer, and later in the season if necessary
- Dogs need exercise. Walk your dog early in the morning or later in the evening. Never allow your dog to exercise excessively in hot weather
- Dogs can get sunburned too – particularly those with light-coloured noses or light-coloured fur on their ears. Ask us for advice on pet-safe sunscreen.
