Pet Care Services In Newport Pagnell Willow Vet Centres

Services

Willow Veterinary Group offers a wide range of pet care services, from emergency surgery right down to a routine scale and polish. We’re all here to help, so if you have any concerns or questions about your pet’s health, then just ask.

Veterinary services

Routine and investigative consultations
Vaccinations
Neutering
All types of operations
Health checks and blood tests
Pet passport scheme

Nurse clinics

Safe and effective flea and worm treatment
Micro-chipping
Nail and beak clipping
Dental checks and advice on dental care
Nutritional guidance and weight management

Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions should be ordered in advance from the receptionist, as they require approval by the vet. After six months of medication, your pet will be called for a further check-up to monitor progress and review treatment.

Payment and insurance

Payment is due in full at the time of treatment and we accept cash, cheque, Maestro, Access and Visa.

We strongly advise all our clients to take out pet insurance to provide peace of mind and financial help should your pet need specialist medical care. There are many policies to choose from, so look for one that provides the right level of care for your pet. We recommend that you check the small print for exclusions, and confirm whether the policy is for lifelong or annual cover. If you are in any doubt about what a policy may or may not cover, dont hesitate to give us a ring and let us advise you.

Facilities

Both our veterinary centres have up-to-date facilities to ensure the best of care and experience for your pet. Our facilities include:

Diagnostics suite with laboratory, ultrasound, endoscopy, ECG and x-ray facilities
Fully equipped operating theatre
24 hour emergency healthcare
Dedicated dental room
Separate dog and cat/small animal wards
Isolation ward

Vaccinations

At Willow Vets, we strongly recommend having your dogs, cats and rabbits vaccinated in order to protect them from a variety of life threatening diseases.

Most people know that vaccination is important but many do not know what diseases we are actually vaccinating their pets against and some are not sure, whether a yearly booster vaccine is necessary. This section aims to answer these questions for you.

Dogs

Core Vaccines are vaccines that all dogs should have. These are:

Distemper - this is a potentially fatal viral disease that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous system
Infectious Canine Hepatitis - this is a potentially fatal viral disease affecting the liver, kidneys, eyes and lungs
Parvovirus - causes life threatening gastroenteritis
Leptospirosis - is a potentially life threatening bacterial infecion

Non-core vaccines are vaccines that some dogs should have dependant on their specific needs. These are:

Kennel Cough - vaccination should be considered for dogs before kennelling or other situations in which they mix with other dogs (e.g., dog shows, training classes, veterinary surgeries)
Rabies - for dogs travelling abroad and returning to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme
Canine Herpes - for breeding bitches
Leishmanaisis - before travelling to endemic areas

At Willow Vets, we give your puppy all of the core vaccinations as part of their primary vaccination course. Included in this course is also parainfluenza which is one of the kennel cough viruses. We give your puppy their series of primary vaccinations at 8 weeks, 10 weeks and 1 year old.

After this primary course is completed, what diseases are we actually vaccinating against every year when you bring your dog in for their annual health check and booster vaccine?

The vaccination against Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvo is protective for three years so we include protection against these diseases in your dog's booster vaccination every third year. Every year the booster includes vaccination against Leptospirosis and Parainfluenza. Due to the nature of these diseases and the type of vaccination given the immunity they provide does not last as long and therefore yearly vaccination is safest way keep your dog protected. Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease, commonly known as Weil's disease. Dogs will typically catch the disease from infected water, soil, or mud, while swimming, passing through, or drinking contaminated water, or from coming into contact with urine from an infected animals such as rats. Leptospirosis is a potentially life threatening infection which can be passed to you and your family so it is very important that your dog is protected by their vaccination.

We wanted to highlight, that we are not vaccinating your dog against every disease every year.

When guidelines are drawn up on how often pets should be vaccinated, the aim is to do what is safest for most pets. Various factors affect how long a vaccine will be protective for, including the age and health of your pet. Standard vaccination protocols aim to protect all pets and therefore recommendations on frequency of vaccination will be based on the pets whose immunity does not last as long. This means that some pets immunity will last longer. Vaccinating using these protocols will ensure your pet will be protected.

At Willow Vets, we do offer a blood test called Vaccicheck. It uses a few drops of blood to tell us whether your dog has adequate antibodies against Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus. These are the diseases that we include in your dog's booster vaccination every three years. This test in conjunction with discussion with your vet helps to decide whether your dog is likely to have adequate protection against these diseases and therefore when they need to have vaccination against these diseases included in their annual booster vaccine. As well as this test, it is very important to have your pet receive a health check with one of our vets and their vaccination against Leptospirosis every year. If you are interested in this test please book an appointment to discuss it with one of our vets. If you do not want this test, don't worry as we will continue to include protection against these diseases in your dog's booster vaccination so that they are protected.

Cats

Core vaccines are vaccines that all cats should have. These are:

Feline panleukopaenia virus (enteritis)
Feline calici virus (cat flu)
Feline herpes virus (cat flu)

Non-core vaccines are:

Feline leukaemia vaccine (this may be considered a core vaccine for all cats which may come into direct contact with other cats, i.e. all cats which go outdoors)
Rabies - for cats travelling abroad and returning to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme
Chlamydophila felis (Chlamydia)
Bordetella Bronchiseptica

At Willow Vets, we recommend a primary course of vaccinations for your kitten against cat flu, enteritis and leukaemia. All cats that are allowed outside, even for short periods of time are at risk of catching leukaemia virus from direct contact with other cats. Kittens kept indoors only (e.g. live in a flat and are never let outside) will be little risk of catching leukaemia - in these circumstances, is is not necessary to vaccinate against leukaemia. Your kitten will typically be vaccinated at 9 weeks, 12 weeks and one year old.

After this, we recommend an annual health check with a vet and a booster vaccination which contains the same disease protection they receive as kittens.

Protection against cat flu can last for three years with some of the vaccines currently available but unfortunately after a year your cat could still spread it to other cats if they are exposed. We therefore continue to include full protection against this chronic and potentially debilitating disease on a yearly basis.

Rabbits

At Willow Vets, we strongly recommend yearly vaccination for all domestic rabbits against Myxomatosis and Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (VHD). Both of these diseases are usually fatal.

VHD can be spread either by direct contact with other rabbits, through contaminated food, water or bedding and through the air. Myxomatosis is spread by fleas and biting flies.

Due to the way these diseases are spread, your pet rabbit can be at risk even if they don't live with other rabbits.

We can vaccinate your rabbit from the age of five weeks.

If you have questions about your pet’s vaccinations or anything else, please call us, we would love to hear from you! You can also read about our Pet Health Club, where full vaccination courses and health checks are included.

Emergencies

Animals requiring urgent attention will always be seen as soon as possible.
Please call your usual practice number and let us know that your are coming.

In an emergency out of hours

We appreciate your pet can become ill or suffer accidents at any time of the day or night. To ensure you have access to quality, experienced care at nights, weekends and bank holidays, we have chosen to partner with the leading local provider of Out of Hours and Emergency care, Vets Now in Milton Keynes.

They will always be there when we are closed, so you can rest assured that you and your pet will have an experienced vet or nurse on hand - whether it’s 3:00am in the morning or Christmas Day. Their fully qualified team will provide free advice over the phone and advise whether you need to take your pet into their clinic for immediate treatment. Please don’t hesitate to call them if you’re at all concerned: 01908 509 500.

By using specialists to cover Out of Hours Emergencies, our team get a good night’s rest so we can continue to provide the high quality care during the day that we pride ourselves on.

Vets Now take over from us when we close in the evenings and when we are closed at the weekend. If you phone us when the practice is closed you will be advised of the Out of Hours service contact details, and they will be able to give you advice or arrange an immediate appointment if required.

Please be aware that because of the nature of out of hour’s emergencies, a night time or weekend appointment can be more expensive than seeing a vet during usual hours. They will discuss this with you at the time of your appointment and before commencing any treatment. Don’t be offended if they have to do this - they will want to get authorisation on treatment plans from you and in consultation with you. Please consider pet insurance to give you peace of mind that your pet will be able to receive the best possible care, 24 hours a day.

Vets Now
Fyfield Barrow
Milton Keynes
MK7 7AN

Euthanasia

How do I know it is time?

As pet owners, we endeavour to make sure that our faithful companions stay fit and healthy, enabling them to live to an old age. Unfortunately, our pets do not live as long as us and at some point, we will have to prepare to let them go. Sadly, few of our pets pass peacefully away in their sleep. Therefore, we all wish to do the right thing at the right time, fulfilling our responsibility and commitment in their final days. We hope these words will help you and your family in a time of conflicting emotions.

Nobody knows their pet better than you and your closest family and friends, so let them help and share in making a reasoned judgement on your pet’s quality of life.

Indications that things may not be well may include:

Loss of appetite
A reluctance to play and move around as normal
Restlessness or becoming withdrawn from you

When the time is right to put your pet to sleep, you may see evidence of a combination of all the above indicators and your pet may seem distressed, uncomfortable or disorientated within your home.

Is there nothing more I can do?

As your vet, we will discuss all treatment options available for your pet to relieve their symptoms, but there will come a time when all forms of treatment have been exhausted, we have discovered the disease is incurable, or you feel your pet is suffering too much. You and your family may wish to talk with your Veterinary Surgeon to help you all come to this final decision; in this case, we will arrange an appointment for you.

When and where can we say goodbye?

We hope this section will help you and your family understand your pet’s end-of-life journey. This is known as ‘euthanasia’ but often referred to as ‘putting to sleep’. After discussing with your family and your vet, and having decided that the time has come, you can contact your surgery and make an appointment. We will always try to make this appointment at a time that is convenient for you – usually at a quieter time of the day.

Home visits for euthanasia are available through seperate local companies. Please call the surgery if you would like further details on this.

Will I be able to stay with my pet?

Being present when your pet is put to sleep will be both emotional and distressing, but the majority of owners feel that they give comfort to their pet during their last moments, and can make their final goodbyes. But this is not comfortable for everyone; we understand if you do not want to stay in the room with your pet but make your goodbyes afterwards. We will always make time for you and your family to do this.

What will happen?

Initially, your vet or another member of our team will ask you to sign a consent form to give us permission to put your pet to sleep. You may have already discussed with your vet what you then wish to do with your pet’s body, but we will confirm this on the consent form.

Many owners are surprised by how peaceful euthanasia can be. Euthanasia involves injecting an overdose of anaesthetic into the vein of your pet’s front leg. Some of our vets would have previously inserted a catheter into the vein or sedated your pet if they are particularly nervous or uncomfortable.

After the anaesthetic has been injected, your pet’s heart will stop beating and they will rapidly lose consciousness and stop breathing. Your vet will check that their heart has stopped beating and confirm that they have passed away. On occasion, the pet’s muscles and limbs may tremble and they may gasp a few times, these are reflex actions only – not signs of life – but may be upsetting. If they occur, they are unavoidable. Your pet’s eyes will remain open and it is normal for them to empty their bowel or bladder as the body shuts down.

Afterwards

What happens next?

There are several options available for your pet. Your Veterinary team can discuss these with you and give you an idea of costs involved.

Communal Cremation – Leave your pet with us to be cremated with other pets. With this type of cremation, no ashes will be returned to you. For the majority of our clients, this is the most appropriate form of closure.
Individual Cremation – A private cremation for your pet at our nominated crematorium company, Pet Cremation Services (PCS). Your pet’s ashes will then be returned to you in either a sealed casket of your choice or a scatter box, for you and your family to scatter their ashes in a location of your choice. Our team will have several options you can choose from.
‘Taking them home’ – You can also take your pet home for burial, but please bear in mind this may not always be practical.
Some surgeries also have a local pet cemetery company that will arrange everything from collecting your pet from the vet, preparing a grave and performing the burial. Our practice team will be able to give you further information.

When will I need to decide?

We would encourage you and your family to discuss these options before your pet is put to sleep, and to let your vet know. We will keep a note of your wishes with pet’s notes. However, in some cases the euthanasia may have occurred after an accident and you will need more time to make this decision. It is possible for us to keep your pet for a short time afterwards, to give you and your family time to reflect before making a decision.

Coping with the loss

Everyone deals with grief in different ways. When grieving for a much-loved pet, you or other members of your family may experience a range of emotions from shock, denial, disbelief and, very often, guilt. Should you wish to talk to anyone at your Veterinary surgery, we can offer support and advice.
If, after reading these pages, there are still facts you would like to know, we will be more than happy to help. Please contact us at the surgery.

The following organisations can provide further help and support:

The Ralph Site

The Blue Cross

The Blue Cross also offer a bereavement support line if you would like to talk to someone. The number is 0800 0966606. The sites above also offer special books that have been written to help your children understand the loss of their pets.