TICKS SEASON IS UPON US! These nasty little creatures are active between March and October but due to the mild winters , high deer population and large amount of wooded areas in Norfolk they can be active all year round. They are related to spiders, mites and scorpions and consist of many different species each preferring to feed on the blood of different animal hosts. They are usually found in woodlands, heathland, moorlands and rough pastures. Once a tick starts to feed the body becomes filled with blood- the bite is usually painless. Diseases such as Lymes disease or Babesiosis can be passed..

This months Courageous Pet is the beautiful gentle giant Heidi, a 9 year old, female Great Pyrenees. Heidi was bought to the practice as an emergency as she had developed a Gastric Dilation Volvulus ( also known as torsion or bloat). This is a life threatening condition that usually occurs 2-3 hours post food, especially if the dog is fed a dry diet and then consumes large amounts of water or has strenuous exercise. Deep chested breeds are more susceptible to a GDV along with older dogs and dogs that weight more than 40kgs. The stomach fills with gas which can cause the stomach to rotate/twist…

We were all very sad that we had to say goodbye to our Vet Megan Work last week. Megan has moved on to a much sought after internship at a amazing referral hospital in Birmingham. This is a fantastic opportunity for Megan to progress with her career within the Veterinary sector. All at Swaffham Vet Centre send love and wish her lots of luck in her new role.

This is Louis who won Best in Show at the dog show today. He’s 12 years old and is such a happy chap. His lovely mum and dad explained to us afterwards that about a year ago he became very ill and they all gathered to say their final goodbyes. Miraculously Louis rallied and is still going strong. After that they wrote a bucket list of things for him to do. One of which was to enter a dog show. He certainly deserved to win Best in Show. His next thing on his bucket list is to have a McDonalds drive through Well done to everyone that entered today and for joining in the fun.