Category Archives: Warwick News
Warwickshire Vets Toast ‘Double’ Anniversary
Top Warwickshire vets Andrea and Simon Davies are toasting a remarkable double – their 20th wedding and work anniversaries!
The happy couple married in 1999 and later that year moved to the Leamington Spa area to start work as young vets at Avonvale Veterinary Centres.
Andrea & Simon on their wedding day
It’s certainly been a successful and eventful 20 years on both fronts. Simon is now clinical director at Avonvale’s flagship practice in Warwick, which is a first opinion veterinary centre and pet hospital, while Andrea is a senior veterinary surgeon at Avonvale’s Southam clinic.
The pet-loving pair, who live in Heathcote, also now have three children, Luke, 17, Oliver, 15, and Lauren, 10.
Simon admits Andrea was the trail-blazer, revealing: “Just after we were married, she was working as a locum for Avonvale at their Wellesbourne clinic and they were so impressed with her they offered her a full-time job.
“Andrea immediately asked if they’d take me on too – and they did! We’ve not looked back since.
“We moved to the Leamington area and honestly thought we might be here for a couple of years or so.
“Twenty years on we are still here, still working with Avonvale and we’ve no plans to move on – this is home now.”
Andrea also made the first move in the relationship stakes, when they were veterinary students at Bristol University in 1991.
She recalled: “It was in the Halls of Residence at Bristol University and I walked over to Simon and asked him if he liked Abba.
“He smiled and said ‘Yes’ and that’s how it all started.”
Andrea & Simon today
Nowadays they’re busy looking to the future with Avonvale, which has sites in Warwick, Kenilworth, Stratford, Heathcote, Southam, Wellesbourne and Cubbington, continuing to invest in industry-leading facilities, equipment and staff.
Andrea added: “There’s definitely benefits for us both working for the same company. Lots of what we do overlaps, we obviously know the same people and working at different sites means we are not under each other’s feet the whole time.”
Simon said: “The children are growing up fast, there’s universities, big exams and senior schools to think about these days so we are busy at home and at work – but that’s the way we like it.”
Leading Warwickshire vets throwing open its doors
A leading Warwickshire vet is throwing open the doors to one of its branches so the public can discover more about veterinary care.
Avonvale Veterinary Centres will be holding an open evening at its Wellesbourne branch, in Warwick Road, on Thursday, August 8 from 7pm.
Deborah Newman, senior vet, said: “Not only is the event open to all our existing clients, but we would also welcome any members of the public who want to come along and see what services we can offer to them and their pets.
“They will be given an insight into how a veterinary practice operates as we will have a mock surgery set up. They will also be able to see the prep room and theatre.
“As well as a tour of the facilities, there will be a series of displays focusing on things such as dental x-rays and coping with pets and parasites.”
Veterinary staff will be on hand throughout the event to answer any questions visitors have.
For those with a sweet tooth, cakes are also being prepared by staff to raise money for Cat’s Protection, Avonvale’s chosen charity.
Senior vet Deborah Newman is inviting the public to the open evening at the Wellesbourne branch.
Bella’s having a ball after life-changing operation
Bella the pug is now much happier after her operation.
A pug dog is enjoying a new lease of life after a leading Warwickshire vet carried out an operation which dramatically improved her breathing problems.
Like many pugs and other flat faced dogs, Bella, who is six, suffered from Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).
The breed has all of the anatomy of a longer nosed dog condensed into their flat noses, so there can be very little room for air to get in and out.
Bella was given a general anaesthetic and Katie Wain, clinical director of Avonvale Veterinary Centres, operated to remove part of her soft pallet, to solve the issue.
The case has prompted Katie to issue advice to owners of flat faced dogs. She said it is not normal for them to breathe noisily and if they are doing this, owners should take them to see a vet.
Bella with Katie Wain, clinical director at Avonvale Veterinary Centres
Katie said: “I found her soft palate was too long and was flapping and blocking her airway so I shortened this to stop it happening.
“She also had really tiny nostrils which I made bigger.
“Immediately after the op you could hear a difference in her breathing. We kept her in overnight so we could monitor her and she was sent home the following day.
“Now, nine months later, and her owners simply can’t believe the difference in her. She is a much brighter and happier dog.”
David Barnes, who takes care of Bella during the week while his daughter Charlotte is at work, said: “The change in Bella was almost instantaneous. Before her op, she really struggled, particularly on hot days.
“She would get breathless when we took her for walks, she would snore really loudly and her inability to breath properly used to wake her up at night. It was so upsetting.
“She is now a different dog. She is just so happy. She is no longer distressed at night by sleep apnea, caused by gasping for breath”.
Bella is already a bit of a legend as last year, David released a book about his and Bella’s life together. Money made through sales of “Paws for Thought” is being donated to Pug and French Bull Dog Rescue and Rehoming Foundation, in Wales.
Katie has some advice to pug owners. She said: “People should be aware that BOAS is a problem that often occurs in this breed of dog.
“Many people think their noisy breathing is normal but it really isn’t. A normal dog shouldn’t make a noise when breathing, this is a sign that something is blocking the airway.”
She said another issue with pugs is that they are very prone to heat stroke, so owners should be wary with the summer approaching.
Bella’s sore throat
Beautiful Bella was seen last month as an emergency out of hours at our Warwick hospital. She had been out in the garden and had come back retching and seemed very uncomfortable.
Night vet Roxanne was worried Bella had something stuck in her nose or throat which was causing her symptoms, so she was admitted for an anaesthetic so we could have a good look at the back of her throat.
It soon became clear why Bella was gagging- she had 2 long blades of grass stuck at the back of her mouth behind her soft palate. Bella was given an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory injection to resolve the swelling and infection caused by the grass blades.
By the next morning Bella was a lot happier and she is now back to going out in the garden to hunt- hopefully she won’t catch any more grass blades!
Eric’s knot been well
This is Eric, a tiny 1year old Yorkshire Terrier. Yesterday he stole a shoe and after chewing it to pieces he managed to eat the shoelace – all 107 cm of it!
His owners realised what had happened and brought him straight to our Warwick hospital. Vet Helen advised to make him vomit whilst the lace was still in his stomach, as once it starts to pass through it could easily have caused a blockage in his intestine.
After the injection to make him sick Eric brought up the entire shoelace, and his owner had helpfully brought the other shoelace for comparison!
Soggy moggies avoid cat-astrophe
These two gorgeous kittens are only six weeks old but have already used one of their nine lives.
Their owners hadn’t realised they were happily curled up asleep amongst the dirty washing in the laundry basket and accidentally put the kittens in the washing machine. The owner acted quickly as soon as they realised what had happened and got them out, dried them off and brought them straight in to us to be checked over by Warwick vet Gemma.
They were alert and conscious but cold and in shock. Gemma was worried they may have inhaled some water and detergent which could cause delayed breathing problems so they stayed overnight for observation. By the next morning they had recovered really well and their breathing was completely normal so they were able to go home that day.
Here they are with mum Peach after their ordeal- already feeling better and back to their mischievous ways!
Their owners would like us to share their story and advise all pet owners to check laundry baskets before loading washing machines and tumble dryers. These lovely kittens were very lucky and have made a full recovery, but it could easily have been a different story.
Jasper’s ribbon emergency
Poor Jasper was seen out of hours by Warwick vet Helen this week after swallowing a long piece of ribbon.
He has played with the ribbon for years without any problems, but this time his owner saw the end of the ribbon in Jasper’s mouth and called us straight away.
Helen advised we see Jasper as soon as possible before the ribbon became lodged in his intestines- this would have caused a lot of damage and could have led to peritonitis which would have made him very unwell.
Jasper was given a general anaesthetic which was closely monitored by veterinary nurse Maddi. Helen passed a camera (endoscope) down into Jaspers stomach to see if the ribbon was still there; if it had passed through the stomach into the intestine Jasper would have to have surgery to remove it.
Fortunately, the ribbon was still in his stomach so Helen was able to remove it using the endoscope meaning Jasper didn’t need surgery. Once it was removed Helen and Maddi found that the ribbon was almost 3 feet long, which can’t have been easy for him to swallow!
Jasper recovered very well from his anaesthetic and went home the next day. Hopefully he has learned his lesson and won’t eat any more ribbons!
Houdini the hedgehog
This is Houdini the hedgehog who was brought in to see Mark out of hours this week. He was found in Stratford with some plastic netting stuck around his neck.
The plastic had been there for some time and had cut into the skin around his neck so it was difficult to remove. Mark gave Houdini an anaesthetic and managed to carefully cut him free.
Here is Houdini having a cuddle with vet nurse Kim after his lucky escape!
A very fond farewell to Anita
Avonvale Vets all said a fond farewell to Anita on Friday as she hung up her stethoscope after 30 years of dedicated service. Staff at Warwick held an impromptu tea party for her, resulting in a table groaning under the weight of home-made cakes – a reminder of what she would be missing!
Anita started Avonvale’s first surgery in Warwick on Cape Road over 30 years ago and has seen the practice go from strength to strength over the years. Despite being a small animal practice, Anita’s qualifications and experience in Sheep and Goat medicine also led to a steady procession of our cloven hoofed friends turning up at the main hospital with various ailments or for more routine care such as disbudding. Anita has always treated both her clients, patients, and everybody at Avonvale as part of her extended family. She’ll now have more time to spend with the real thing!
Please join all the staff at Avonvale in wishing Anita a very long and happy retirement.
New faces at Avonvale!
Kate
Ann
There have been some exciting changes across Avonvale recently.
This month we have bid a very fond farewell to Diane, our Practice Manager who has worked for Avonvale for over 12 years. We wish her all the best in her new adventures in sunny Abu Dhabi!
We are very pleased to welcome new Practice Manager Kate Webb and administration assistant Ann to the Avonvale team.
Gemma
Our Stratford branch going from strength to strength means we have recruited three new vets! Welcome to Lara, Gemma and Daisy. Daisy will be joining our Stratford team while Katie is on maternity leave, Gemma will be mostly at Warwick and Lara will be working across all of our surgeries.
Lara
We also welcome our new nurse Denni, who many clients at our Stratford surgery may have met already.
Denni
All our new team members are looking forward to meeting our clients and their pets over the next few weeks.