All the latest info on caring for your pet

As the Lockdown 2 grinds onwards, we’re very fortunate that most vets practices have taken the time to fine-tune their procedures and protocols to deal with Covid. This means that most have not gone back to an “Emergencies only” stance.

However, there are many situations where a physical face-to-face consultation might not be the best approach. As a result, there are now a wide range of video systems being used by vets to allow “remote” consultation appointments over video. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at how these systems work, their strengths and weaknesses, and what sorts of things vets are using them for.

Stealing is a horrible crime, that can ruin lives depending on what gets stolen. And is there anything worse to be taken from you than your precious family pet? The theft of pets is nothing new. But UK police have found that 2020 has been one of the worst years ever for pet thievery, most likely associated with an increased demand for dogs over the national lockdowns.

In fact, MPs are debating whether to introduce a law specifically for pet theft that will hand out prison sentences, rather than the fines that are normally given! However, no law is a perfect deterrent; so we have 5 tips you can follow to help protect your dog from cruel pet thieves. 

A colleague of mine recently took her dog to the vet, after a long illness. At the vets, the nursing staff came to her in the car park, and took him away. The next she heard was the vet giving her a phone call, as she sat in her car, and told her he thought it was time to put her dog to sleep. He was as supportive as he could be. But it wasn’t exactly the way to receive bad news that any of us would choose for our pets. And while my colleague was allowed into the practice for euthanasia, it seems that some practices aren’t even allowing that. It’s something that a lot of pet owners are finding very distressing at the moment. While pubs, and most shops, and even some beauty parlours are open, why are some vets still not allowing people inside?

Sadly, this year will always be remembered for its human doom and gloom, global misery, and our own feelings of uncertainty, and in the animal welfare world we’ve also witnessed severe disruptions too. But with your help, and the help of many other animal-lovers across the UK, we may actually see a positive outcome for one very important pet-related issue which, I think you’ll agree, would make a lovely change? 

Despite all the focus on the Coronavirus pandemic, it’s worth bearing in mind that there is other news... Including the (apparently) never-ending Brexit saga! And while negotiations between the UK and the EU over a future trading relationship are still in progress, there is absolutely no guarantee that a trade deal will be agreed. However, the UK has already left the EU (this January), and we are now in the Transition Period. When this ends on 31st of December 2020, the UK will no longer be part of the EU’s Pet Passport Scheme. If you’re planning to take pets to the EU - this is really important!

We’re living in strange times. Never in living memory have so many people been asked to ‘stay home’ for so long. There’s a lot of focus on the bigger negative effects of being indoors for so long: mental; physical; social; and so on. A less obvious downside of lockdown that recent news reports have brought to our attention is vitamin D deficiency. Health experts are concerned many people are becoming deficient in this crucial vitamin because of a lack of going outdoors in the sun. As Britain doesn’t get great sun at the best of times, they are recommending certain groups of people should be taking vitamin D supplements to top up. Naturally, as a nation of animal lovers, questions have arisen as to whether our four-legged friends, who may also be indoors more than usual, should be given vitamin D supplements as well. So today we will be answering the question ‘do dogs need vitamin D supplements?’