Aeroglen Vet surgey thrilled about road closure news.

Aeroglen Vet Surgery heard some great news today about the proposed Whitfield St Closure.  Whitfield St is the short St opposite the General Aviation Airport turnoff.  Whitifield St is a very short but quite busy St.  Many of its users live in Aeroglen and work at the airport.  Around 40% of Aeroglen Vet Surgery Clients use this turnoff as they come from the northern suburbs like Machan's beach , Holloway's beach and Yorkey's knob.  Closing this street would have cost our business around $100,000 per annum and likely forced us to close.  Closing this street would have caused huge inconvenience to residents and businesses in Aeroglen, but also required upgrading alternative routes (which flood in the wet season).  The aim of the closure was to reduce congestion on the highway driving South. There is congestion in the area, but most of it is around the Airport turnoff and the pedestrian crossing outside Mother of Good Council School.  Closing Whitifield Street wouldn't impact the bulk of traffic congestion in this area at all.

We are celebrating this as a victory for common sense and hope the idea isn't resurrected again.

 

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Most popular Cairns Dog breeds 2008

Cairns Vets confirm Staffies are the most popular Cairns Dog breed in this 2008 Cairns Post article.  I will check with council to get some current figures and let you know.

Staffies most popular Cairns Dogs

Staffordshire Bull Terriers are the most popular Cairns Dogs, followed by cattle dogs, border collies and kepties according to 2008 Council records.

I find this a bit surprising and will get some updated figures from Council: I would have expected more retrievers and Bull Arabs in the top 10.

We are certainly seeing more designer dogs like spoodles, labradoodles, groodles and the like, as well as plenty of the ubiquitous maltese-Shi Tzu crosses.

Cairns Vet Clinic recommends if you consider getting a long coated dog to plan to clip it regularly to keep it cool, keep its skin healthy and help in the search for ticks.

What breed of dog do you have?  Would you recommend it to others?

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Veterinary Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

 

 

Best dog breeds in Cairns

Everyone has their own favorite breeds of dogs and cats, but some breeds go much better in the tropics than others.

I recently wrote about the rising popularity of pugs and warned about how these little guys really struggle in the tropics.  With their breathing difficulties and sensitive skin they really struggle. 

Its natural to think of super-short coated breeds as being best for the tropics, yet Cairns Vets see a lot of skin problems in short-coated Cairns Pets such as Shar-peis, Mexican Hairless dogs and Devon and Cornish Rex cats.  Often their skin type is dandruffy, greasy or sensitive, and they seem to be very prone to allergies.

The most popular Cairns dog breed is Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and they seem pretty well suited to the tropics superficially, but many of them suffer from skin and ear problems and their high metabolic rate means they tend to get hot easily: their temperament isn't for everyone, but they are popular family pets.

 

I'd love to know what you think are the best dog breeds for Cairns.

Dogs at Cairns RSPCA

Cairns Veterinary Clinic is proud to be the official RSPCA Cairns shelter Vet.  We do very cheap vet work for the RSPCA including desexing, microchipping and health checks and any other vet work they require to ensure their pets are healthy and won't contribute to further unwanted pets (sadly some shelters and rescue associations don't always desex pets: many of these go on to breed and result in more unwanted puppies and kittens).  RSPCA Cairns is a great place to find your next pet.

RSPCA has heaps of dogs at the moment and is really trying to find homes for them before they face the usual Xmas onslaught of abandoned pets.

 

You can search for pets from Cairns RSPCA any time at adoptapet.com.au

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Veterinary Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

Jersey Kelpie cross Desexed Female - 6Mths View Details

Lara Labrador cross Desexed Female - 7Mths View Details

Buster Mastiff cross Rhodesian Ridgeback Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Preta Neopolitan Mastiff cross Great Dane Desexed Female - 1Yrs 6Mths View Details

Minnie Rhodesian Ridgeback cross Desexed Female View Details

Matilda Rhodesian Ridgeback cross Desexed Female View Details

Lucy Siberian Husky cross Desexed Female - 1Yrs 7Mths View Details

Willow Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross Kelpie Desexed Female - 4Mths (approx) View Details

Chicken Chicken (juvenile) cross Female - 2Mths View Details

Snowy Chinese Silky Bantam Male - 7Mths View Details

No Photo Jo Cockatoo cross Male - 5Yrs (approx) View Details

Will Abyssinian cross Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Ross Abyssinian cross Male View Details

Ginny Abyssinian cross Female View Details

Danny Abyssinian cross Male View Details

Honey Pony cross Female - 16Yrs View Details

Pets at Cairns RPSCA

Cairns Veterinary Clinic is proud to be the official RSPCA Cairns shelter Vet.  We perform highly discounted desexing, microchipping and health checks and any other vet work they require to ensure their pets are healthy and won't contribute to further unwanted pets (sadly some shelters and rescue associations don't always desex pets: many of these go on to breed and result in more unwanted puppies and kittens).  RSPCA Cairns is a great place to find your next pet.

 You can search for pets from Cairns RSPCA any time at adoptapet.com.au

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Veterinary Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

Coco Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 2Mths View Details

Baby Girl Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 2Mths View Details

Samson Siamese cross Desexed Male - 1Yrs (approx) View Details

Sheba Snowshoe cross Desexed Female - 2Yrs 6Mths View Details

Mischief (missy) Snowshoe cross Domestic Longhair Desexed Female - 3Mths View Details

Ruby Australian Cattledog cross Desexed Female - 4Yrs 1Mths View Details

Scout Australian Cattledog cross Kelpie Desexed Female - 2Mths View Details

Maverick Australian Cattledog cross Kelpie Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Murphy Australian Cattledog cross Kelpie Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Buddy Australian Cattledog cross Bull Arab Desexed Male - 7Mths View Details

Rev Bull Arab cross Desexed Male - 2Yrs View Details

Trooper Bull Arab cross Desexed Male - 1Yrs View Details

Nike Bull Arab cross Desexed Male - 3Mths View Details

Tora Greyhound cross Desexed Female - 8Mths View Details

Max Kelpie cross Australian Cattledog Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Jewels Kelpie cross Desexed Female - 9Mths View Details

Cairns Pets: cats and kittens RSPCA

Cairns Veterinary Clinic is proud to be the official RSPCA Cairns shelter Vet.  We perform highly discounted desexing, microchipping and health checks and any other vet work they require to ensure their pets are healthy and won't contribute to further unwanted pets (sadly some shelters and rescue associations don't always desex pets: many of these go on to breed and result in more unwanted puppies and kittens).  RSPCA Cairns is a great place to find your next pet.
Dallas McMillan
Cairns Veterinary Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

 

You can search for pets from Cairns RSPCA any time at adoptapet.com.au

Lester Bengal cross Desexed Male - 3Mths View Details

Buddha Burmese cross Abyssinian Desexed Male - 3Mths View Details

Elvira Domestic Medium Hair cross Desexed Female - 1Yrs 2Mths View Details

Tigger Domestic Medium Hair cross Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Mia Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 6Mths (approx) View Details

Milly Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 5Mths View Details

Cloud Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Male - 1Yrs 3Mths (approx) View Details

Tallulah Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female View Details

Sophie Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 5Mths View Details

Robbie Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Male - 2Yrs View Details

Jonny Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Male - 2Mths View Details

Aeisha Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 2Mths View Details

Hawk Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Male - 1Mths View Details

Dixie Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 1Mths View Details

Alexis Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Female - 1Mths View Details

Otis Domestic Short Hair cross Desexed Male - 1Mths View Details

 

 

 

Cairns pets in council poiund

Cairns Vets wish pet owners would microchip, register and name-tag their pets.  It could save their life and save you a ton of money.

Check out the Cairns pets currently impounded by council.  Most of these were probably happily sitting in their owners yard a few days ago.  Now their future is uncertain.  If you are thinking of buying a pet, consider adopting an animal from the RSPCA or YAPS shelter, you can help re-home some of these lost pets who are not claimed by their owners.

Cairns Pet Evacuation advice

Have you read the Cairns Regional Council's evacuation plan for Cairns in event of emergency such as a cyclone?

In natural disasters, pets often suffer greatly and many pet owners agonize over how to keep their pets safe.

Cairns Vets advises Cairns pet owners you make plans for your pet in advance: it could save their life.

Special needs cat needs home

Anna Prichard

November 28, 2010 at 1:13pm

Subject: Beautiful 'Special Needs' kitty seeking an very special home

Dear Cairns Vet Clinic,

Some irresponsible human recently dumped a special needs kitty at Palms Vet Clinic in Townsville.

Palms Hermit Park Vet Clinic in Townsville is currently seeking a very special mummy/daddy/ family to adopt a gorgeous 7 week old female Persian X kitten with special needs.... she is profoundly deaf. Due to being deaf - for her own safety she needs to be a inside kitty, unless her future humans construct her a catmax enclosure in their garden with 24hr access into the house.. 

Kitty has a white medium length coat. Beautiful huge eyes - one blue & one green ;) 

Kitty is Ms. Personality Plus .... she is also an escape artist she managed to wriggled through the bars of her cage at Palms Vet Clinic ... then explored the surgery .... She eventually curled up asleep in an abandoned Elizabethan collar! 

Kitty adores humans, cuddles & strokes... and produces a perfect purr!

Ms Kitty is currently being cared for by the lovely nurses & vet students at Palm Vet Hermit Park Clinic. 

If you are interested in adopting Ms Kitty please telephone the lovely Ladies at Palms Clinic on 07 4779 5222.

Regards,

Anna

--

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Veterinary Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

Cairns dog advice: don't rush get a pug

Dogs in Cairns need to be able to cope with the heat, and skin problems can be a major issue. Cairns Vets are often asked advice on the best pets for our tropical climate.  A recent survey indicates pugs are the must-have dog this year.  Pugs have a lot of appealing features (especially to people who might not otherwise be attracted to dogs): they have large forward facing eyes, little wrinkly monkey faces and dependant personalities.

Unfortunately, the things that make them so distincitive and appealing cause big problems for the dogs themselves: difficulties breathing (often requiring nose and throat surgery), wrinkled skin (often causing skin and eye problems, sometimes requiring surgery) and pretty poor immune systems (meaning lots of allergies in many pugs).

In Cairns, these dogs really struggle: they just don't cope with the heat, and have a hard time keeping cool and often have skin problems.

Obviously, some pugs do just fine and they can be lovely little dogs, but if you get one you need to work harder then normal to keep it cool and clean and you can expect to make regular visits to the vet.  Regardless, pugs are often a bit smelly with itchy dandruffy skin.  Not much fun for them or their owners.

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Vet Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

 

Pugs are hottest dogs in Australia

Kate Lemmon | 27th November 2010

Ella the pug with owner Lisa Downey. A study has found pugs are the latest substitute for babies.

Claudia Baxter

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THEY have a face that only a mother could love.

But peculiar-looking pugs are now the hottest dogs in Australia.

And it seems that mums like Ipswich’s Lisa Downey are the reason why.

Dog experts say more and more women are splashing out on a pug to mother as their own children reach adulthood.

Mrs Downey adopted Ella from Pug Rescue at Redbank Plains 12 months ago.

“Within two days we had fallen completely in love with her,” Mrs Downey said.

“You can do anything to her. We paint her nails and dress her up. She would be perfect for little kids.

“My daughters love her too. If anything happened to her I’d be devastated. She’s part of the family. At night she watches television with us and can’t be anywhere but our lap.

“She loves going for a drive. We are going to buy her some ‘doggles’ – dog sunglasses.”

The pug leapt to number seven on the Top 10 Dogs in 2010 list, an 11 per cent jump on last year.

Dogs NSW veterinary advisor Dr Peter Higgins said the most popular of the registered dog groups was the toy dogs which include the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, chihuahua and the pug.

“The pug is increasing in popularity. It has a human-like face which looks similar to a baby’s,” Dr Higgins said.

“There is a current trend towards people having children later in life, and so the popularity of the pug and other toy breeds is simply reflective of our changing attitudes.”

Carol-Ann Reddick from Pug Rescue Queensland said people surrendered pugs for a variety of reasons, from the elderly moving into nursing homes to financial reasons.

“It can be a heart-breaking situation because they make wonderful pets, especially for families with children,” she said.

She said the waiting list was about six months.

For inquiries about adopting a pug, visit www.freewebs.com/pugrescueqld.

TOP dogs of 2010

1. Labrador retriever

2. German shepherd

3. Cavalier King Charles spaniel

4. Staffordshire bull terrier

5. Golden retriever

6. Border collie

7. Pug

8. Cocker spaniel

9. Jack Russell terrier

10. Poodle (toy)

Source: Dogs NSW

Cairns tick info

Cains vets have had enquiries from our clients and media about the severity of the tick season this year.  there have been reports of a record tick season across Eastern Australia.

Fortunately for Cairns Pets, we have actually had a fairly quiet tick season this year.

We normally see ticks at greatest numbers in the dry season (too much rain reduces the numbers of adult paralysis ticks) and this year has been too wet for record numbers.

Down south, they are emerging from a 10 year drought event so its the first time there has been enough warm and moist wet weather to trigger tick hatching and maturation on a regular basis.

 

This article on the ABC Rural news refers to the increase in tick numbers.  It manages to confuse things considerably by talking about paralysis ticks, then describing symptoms of cattle tick infestation and control in cattle (anemia), and showing a picture of a cattle tick, (we rarely see cattle ticks in Cairns because there are no cattle around.  On the tablelands cattle ticks are present.)  Brown dog ticks look a bit like cattle ticks in this picture and are often mistaken for them by Cairns pet owners.

Dallas McMillan
Cairns Vet Clinic 
Read the best Cairns Vet advice and Cairns Pet news on the web.

 

Thick with ticks in eastern Australia ABC Rural news

 Thursday, 25/11/2010

The Australian Veterinary Association says it's one of the worst tick seasons on record, and a significant increase in tick paralysis cases has been reported along the east coast of Australia.

Tick paralysis is caused by a toxin the ticks release into the bloodstream and can be fatal.

Queensland veterinary surgeon Dr Bruce Howlett says many farmers couldn't use the usual methods to control tick numbers throughout the year due to wet weather.

He says some animals he's seen are literally covered in ticks, and younger ones can even die of anaemia if left untreated.

"Because we didn't have any significant winter, there was no cold weather and very little frost, so there've been very stable temperature and humidity at ground level where the ticks breed," he said.

"We've carried through a pretty high tick burden and there are a lot of ticks around at the moment."