Pet of the month

A look back at our June Pet of the Month, Princess. 💚

Princess came into our Sunday morning clinic after her owners noticed she had been a little unwell for a few days and had developed a discharge from her vulva.

Vet Vicky examined Princess and was concerned she may have pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus. Pyometra can affect female dogs who have not been spayed and can become life-threatening if not treated quickly.

Princess had urgent surgery that day, along with blood tests, intravenous fluids and supportive treatment. We are very happy to say she has recovered well and continues to go from strength to strength.

A routine spay removes the risk of pyometra, which is one of the reasons we advise spaying female dogs who are not intended for breeding. The recommended age for spaying can vary depending on your dog’s size and breed, so please speak to our veterinary or nursing team for advice.

Well done Princess. You were a very brave girl. 💚

Walter is one of our diabetic patients and has been incredibly patient throughout his journey, taking everything in his stride and remaining such a happy boy.

His owner first noticed that he was drinking more, eating more and not quite himself. Following further investigations, he was diagnosed with diabetes.

Walter has been an absolute star every step of the way and continues to be such a good boy.

From a young age, Merlin has suffered with anxiety. His owners have worked really hard with behaviouralists and trainers to help support him.

He has been a regular visitor to our nurse confidence clinics and is now happy to have a cuddle with the nurses. He was a super brave boy for his recent vaccinations with the vet.

Our confidence clinics are designed to make our patients more comfortable when they visit, using time, positive rewards and understanding each patient’s behavioural signs.

Wasabi came in to see James with a painful hind leg after a fairly minor slip at home. On checking him over, James was worried about an injury to his hip, and sure enough, an X-ray taken the next day showed that Wasabi had sustained a fracture to his hip.

This is a condition that is sometimes seen in young cats and is due to a failure of the growth plate to close properly, meaning the top of the hip can fracture even without significant trauma.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to repair the abnormal hip, so James and Lucy operated on Wasabi to remove the “ball” of his hip completely in a procedure known as a femoral head and neck excision.

While this might sound bizarre, cats and some dogs can function very well without a hip joint. The muscles of the hind limb provide a strong support network and scar tissue helps to form a false joint, allowing Wasabi normal mobility once he has healed from surgery.

Luckily, this Wasabi is not very spicy at all. He is very sweet and has been very well behaved with his physiotherapy at home to build up his muscle strength.

Elsa disappeared from home for one week, and when she returned to her worried owners it was evident that she had injured one of her back legs. Sadly, x-rays taken at the practice revealed a complex fracture of her femur, which involved her stifle (knee) joint. Our vets here discussed the case with orthopaedic surgeons, but it was considered that attempting a repair would be extremely complex and challenging. Fractures involving a joint can also lead to significant painful arthritis later in life, so her owners made the decision that the best option for Elsa would be to pursue amputation of her hind leg, allowing her a much faster recovery and return to her active lifestyle.

Elsa has recovered well from her operation, and has adapted very well to life on three legs, as dog and cat patients tend to – in fact, when you see them moving around at speed it can be difficult to spot that they are actually an amputee!

Meet Luna, our pet of the month, who we saw for a sore back which sadly got worse in spite of fabulous nursing by her owner.  We had to refer her to specialists when she started to show signs of losing the use of her back legs. A diseased intervertebral disc between the bones of her spine was compressing the nerves supplying her back legs and Luna had to have an emergency surgery.

Thankfully surgery went well, but as you can imagine a major op comes with a long recovery period. Luna has done so well with her restricted exercise and physiotherapy sessions and now five months after the surgery you almost wouldn’t know anything had ever happened!  Luna popped in yesterday to show off her Christmas dryrobe and to have her manicure and pedicure to see in the new year.  Throughout all of her treatment Luna has continued to be such a happy and friendly pup and we have loved looking after her.  Happy New Year Luna!!

Meet Monty, an extremely brave Flat-Coated Retriever. Monty came to us feeling very unwell with lethargy and abdominal discomfort. After clinical assessment, blood tests and x-rays, he underwent surgery where we discovered a partial mesenteric torsion—a serious condition that was successfully corrected.

Despite being critically ill for several days, Monty showed incredible strength, resilience, and his loving nature never wavered. Today, he’s fully recovered and back to living his best life, having gained a large number of new fans here at Orchard Vets!

Meet Pebbles, our delightful Pet of the Month at Orchard Vets! Pebbles is a much-loved tortoise, owned by one of our very own veterinary nurses, who knows her inside out after many happy years together. When Pebbles started acting a little out of sorts, her owner’s sharp eye picked up that something wasn’t quite right. An X-ray soon revealed the surprising cause — Pebbles was carrying three eggs, each measuring nearly 5 cm in length! With gentle care and expert treatment from our team (and a special thanks to James for his help), Pebbles was able to safely pass all three eggs and is now back to her bright, curious self. A true testament to the power of keen observation, teamwork, and a whole lot of love!

Meet our pet of the month Wilf, who came to us in a sorry state after going missing for 2 months. Wilf was severely dehydrated and had lost a lot of weight due to being malnourished. Wilf was given fluids, regular small meals, pain relief and lots of TLC. He stayed with us for a few days and is such a character that we all fell in love with him. You can imagine how relieved his family were when he was ready to go home and whilst he is doing really well, it will take time to recuperate. We can’t imagine what Wilf got up to in his 2 months absence, but he is a very lucky boy and this also goes to show that if your cat goes missing, not to give up hope that they may return.

Stay gorgeous Wilf!!

Meet our pet of the month, Mildred, who found herself in a bit of a pickle this weekend. Our vet James was called out of hours as Mildred went out for a stroll around the garden and came back with her head stuck out and rotated at a 90 degree angle. Poor Mildred was unable to retract her head back into her shell. After some hissing, James managed to get her head dislodged but poor Mildred then hid from him in her shell. She finally came out and after a little stroll around James could see that other than mild bruising she was ok. He believes she was having a look around and something spooked her and whilst trying to go back in her shell in a hurry she wedged her head sideways. Her owner tells us that apart from being a little bit timid after her scare she is now fighting fit again! Good work James and Mildred!

Meet Rowlf, July’s pet of the month! He came in with sudden onset irritation with his right ear. When vet Vicky tried to look down the ears, Rowlf was very painful making it tricky for Vicky to see what was going on, but she suspected there was a grass seed. Under sedation, she was able to find a large grass seed in the ear canal which she was able to successfully remove. We are currently in grass seed season, so if you notice sudden onset of head shaking or painful ears give us a call straight away.

Meet Halo, June’s pet of the month! Halo is a very sweet Jack Russell Terrier who’s had ongoing eye problems for the last couple of months. Despite lots of vet visits, multiple eye drops and emergency surgery, she still happily and very enthusiastically runs into the consulting room for her rechecks with vet Louise! Such a brave girl. Wishing Halo a speedy recovery.

Meet Bailey our May pet of the month. Bailey came to us in January needing some advice and support for weight loss as he had put on quite a bit over time. He began attending regular weight watcher management clinics with our nurse Chloe and hit his ideal target weight this month. Being over weight can cause heart and joint strain, mobility and breathing difficulties and the risk of complications during surgeries can be higher. It can be cheaper to feed average weight pets and also your pets will be less likely to need medical treatment for things like joint and mobility issues. Bailey looks like a different dog and has worked really hard to get this weight off; good work Bailey!! To find out more about our weight watcher clinics call us or visit www.ovg.co.uk

Meet Hugo, April’s Pet of the Month. He came in as an emergency, being very quiet in himself and painful in his abdomen. Hugo was admitted for pain relief, fluids, and abdominal imaging. On the x-rays, vet Vicky could see gas-filled loops of intestines as well as something suspected to be a foreign body. Because of this, she recommended Hugo have surgery. Vicky could see that the small intestines had twisted on themselves, which had lead to a very compromised blood supply in addition to a foreign body which was removed. Even after untwisting the intestines, Hugo still had a guarded prognosis. However, this was caught early by Hugo’s owners and the team here and Hugo has recovered well.  He has become a firm staff favourite!

Meet Wilson, March’s Pet of the Month, who’s had a dramatic start to life! He came in after falling off his owners’ bed and was limping on his right hind leg. Based on this, vet Hannah suspected that he had an avulsion fracture of the tibia. As Wilson is still growing, she was also concerned about his growth plates of the long bones within the leg, so he was booked in for x-rays urgently. These confirmed these suspicions and Wilson was booked in for repair with vet James. Following the surgery, he was still showing some pain and had to go in for revision of some of the metal work. We’re glad to say that Wilson is now back to his mischievous self after this!

Meet Desmond, February’s Pet of the Month. He initially presented to us with lameness of the left back leg. After no improvement with pain relief and rest, x-rays were taken of the leg which unfortunately showed bone cancer. X-rays were taken of Desmond’s chest at the same time to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread to the lungs, which luckily for him it hadn’t. The decision was made to remove the leg to prevent any spread and to prevent the risk of pathological fractures. He’s now doing well on three legs and back to his normal self!

Meet Gloria and Trixie, January’s Pets of the Month. Not long after their owner brought them home, they noticed they were getting bigger. Vet James did an ultrasound which showed that they were both unexpectedly pregnant! They then went on to give birth to a litter of piglets each. Guinea pigs can get pregnant from 2 months old, and pregnancies last between 60-70 days. Their pelvis is designed to expand to make giving birth easier, but if they haven’t given birth by 8 months old it fuses. This makes giving birth very dangerous and can become an emergency.

Meet Patti, November’s Pet of the Month. She was brought into us as an emergency as her owner had noticed one her toes was sticking out at a funny angle. Vet James took an x-ray of the foot, which showed a fractured digit. He then amputated the digit. Patti recovered well from the surgery, but a case of an unlucky rabbit’s foot!

Meet Luna, our October Pet of the Month. She was brought into the practice as an emergency after being kicked by a horse. She was stabilised by the team here as she was very painful. We then took chest x-rays which showed several broken ribs and bruising to the lungs. Given the extent of her injuries, Luna was referred to Langford for specialist care. She did well initially after discharge from Langford, however Luna was brought back in when a hoof shaped wound started opening up. We saw her back over the next few weeks for wound care as it took a while to heal. Fortunately, vet Louise was able to recently sign her off as the wound healed up nicely!

Meet Boots’ (the cat at the top of the photo) whose owner brought him into us after he came home limping.

Sadly, the x-ray showed that Boots had been shot with an air rifle, and the pellet had broken his hip bone. Unfortunately for Boots his leg had to be amputated.

Though he has recovered well, his family have been shocked and upset by this distressing situation and have given their blessing to share his story and pictures, as they want to raise awareness of the impact this dangerous behaviour has had on their family.

Boots now starts his journey of recovery; spending more time indoors and learning to cope with life on 3 paws instead of 4. This recovery also extends to Boots’ family, who are trying coming to terms with the trauma that their beloved pet has had to suffer. Sending many well wishes to them all.

This very handsome gentlemen is Lucca and he is July’s pet of the month! Due to an old injury from his youth, Lucca has been more at risk through his life of his hip dislocating. This has actually only occurred a few times over the years and has been managed very successfully. However, as Lucca is getting older, the muscles around his hips and legs aren’t doing as good a job at helping everything stay in place anymore. This means that these hip dislocation events were likely to occur more frequently with age. Therefore, when he came in to see us non-weight bearing on his left back leg due to another hip dislocation, it was decided that a more permanent solution was needed. Lucca went on to have a femoral head and neck excision surgery with our vet, James. James removed the top part of the leg bone that joins to the hip to create a ‘false joint’, which, although anatomically different from a normal hip, allows a good range of motion and pain free movement for our patient. Since the operation, Lucca has recovered remarkably well, thanks in no small part to his dedicated owner who has been excellent in managing his after care and physiotherapy. Within a week, Lucca started walking on his new ‘pseudo-hip’ and is so much more comfortable. Well done Lucca for being such a brave patient and acing your recovery process!

This little girl is Khaleesi, and she has been named June’s Pet of the Month! In the late hours of the night, Khaleesi decided that a fish hook looked like a very appetizing snack and managed to swallow it whole! She was seen in practice by our vets as an out of hours emergency where it was confirmed on an X-ray that the fish hook was lodged in her oesophagus. Thankfully, by using an endoscope, our vets were able to non-invasively remove the fish hook from the oesophagus with minimal trauma to the area. Khaleesi recovered amazingly well with no complications following her procedure. Well done Khaleesi! She is such a bright and sweet character in practice, but we do hope she makes wiser choices when she is next feeling peckish!

May’s Pet of the Month is awarded to this lovely gentleman, Jasper. Jasper came in to see us after developing diarrhoea and vomiting. This quickly deteriorated to haemorrhagic diarrhoea. Investigations suggested a very significant infection and the blood in his faeces suggested ulcers had developed along his gastric lining. This was putting such a strain on Jasper’s body that he started getting irregular heart rates and rhythms. This was a scary time for Jasper and his family as he was hospitalised for intensive supportive care with constant monitoring due to his cardiac abnormalities. Thankfully, after 3 days, Jasper rallied. He started eating of his own accord and trying to escape his kennels for a walk outside whenever we performed our checks. Well done Jasper for being such a brave fighter during your hospital stay! We are thrilled to hear that he is getting more and more energetic each day as he is happily back home with his family.

This sweet little boy is Timmy 2 and he has been named April’s pet of the month! Timmy has been through quite the ordeal at less than a year old. He is an indoor cat who managed to escape out a window after getting spooked and went missing for 3 weeks. When he was finally found he was hungry, tired and dehydrated and had extensive wounds around his back right leg that were heavily infected. X-rays revealed the infection from his wounds extended into the bones of his leg themselves. The prognosis for his leg recovering was very poor so the decision was made to amputate his back right leg so that he could get back to a good quality of life as soon as possible. After 72 hours of hospitalization to get fluids, pain relief and some calories in him, Timmy underwent his surgery and thankfully made it through to now thrive as a three-legged cat. Despite this unexpected and stressful event, Timmy 2 remained an affectionate and cheeky patient who our team absolutely fell in love with during his time with us in practice. Wishing you all the best Timmy 2, well done!

Our belated March Pet of the Month is Grace! This sweet girlie initially came in to see us with a ripped nail after we thought she had just been frolicking a bit too enthusiastically. However, over the next few weeks, Grace came in frequently as, one by one, all her nails started splitting. Grace was diagnosed with a rare disease called Lupoid Onychodystrophy , a suspected autoimmune disorder that causes nails to become brittle and deformed and prone to cracking and falling off. Grace was started on immunosuppressant medication and as each nail became loose, Grace had to come in to have that nail removed and address any secondary infection of the nail bed. This was an uncomfortable process for Grace and required multiple sedations but each time she came to see us she was still so happy to come in and say hello. She even won the ‘Waggiest Tail’ award at our open day event! Well done Grace for being such a patient and happy little trooper through all of this!

February’s Pet of the Month is Lexi! This beautiful girl came in for a vaccination at the end of last year but she was so nervous that we couldn’t safely examine her or give her a booster without her becoming a bit snappy. We recognised that Lexi wasn’t a nasty dog at all, but was only unpredictable because she was fearful of the practice environment. She was therefore enrolled in our Vet Confidence Clinics with the aim of giving her a booster within 3 months. Lexi is such a smart girl and helpfully very food-orientated, so with lots of treats, she started to feel comfortable coming into the practice and was able to bond with our lovely nurse Jess by showing off all of her favourite tricks.

Her owners put in an amazing effort at home with muzzle training and were so diligent in bringing her back to the clinic weekly so that she could keep building up her confidence. Gradually Lexi acclimatised to the practice and began to trust us enough to allow more hands-on cuddles that built up to a sneaky clinical exam. Finally, we were able to safely give Lexi a booster. By building up to this slowly, the event itself was a lot less traumatic for Lexi and she was still happy to come in and see us the week after. This has been a fantastic team effort from our nurse Jess and Lexi’s amazing owners who have really put in the time and energy to make vet visits a lot less stressful, consequently making important preventative healthcare feasible. And of course, a huge well done to Lexi for being the bravest girl and coming out of her shell in the practice! How could we not fall in love with this face!

January’s Pet of the Month title is awarded to the mischievous Harry. This sweet little man got himself in a pickle when he was so excited to play with his new octopus soft toy, that he accidently ate a whole tentacle. He clearly decided that octopus tentacles were very delicious because he proceeded to eat 3 more! Unsurprisingly, this caused Harry quite the tummy upset. Unfortunately, he was unable to throw the tentacles back up and they started to block the passage of food through his stomach. If left, this blockage would have been life-threatening for Harry. Our vets attempted to retrieve the tentacles by a less invasive endoscopic route but the stomach was so full of food material that the toy segments were unable to be visualised. The only option left was to surgically remove the octopus tentacles from the stomach by gastrotomy. Harry coped very well with this procedure and thankfully made a full recovery. This was a good reminder to us all of how dangerous easily-destroyed toys can be to our furry friends. Well done to Harry for being such a good patient and coping with major abdominal surgery like a champ! We hope that Harry has learnt his lesson and won’t be consuming any more soft toys in the future!

December’s Pet of the Month Award goes to Tara! This gorgeous girl has been a joy to have in practice after her recent spay. Due to her very bouncy nature, Tara experienced a bit of excess swelling and the development of a seroma (an accumulation of inflammatory fluid) at her surgical site which meant she needed a few extra checks with us in the practice. A surgical site seroma is a fairly common, non-painful complication of surgery in dogs that are hard to keep still during the post-operative recovery period. Luckily, they mostly resolve themselves with just some extra anti-inflammatories and rest. Tara’s surgical site is now looking great and she can get back to her normal routine with her owner’s knowing that she is no longer at risk of a potentially fatal uterine infection or any nasty cancers of the reproductive tract. Well-done to Tara’s owners for keeping coming back for those important post-op checks and ensuring Tara rested which is no mean feat when you have such an excitable little girl. And well-done Tara for coping so well with her operation and never losing patience with us at the practice. We very much enjoyed her finding an X-ray positioning aid and giving it to James to play with!

This sweetie-pie is Fern and she has been chosen as November’s Pet of the Month. She recently had a run in with some heavy machinery whilst working on her farm which resulted in 2 large wounds on her leg that went all the way down to the bone! These were managed as open wounds, meaning that Fern had to come in initially every day for the wound to be cleaned and re-bandaged under sedation. As the wound started to heal and became less painful, we started changing Fern’s bandage every 3 days without sedation. This little girl, despite everything, remained so bright and pleased to see us. She always came bounding in to say hello to everyone and she would even try to jump onto the table for us to start changing her bandage! With Fern’s patience, her owner’s diligence and our excellent nursing team’s bandaging abilities, Fern is now fully recovered and ready to get back to normal farm life. Well done Fern!

October’s Pet of the Month title has been awarded to Cooper! This brave little man came in a few weeks ago with a bit of vomiting and diarrhoea which unfortunately developed into a very severe infectious haemorrhagic gastroenteritis. Cooper needed to be hospitalised with us for 4 days for intensive treatment and was very poorly indeed. Even at his most miserable though, Cooper was still the sweetest of patients and has proved himself a real fighter to get through such an extreme infection. Happily, with the help of our amazing nurse team, he is now home and finally getting back to his normal self. We have definitely fallen in love with Cooper at the practice and we are so pleased to see him thriving again. Well done Cooper!

Early this month, this lovely little girl, Skye, came in because she was consistently shaking her head. On examination, one of our vets saw something that shouldn’t be there sitting in her ear canal. At this time of year, grass seeds are everywhere, so this was our first thought as to the most likely foreign body. Skye needed to be sedated so that we could safely remove the foreign body. Much to our vets and nurses’ horror, a winged insect was removed from her ear! Poor Skye must have had a nap with her ears turned inside out and a creepy crawly thought it was a good place to hide. Despite obviously being uncomfortable, Skye was a little angel in the practice for her exam and coped so well with her sedation. For this we are naming Skye September’s Pet of the Month! Well done Skye and remember to keep your gorgeous floppy ears the right way round!

This month’s Pet of the Month award goes to the lovely Peaches! A few weeks ago this little lady had a nasty eye injury which meant she needed to undergo surgery for an eye removal. Despite her small stature, Peaches is full of spirit and coped amazingly under anaesthetic. She was chomping down cucumber within half an hour of her operation finishing and continued to recover rapidly. She is now adjusting brilliantly to her new single-eyed life. Well done Peaches!

This young chap is Toby, who got into a bit of an accident recently where he fractured one of his canines and needed it removed. At Orchard Vets we perform full mouth x-rays on all dental patients, and these x-rays show why! Toby had managed to get a small piece of wire embedded in his gum underneath one of his molars. This was successfully removed and he’s now much happier!

Just in time for Christmas, this lovely girl is Mia.

Mia has spent a few weeks visiting us after a recent accident. We’re glad to say she’s doing really well and has been awarded pet of the month for her hard work getting better, and always coming in with a big smile on her face!

WELL DONE MIA

We recommended Sammy to start veterinary socialisation clinics back in June as he had had a particularly scary trip to the practice last year and unfortunately was anxious on his visits thereafter. Sammy and his owner have put in tremendous amounts of effort, coming in for socialisation every couple of weeks to make him more comfortable and confident in the practice environment. He has come on leaps and bounds and although we are still working to build up his confidence with instruments such as the stethoscope and nail clippers, he is a completely different dog and is as excited to see us as we are him. He’s a very popular boy out the back with are nurses and we all love spending time with him, making his visits to the practice less daunting and hopefully more enjoyable!

If you think your dog would benefit from the veterinary socialisation clinics like Sammy has, then why not give us a call on 01458 832972. Our clinics run every weekday from 10.30 – 12pm and 2.30pm – 5.30 pm.

This little chap had to have a helping hand coming in to the world as his mum had a twisted uterus. We’re happy to say that both cow and calf are doing well, and because of this we’ve awarded them Pet of the Month.

This is 8 week old Narla who came to stay with us recently after getting quite poorly. We’re pleased to say she’s back to her normal mischievous self and bouncing around. We’ve decided to award her ‘Pet of the month’ for her hard work in getting better.

This is Clementine who came in for a check-up recently with her Platinum Jubilee inspired outfit.

Uno has been in recently for a castrate and has won over everyone with his good looks and golden locks!

Harry the Dachshund is a staff favourite who has been in a lot recently, due to difficulties with his paws which has been a challenge to resolve!

This adorable pair were brought in together for their vaccinations and health check recently and will be due back soon for neutering!

For more information about taking the best care of your rabbit book a consultation with one of our vets. Alternatively, check out our website advice pages or the Rabbit welfare association and fund website (RWAF)

Apart from being adorable, Coco is also very brave and has made a brilliant recovery from a fracture to her Tibia which was repaired in house.

Nala is 9 months old and loves making friends and learning new tricks!

Here she is getting to know the staff on reception after her free adolescent health check as part of the health plan.

During the adolescent checks we discuss a range of topics including pet specific considerations for neutering, diet, dental hygiene and any other concerns you may have to help your pet stay healthy.

Pet of the month for March is Piper.

She is one of our favourite geriatric patients who recently underwent successful surgery for removal of a large tumour on her back.

Murray is pet of the month for February.

He came in for a castrate recently as he lives in a multi-cat household.

He was so photogenic and well behaved he had to feature!

Puddle is a 13 year old dalmatian who has a grade 3 heart murmur and recently came in for removal of an infected lump on her side.

She went through the operation without a hitch and is recovering well!

Pet of the Month for December is Reggie a Holland Lop rabbit who came in recently for his Castration operation.

This is usually performed at around 5 months of age but can be performed from 3 months old. For more information visit our ‘advice & resources’ page.

Sir Nigel is our pet of the month for November for his fantastic recovery from an acute kidney injury earlier this year and for being such a good patient when he presented with a wound in his armpit earlier this month which is healing nicely.

He quickly became a staff favourite during his stay but, although we all love having him in, hopefully the next visit will just be for his health check and vaccination!

Luna is a 1-year old crossbreed.

She was recently in for her spay operation and she looked so smart in her medishirt we decided she should be pet of the month for October!