In these crazy times let’s remove one stress. I have been asked a number of times “can I catch COVID-19 from my dog”. WASAVA (The World Small Animal Veterinary Association)gives a definitive NO! Let’s also spare a thought for our veterinarians, techs, nurses and other animal health professionals putting their health at risk for your pets.

It doesn't take much to turn what should have been a foolproof system on its head! 

It was a routine after-hours call that could have ended up with the owner dead and me in jail!

The first day of 2020 and our thoughts are with our close neighbors in Australia dealing with horrendous bush fires. Although we are 4000km to the east, we have a sobering indicator of how bad things are. Today's episode truly falls into the "Believe it or Not" category. I am assured it is a true story, but if not, it makes a good yarn. It took a lot of guts to tell it! 

This event from my distant working past really made me question the value of my professional worth! Saturday night, Old Spice, a hot date and living 20 minutes out of town were just too much for a bachelor client! 

There is probably a lesson to be learnt here but it has gone over my head!

It has been a big week. I have retired from my practice and now intend to spend a lot of time fishing, making cheese and recording podcasts. The format of the podcasts has changed slightly as well and they are now more anecdotal. Think more antipodean James Herriot! In this podcast I have to question my own disease status! 

As we get older, so do our joints and arthritis and stiffness may occur. This is also true for our dogs. Would you recognize early arthritis in your mate? Also, for those of you living “The Good Life” what do you do when your hens become “clucky”?

“Just the cats whiskers” and “The cat came back the very next day” are both common expressions (at least in New Zealand). In this episode we discuss the function and uses of whiskers for cats and look at “how the cat came back"?

Veterinarians in the UK are up to four times as likely to commit suicide as the general population. Why why why? This is too important to ignore