This month marks a significant milestone in the life of Uralla Vet Clinic – this month marks 10 years since Jo and Justin took ownership of Uralla Vet Clinic! We feel very privileged to carry on the legacy that Bob Franklin started over 45 years ago. It is a real testament to the enduring commitment of our community that our clinic is still a vital part of Uralla. 

Did you know that Vicki has been an incredible part of our team for a remarkable 40 years? Annette and Jo have also been with us for over 20 years each! Our current staff of 10 have a combined almost 120 years of working at Uralla Vet Clinic! This team’s longstanding service reflects our deep connection to Uralla, a beautiful community that we are so proud to be a part of. We are also thankful for the wonderful vets and nurses who have worked for us in the past and been part of our journey over the last decade—their passion and care for every animal they treat has been truly inspiring.  

We are immensely grateful to all our clients who have trusted us through the highs and lows over the years. It is an honour to be part of your lives and to care for your beloved pets and livestock. There are so many of you and your animals that have genuinely made an impact on us. Thank you for being part of our story, and here’s to many more years of working together to keep Uralla’s animals happy and healthy! 

PS Keep an eye on our Facebook page for some birthday surprises for you later in the month!! 

Spring has finally sprung! It’s wonderful to enjoy some warmer weather, and watch the plants emerging from their winter hibernation, and seeing new lambs and calves in the paddocks. As we enjoy the beauty of the season, it’s important to remember that the warmer weather also brings some challenges for our pets, particularly fleas, ticks, and snakes. Here are some tips to keep your pets safe and healthy this spring! 

• Flea and Tick Tips: 

• Regular Prevention: Ensure your pets are on a consistent flea prevention program. If you are travelling towards the coast then tick prevention is particularly important also. Our colleagues on the coast are already seeing an increase in the number of pets affected by paralysis ticks. A new injectable annual flea and tick preventative has just been released. This will be a game changer for those pets who suffer from flea allergies and for people who regularly travel to the coast. There are many other prevention options available, including topical treatments, oral medications, and collars. Speak with us to find the best solution for your pet. 

• Check Your Pet Regularly: Check your pet for any signs of fleas or ticks, especially around the ears, neck, and between toes. 

• Wash Bedding Regularly: Frequently wash your pet’s bedding in hot water to reduce the risk of flea infestations. 

• Tips for Avoiding Snakes Around the Home: 

Snakes are already out and about thanks to this warmer weather. As they emerge from their brumation, they will be thinking about finding food, water and a mate. As they become more active, it is important to take steps to help keep our pets safe: 

• Minimise the food/sources for snakes around your house: controlling rodents in your house, storing chicken and pet food in rodent proof containers, removing ponds close to the house. 

• Clear the Clutter: Remove piles of rocks, wood, or other debris where snakes might seek shelter. 

• Keep the Grass Short: Snakes prefer the protection of long grass, so keep your lawn mown and gardens tidy. 

• Seal Gaps: Check for and seal any gaps under doors, fences, or other entry points where snakes could slither in. 

• Supervise Outdoor Play: When your pets are outside, keep an eye on them, especially in areas where snakes might be present. 

• Out on the farms: 

• The wet winter with few frosts has set us up for a cracking spring this year! It makes a nice change to be seeing so much green in the paddocks at this time of year. 

• The lack of frosts, and early warm weather means the worm burden on the pasture may not have dropped off over the winter and farmers should be vigilant and monitoring stock for worms. Perform faecal egg counts, and using a combination of strategies such as paddock rotation, vaccination and strategic drenching. 

• If not already using a loose lick, consider using a loose lick containing magnesium, calcium and salt for your pregnant stock, particularly while pastures are still short and lush. This time of year Grass Tetany is quite common on highly improved lush pastures due to low magnesium. 

• Vaccination against clostridial diseases, particularly pulpy kidney, is important during spring. Stock only get around 90 days protection against pulpy kidney, so ideally give stock a booster vaccination before putting them out onto a lush pasture if they haven’t been done in the last 3 months. 

• Also give a thought towards bloat prevention: 

• Introduce livestock to lush pastures gradually, especially those rich in legumes like clover or lucerne, which are high-risk for bloat. Avoid grazing early in the morning when plants have higher water content and risk of causing bloat. 

• Provide a roughage source like hay or straw while animals are grazing high-risk pastures to help buffer the rumen. 

• Consider using bloat control agents such as bloat blocks, loose lick, or liquid supplements. Ensure animals have consistent access, as these products work best with regular intake. 

• Consider adding bloat oil to the water supply or spraying it onto pastures if other methods are insufficient. 

• Monitor livestock frequently, especially during peak risk periods like the rapid growth phase of pastures after rain. Remove animals from high-risk pastures at the first sign of bloat and provide dry feed or administer anti-bloat treatment promptly. 

• Use strip grazing or rotational grazing to manage pasture intake and prevent overeating of high-risk forage. 

• Delay grazing until pastures are more mature, as the risk of bloat decreases as plants become less lush and fibrous. 

• A reminder on prescription (S4) medications: 

• Veterinarians are bound by several laws surrounding the prescribing, authorising and dispensing of prescription only (S4) medications. These laws are similar to those human doctors and pharmacies must abide by and have been put into place to help ensure the safety of people and their pets. If we don’t abide by these laws, we place our individual veterinary registrations and our hospital licences in jeopardy, and risk serious legal ramifications 

• Animals need to have a current prescription to be able to obtain prescription medications. For prescriptions to remain current, a patient needs to be under regular and direct care by one of our vets. For certain circumstances, this may mean 6 monthly or even more regular checkups. For farm clients preg testing, farm dog vaccination runs and OJD or brucellosis testing can count as a farm visit. Alternatively, we offer a drastically reduced rate s4 annual farm visit for farms that we haven’t visited in the previous 12 months.  

• In the same way that a pharmacist needs to be present to authorise and dispense human medications, a veterinarian needs to be present to authorise and dispense these medications for your animals. Vet nurses are not able to do this, only vets can. 

• If your pet is on prescription medications or you need prescription medications for your cattle, horses or sheep we strongly recommend phoning and placing an order for these medications. Our vets are not always immediately available to authorise the medications, they may be busy in consultations, in surgery or out on farm . We aim to fill all medication requests as soon as the vets are able to, usually within a few hours.  

This charming fellow is looking for a new home. Muffin is a smoochy 9 year old desexed male Ginger Tabby whose owner is sadly unable to care for any more. Muffin has been living with us for the last several weeks and is quite chilled out and lapping up the attention, however we would love to see him find a permanent home. Muffin isn’t at all fazed by dogs in the clinic, however he would much prefer to be in a single cat household where he can be king of his domain! Please contact us if you think Muffin could be the newest addition to your family