Dates with your dog feat. Nell Thompson

What do you do with your dog to chillax? You could always climb a cliff (carefully of course).

Happy weekend guys! Hopefully you're all out spending quality time with the non-humans in your lives. I must apologise...I've been in an underserviced area of the country where phone and internet reception are non-existent (if only I'd been with my dog - he would have enjoyed the device-free time, though not sure the other dogs I've been fraternising with would have impressed him!). 

When I put out the call asking people what activities they share with their dogs I recieved quite a few replies, and I'm going to post on these in the future...but I had to single out one person's contribution as she is clearly passionate about spending quality time with the dogs in her life.

4WD tour anyone? 

This post comes from the incredible Nell Thompson, who happens to be the national coordinator for the Getting 2 Zero Summit (read about her here) but also just happens to do UNREAL things with her dogs. 

The whole idea of this post series is to inspire people to spend time with their four-legged friends. Organising dog-specific activities is healthy, its a great way to entertain your dog and it generates seemingly impossible amounts of happiness.

Attending doggy events - such as the Casterton Kelpie Muster.

So just what else DO Nell and friends get up to out of the office?

How about a birthday trip complete with dog-friendly cake? (Don't know your dog's birthday? Neither does he or she. That frees up every day for birthday celebrations).

Fancy a spot of caving?

Contribute to scientific knowledge. This study is closed now, but there's no reason you can't make your own dog-human play movie.

Organise a play date with a friendly little soul. 

Go for a picnic. If you're in snake territory your dog might need to sit on the table.

Pretend to be a working dog.

Go for a swim.

How about an eco tour on the Murray?

Nell has certainly thrown down the gauntlet. So, SAT readers, tell us all about your dog-friendly activities. What does your dog's ideal day look like?

Apologies Phil. Much of my week has been spent working with Tinkerbell and Dr Jemima Amery-Gale, but all for a good cause.

Interview with Diana Chua: how many unwanted companion animals are in Australia

Diana with a canine patient.

Diana Chua is a fifth year veterinary student at the University of Queensland – and teaches in Singapore during her holidays. She is a final year veterinary student who is passionate about animal welfare and is already busy making a difference in this field. She spoke at the Getting2Zero conference earlier this month about the scope of the problem of unwanted companion animals in Australia.

[And yes, SAT unashamedly supports efforts to reduce these numbers which is why we are featuring so many fantastic speakers from the G2Z summit!]

Tell us a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?

I am currently a fifth year veterinary science student at the University of Queensland. I used to work as an education officer with the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Only 4 years ago, I made the decision to embark on this second degree in Veterinary Science, and thus left the service. However, I still teach whenever I return to Singapore during holidays.

You've had an interesting career. Why the change to veterinary science?

I have always wanted to be a vet. I think a veterinarian is what most children aspire to be (well, the 7 year old kids I have spoken to listed it as their ambition ) and I was no exception. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to pursue my dream then, though I was involved in shelter work back in Singapore. I worked on integrating shelter awareness in education by directing a post exam programme for the children in my school, so as to create a sense of social responsibility and reinforce their belief that they can make a difference. Having been in education, I am well aware of the impact that education has on changing the mindset and values of our society. People do the things they do because it is all they know, so to change how they act on things, we have to change how they see things. When the opportunity to study arose, I leapt for it. I believe I can convey information better and leverage teachable moments if I am empowered with the knowledge to do so.

...and with a calf.

You're a final year student, but you've been involved in extracurricular activities throughout your degree. Can you tell us a bit about some of those?

I have joined a number of special interests groups, such as Small Animals Medicine and Surgery and the Wildlife Association. One particular group that I was actively involved in, as a secretary and then as a treasurer the second year, was Veterinary Integrative Medicine. This group is involved in holistic veterinary medicine. This means looking at animal health as a whole - physical health, mental health (via enrichment and quality of life ) and rehabilitation therapy ( physiotherapy, chiropractic therapy, acupuncture ). I believe that veterinary science is very much like teaching - we do not want to encourage just academic excellence, it is equally important to nurture the other aspects of development - values, life skills and interpersonal skills.

Do you have any animals of your own?

I have owned dogs all my life, and mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, quails. The pocket pets were owned jointly by my class children and myself; the kids were excellent care- givers, I must say. I took a backseat and advised accordingly, but the children took ownership of those class pets. Personally, I have had a shih tzu terrier x pomeranian, a Maltese ( my mom's dog ), a dachshund x JRT and a miniature pinscher x JRT. I do love JRT. They have such big characters despite their small statures.

At the Getting to Zero Summit you talked about the magnitude of the unwanted pet problem in Australia - do we know how many unwanted dogs and cats are processed through pounds each year?
What are the challenges in quantifying this problem?

At this point in the study, based on our preliminary data, we have an estimated number of 200 000 unwanted dogs and 160 000 unwanted cats in Australia in a year. Unfortunately, this is a huge underestimation of the actual figures as we have yet to receive pound and shelter data from agencies in a few states, which we had to contact individually. This lack of a centralised database at a state or national level poses a major challenge to data collection for the purpose of this research. It also hinders efficient data analysis and effective evaluation of strategies that are in place. How would you know how well you are doing if you do not have a benchmark to compare with? We also have to consider the fact that the study focuses on data from state and major animal welfare agencies; smaller independent agencies have not been included. All these contribute to a gross underestimation of the actual national figures.

According to Diana's reseach, there are over 200K unwanted dogs and 160K unwanted cats in Australia - though this is a very conservative estimate.

You sought to find out how many animals are affected. How did you go about collecting the data?

As mentioned above, the lack of a centralised database means that the groundwork was extensive. Most of the animal welfare agencies had their shelter data available through their annual reports online. However, for the state agencies, only NSW has a system where their council pounds submit data that are subsequently published in state annual reports. In Victoria, we had to access the individual webpages of the 79 councils to retrieve information on their pounds. In SA, we were only able to get hold of state wide combined data; AWL SA has declined to release their data. For the rest of the states, we had to contact the individual councils separately via emails and phone to request for their pound data: 134 councils in WA, 73 councils in QLD, 16 councils in NT and 7 councils in TAS (the other 22 council pounds are run by Dogs' Home of Tasmania ).

What are the outcomes for animals that are surrendered or admitted into pounds and shelters in Australia?

The usual outcomes are reclaimed by owners, rehomed if unclaimed or unidentified as well as transfers to other agencies for rehoming. These are considered our live release data. Of course, euthanasia is also an outcome the animals in the pounds and shelters face as well.

Were you surprised by the numbers involved?

At this point, as mentioned above, the figures that we have are an underestimation of the actual national statistics. However, we are heartened to see that some agencies boast of a high reclaim/rehome rate, as compared to other agencies, and we want to highlight these agencies for their excellent performance as well as promote awareness and active sharing of effective management strategies. We also noticed that the intake and euthanasia rate for cats have not really improved over the years, as compared to dogs. More research in this area is warranted.

What are the alternatives to euthanasia as a management strategy?

In United States of America, their ‘No Kill’ movement includes a control strategy   ( cats ) – Trap, Neuter and Release ( TNR ). Unfortunately, this is illegal in Australia, which means we have to look to other areas to have an indirect impact on euthanasia being used as a population control strategy. That will be through the live release rates. Reduction of intake of animals into pounds (through responsible pet owner education, strengthening of the human animal bond and early de-sexing), coupled with effective strategies to increase reclaim and rehoming rates and collaboration with other agencies to drive these factors, would hopefully result in a situation where the use of euthanasia as a population management strategy is eliminated.

What would it mean to "get to zero" in Australia?

As a vet in training, I think that euthanasia is inevitable in our pursuit of animal care and well-being, but it should be on valid medical grounds. Hence, ‘Getting to zero’ does not mean nil euthanasia per se, it means giving all healthy and treatable unwanted companion animals a fair chance at life. This translates to a higher standard of animal welfare in Australia.

Interview with Jan Phillips: animals in aged care and animals in public

Doggacino anyone? The RSPCA dog cafe at the Million Paws Walk.

I met Jan Phillips at the Australian Companion Animal Council meeting earlier this year. She is a former Body Shop franchisee, current funeral celebrant and lifelong animal lover.

Tell us who you are and what you do?

During my time as the franchise of The Body Shop Canberra I started a charity for the elderly and sick called PAWS “Pets are wonderful Support”

RSPCA were my insurers for the volunteers and we walked dogs, groomed cats and took animals to vet appointments for the sick and elderly plus we fostered the animals if the client went into hospital or respite and found homes for the animals if the client could no longer look after their pet.

This went on for 12 years until I retired from The Body Shop and I handed the PAWS over to RSPCA who called it Pet Support and it does still exist in a reduced form to this day.

When RSPCA have a dog event I run a Dog Café for them making homemade dog biscuits and Doggacinnos

I am also the Rescue Officer for the Scottish Terrier Club of NSW.

And I have rescued recently 6 Scotties from a puppy farm in QLD plus another from a family going overseas to live in QLD.

One of Jan's PAWS clients with her Corgi Coco.  Jan continues to lend a hand by walking Coco.

You’re passionate about pets and aged care, why?

Last year I was approached by Di Johnstone and Mary Porter MLA to be part of the Pets and Ageing Steering Group in Canberra

My experience helped me advise them about the setting up of an in-home service for the elderly.

However we are currently addressing the problem of retiring into aged care if you own a pet. This was a great sorrow for many of my PAWS clients having to surrender your pet on entering aged care so I was very happy to hear that something was going to change all that and we have!!!! For many of the retirement villages, although the high care end and hostel care will have to have the support of a branch of the in homecare when that is up and running.

Funding is our main problem for all of this, and so far that area has been the hardest part to obtain.

Why is the human-animal bond so important to you?

Many of the sick and elderly I came across with PAWS told me every day “If it wasn’t for this dog/cat I would be dead”.

We all know how important animals are in the lives of so many people yet it has taken government bodies and the medical profession decades to acknowledge this and even now there is reticence to address this life saving issue.

Belle, a Scottish terrier rescued by Jan. She requires ongoing vet care and will need surgery to remove a number of masses on her chest and abdomen.

When it comes to keeping companion animals, how could society do it better?

I tell people whenever I am asked to speak on companion animals get out there with your dog and take it with you to places you would normally not go with them, because remember it is easier to get forgiveness than permission!

In Europe animals are part of the family and can be seen on holidays with their people on boats trains and aeroplanes taxis and all public transport so why not here?

At this stage I must say that all this can only happen if we start to train our animals to be out there and more visible.

The owners must be responsible and of course not take dangerous or annoying animals to public places.

It is possible though, and it needs us to bring about the change.

Animal behaviourists can help, dog training centres and diligent training at home can give you a companion you can take anywhere, and then the critics can’t complain and say “I told you so animals in public places doesn’t work”.  It does if the humans do their part

As a celebrant you encourage people to bring dogs to funerals. Do many people take up the suggestion and how do the dogs cope in these situations?

As a funeral Celebrant, which I do part time, if I see there is a dog in the family that has just lost its owner during the family interview I suggest they bring the dog to the ceremony and we mention his/her name during the service. This adds to the interest, the pathos and shows how much that pet meant to the deceased person.

Agatha, a dog rescued from a puppy farm, meets her new owner in Victoria, thanks to Jan's efforts.

You can get in touch with Jan via her mobile 0412 411 424. As she says, “I am not on Facebook as I want to talk to you live if you disagree with me, or as I hope you agree, “Pets are Wonderful Support”.” 

If you want to read more about pets and aged care please check out previous posts including this interview with Di Johnstone.

Interview with Tegan Stephens, unusual and exotics veterinarian

Tegan with a python patient.

Tegan Stephens is a Sydney-based avian and exotics veterinarian. She talked to SAT about the thrills and spills of her job, passing her memberships (congratulations Tegan!) and common problems in unusual and exotic pets. She's also provided some really useful resources for budding exotics vets out there...

Can you tell us a bit about what you do?

I work at the Bird andExotics Vet Clinic in Waterloo, Sydney and have done since I graduated in 2009. I have always had a keen interest in reptiles and amphibians which has broadened to include birds, small domestic mammals, fish, and native wildlife over the years. Most of my job involves working with individual exotic pet owners, giving owners to best information possible to allow them to provide the best care for their pets.

I recently obtained my membership qualifications through the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Unusual Pet Medicine and Surgery, and am lucky to be one of only seven vets in the world with that qualification.

What species do you treat?

While the main caseload of the clinic is still avian, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of small mammal, reptile, amphibian and fish cases. Much of this is seasonal and the reptile portion of our work begins increasing exponentially at this time of year as things warm up. We treat anything that can fit though the door (except for dogs and cats!) from a 3g baby bearded dragon to a 120kg pig, with finches, peacocks, lace monitors, emus, ferrets, turtles and everything else in between.

Tegan with a koala.

What do you like most about treating exotic pets?

I love the variety we see every day, and the fact that you never know what is about to come through the door. I also love the need to be creative in our treatment and problem solving endeavours. Many of our species are seen so infrequently that there is little written evidence on effective treatment plans. This allows us to constantly think outside the box, and also gives us great scope to add something to the general knowledge base when we work out a new method.

What’s the down side?

We see a much higher volume of disease and injury due to simple husbandry issues, which is always quite depressing. Another problem is the much higher level of death you see when dealing with small fragile creatures which are infinitely better than dogs and cats at hiding clinical signs until the very last moment. The majority of cases we see come in in a very late stage of illness, and it can be challenging to turn some of these around, but exceeding rewarding when you do.

What is it like studying for your memberships? How much study does it involve?

The membership exams were a huge undertaking. My study plan stretched over 18 months with a gradual increase in intensity as they drew closer. By 6 months out panic-phase sets in quite effectively and leaves very little room for anything else in life.

The particular difficulty in passing the unusual pet medicine and surgery membership exams rested on the fact that they had only been offered twice before, leaving only two past papers and not many people available to ask for their experience. I had a great mentor in my boss Alex however, and lots of help from other exotics vets around Australia. The upside is it's nice to be able to say you are one of only seven people in the world with a qualification!

The membership exams are designed to test your knowledge in a chosen area, to determine that you have the skills to be able to assist GP vets in dealing with cases and to be able to handle more complex referrals. It is in most cases one step before working towards your fellowships to become a specialist - however in Australia there are actually no recognized specialist qualifications in exotics. To be able to apply to sit for the membership exam you have to have been practicing for a minimum of 4 years, and can demonstrate that during that time you have made an effort to gain as much experience as possible in your chosen field.

The exam for us involved a 2 hour theory exam and a 1 hour oral exam which were taken 1 month apart. It feels crazy trying to filter down all that information you have been studying for so long into such a brief period of time! 

An exotic pet sports an exotic hat.

It’s been said that many health conditions of unusual and exotic pets are husbandry related. What are the most common husbandry related problems you see?

The most common husbandry related illnesses we see at our clinic would have to be: 

1. respiratory illness in reptiles kept at suboptimal temperatures
2. metabolic bone disease in reptiles, particularly in turtles, dragons and skinks kept without access to a UVB lamp or unfiltered sunlight
3. Dental disease in rabbits which are fed an inappropriate diet consisting of mainly grains and seeds.

How often should unusual and exotic pets visit the vet?

Most unusual pets should be checked by their vet once a year. It is easier with rabbits as they require vaccinations every 9-12 months, but reptiles and ferrets should not be overlooked. A yearly checkup can help discover problems well before they become serious making treatment more effective. Smaller pets such mice and rats, guinea pigs and older exotics or those with ongoing health issues should ideally be checked every 6 months. 

Do you have any favourite unusual or exotic pet related websites or resources to recommend?

For vets the medirabbit.com site is a great source of general to more in depth information, and the lafebervet.com website is a goldmine of resources for all exotic species. 

The previous proceedings of the UEP/UPAV(Unusual Pet and Avian Vets - our new name) subgroup of the AVA are where you will find all the most up-to-date research and information relating to exotics practice in Australia. Joining international groups such as the AEMV (Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians) and ARAV (Association of Reptileand Amphibian Veterinarians) is also a good way to keep in touch with excellent source material such as the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine.

Any advice for budding “unusual” vets

Any vets seriously interested in pursuing this area need to get in touch with an exotic vet in their area, and see if there is any scope for volunteer work at the clinic. Read as much as you can but there is no substitute for hands on experience. 

Membership of the UPAV group of the AVA is a must also, as it is the best way to get in touch with other vets who have similar interests as you, go to the conference and take part in the discussion groups available online.

Thanks Tegan for your time!