Date with your Flinders Ranges Scorpion

This just in from SAT reader Rex: "Please find attached a photo of myself and my partner in crime preparing for an epic evening of documentary gazing. He always gets excited on our Attenborough Nights, when we choose a documentary to watch together. A Micro Monsters prize would be a welcome addition to our collection".

Thank you to everyone entering our David Attenborough Giveaway competition (if somehow you STILL don’t know about it, click here). We received this entry from Rex and his partner in crime, Juan Enchilada Kakadu Cortez, a two-year-old Flinders Ranges Scorpion (Urodacus elongatus).

I must admit I’ve not personally met a Flinders Rangers Scorpion yet (bring it on), so had to read a bit more about them here.

Please keep the entries coming! I will be posting these regularly so don't fear if you've not seen yours just yet. And if you're in Sydney it looks like there will be an entire wet weekend - perfect for taking snaps of pets and peeps punching in some couch time.

Meantime the big newsdoing the rounds is a potential new treatment for parvovirus. I am always cautiously optimistic about these leads as they don't always materialise in the form of a commercially available drug. Parvo is a terrible disease and the mainstay of prevention is vaccination. The virus is everywhere, it lasts in the environment for years, and kills thousands of puppies every year. So failing to vaccinate is a false economy.

Affected animals require intensive care and not all respond, so it will be wonderful to add something new to our arsenal.

Pole-vaulting cats, mis-directed texts and a vet nurse who rocks

The latest entry from our David Attenborough Giveaway competition. Yes, its meant to be a pic of you and your non-humans watching the box but we got this note: "Hi Anne and Phil, my name is Jennifer and I live the simple life, so I don't have a TV. I pass the time with a good bottle of red and a little lie down". Thanks Jennifer. (NB We must do the responsible thing and note that wine is a definite no-no for dogs, but good for Jennifer for resisting the magnestism of the teev).

There’s nothing like a three-legged cat-thlete to throw a spanner in the works of your day. There I was about to blog this morning when a certain hero (aptly named Hero) leapt onto a carelessly positioned piece of outdoor furniture and pole-vaulted into the neighbour’s yard and was left clinging precariously to a fence with his single front leg.

He wasn’t too thrilled when I retrieved him but he’s recovering on the bed now.

Hero is uninjured (despite his best efforts!)

Said piece of furniture is too heavy to move, so I called a friend with a big muscly partner to see if I could borrow him to fix that situation. To aid in his decision making I took a photo of the furniture and texted it to my girlfriend with the caption “this is the situation”. It went to the wrong number and a guy called Matt was left very confused (for the people who believe - which I don't - sometimes tells me this is all because it is "Mecury retrograde"). Try explaining THAT to Matt. I think he thought I was some shifty person trying to move some hot goods.

Next week we’re interviewing the fabulous Maria Temelkos, vet nurse extraordinaire by day and vocalist for all-girl, floor-filling wonder-band that is The Frocks. There is nothing these ladies can’t cover, and if you liked the original you will loved the Frocked-up version. They've got a very special gig on next weekend, so if you're in town your feet won't forgive you for missing the Frocks.

Is a single rabies vaccination enough to protect dogs from infection?

Edgar catches the news (NB this is not an official entrant in our David Attenborough giveaway as I took the photo...but how could anyone resist?)

A study just published in the Veterinary Record looked at the efficacy of antirabies vaccination in dogs and found that only 39.67 dogs demonstrated protective antibody levels.

This raises major questions about stray dogs vaccinated against rabies. A single vaccination is no guarantee, though a number of aid programs are designed to deliver one vaccine to all animals. This is important - but not enough to establish protective immunity. 

We are very fortunate not to have rabies in Australia, but it’s a scary disease. I should at this point state that rabies is NOT a core vaccination in Australia for companion animals and is only given by Government and AQIS certified vets to animals for the purposes of export to other countries.

Interestingly the factors found to play a role in immunity and maintenance of a protective antibody titre in dogs were regular vaccination, regular exercise, companionship, non-descript breed, desexing, and being over one year old. Stressed, poorly cared for animals are less likely to mount an effective immune response.

The study looked at 300 serum samples from dogs vaccinated for rabies at Madras Veterinary CollegeTeaching Hospital in Chennai, India – a rabies endemic area. To be included in the study, dogs had to be three months old, clinically well and have had at least one rabies vaccination.

Animals less than one year old were less likely to have a protective antibody titre, possibly because they are less capable of mounting an effective immune response following vaccination – a good incentive to revaccinate these animals.

Interestingly, desexed animals were better able to maintain a protective antibody titre than entire animals. A previous study found that castrated mice responded to antigenic stimulation better than entire mice, with twice the number of T lymphocytes, but it isn’t known if this is the explanation here.

Dogs fed a variety of food – rather than a monotonous and likely deficient diet – were also more likely to have a protective antibody titre suggesting that better nutrition leads to better immunity.

Antibody titres were significantly higher in animals receiving multiple rabies vaccinations. Except in adult dogs that had a history of previous immunisation, a single dose of antirabies vaccine was not enough to maintain a good protective antibody titre for twelve months in 50 per cent of adult dogs and puppies.

It’s a reminder of the importance of re-vaccination, especially in endemic countries.

Meanwhile would you believe that there are some insanely irresponsible people out there who are falsifying rabies vaccination certificates? The impact of such an act could be huge – ranging from leading to human and animal deaths to introducing rabies into a non-endemic country. You can read more about it at the Worms and Germs blog here. It is totally unacceptable to play Russian Roulette with infectious diseases.

Reference

Yale G, Ganesan PL, Tirumurugaan KG, Madhusudana SN, Vijaya Bharathi M, Thangavelu A, Yajaman Belludi A, Sanyal S and Taj S (2014). Factors affecting duration of immunity of rabies vaccination in dogs. Vet Rec Open 2014;1:e000023 doi 10.1136/vropen-2013-000023

Do something proactive: become a new grad mentor

Bosca is either wrapped in the program, or stifling a yawn.

Well the entries have started rolling in thick and fast for our David Attenboroughgiveaway competition, and to answer some queries: no, the photo comp is not limited to dogs and cats so if you do happen to watch TV with a different species go right ahead and enter (its painless). (NB the way this para is worded does make it look like I am giving away Sir David himself. Alas no, and if I had him, I'd be keeping him, but you will get him in DVD form - probably a lot more practical).

Also if you are using your phone to take pics, I stumbled across these tips from the ABC here.

In the age of information overload, anyone can learn a new skill or profession if they really want to – but there’s some stuff that textbooks, journal articles, dare I say even blogs cannot teach you. Having a mentor can make all the difference. When I think about it I’ve been lucky to have mentors in every area I’ve ventured into. They might not have called themselves mentors (and I sure didn’t call myself a mentee because that is just a ridiculous word), but there’s always been someone who said “oh, they teach you to do it that way at uni but if you do that you end up having this problem, whereas if you do it this way…”

I’ve had writing mentors, blog mentors, and even – when I first encountered guinea pigs – a guinea pig mentor. They’re out there people, if you know how to look.

There are even guinea pig mentors for those who need them.

The Australian Veterinary Association’s NSW branch is seeking veterinarians to mentor new grads. The program in Western Australia has been a major success [check out this clip], so it would be great to roll one out here.

As a mentor of final year students I can say it isn’t a one way relationship. Being a mentor gives you the opportunity of seeing your profession through a fresh set of eyes and giving and receiving feedback. It also validates all those awful experiences you had early on in your career (like assuming a feral cat probably wasn’t and opening the cage to give it a pat – won’t do that twice), because you can use these to help someone else avoid making the same mistake.

The AVA NSW, Sydney Alumni and CSU New Graduate Mentor Program will be launching with the CSU graduates in a few months, but is currently seeking mentors. You need to provide a short biography to post on the site so potential mentees can get a feel for your experience and interests and choose someone they can work with.

There will be an induction morning with wellness-focused training and a chance for mentors and mentees to meet up.

For more info email laura.connolly@ava.com.au 

If, like many of our readers, you are not based in NSW or you're a student fear not. Many vet schools have buddy systems where senior students mentor junior students (my mentor told me two words that helped: past papers. I can still hear his voice: Past papers, Anne, do the past exam papers. Thank you John). Also veterinary schools often run programs for senior students. If anything its a very good excuse to take someone to Max Brenners and have waffles all round as you talk shop (I am told that calories don't count when you are engaging in acts of good will). But seriously. Its a really good idea.

A scene from Max Brenner's (this is not my actual mentee) - we just re-enacted it to make the point that mentoring can sometimes involve tutti frutti waffles.

A serious post about veterinarians and the importance of support

Bosca meets Scarlett on the beach. Note Phil's awesome photobomb! I didn't notice this til I downloaded the pic. 

Dr Brian McErlean is a veterinarian, AVA Benevolent Fund Trustee and champion of veterinary wellbeing. I met him for the first time at the AVA Conference in Perth where he MC’d the debut performance of the wonderful Australian Veterinary Orchestra.

The profession through organisations like the AVA is extremely committed to mental health, but ensuring everyone gets the help and support they need is no easy task. I have known for some time that veterinarians have a higher suicide rate than the general population, but it hit home in a major way this year, with the loss of three vets and one nurse that I have personally known. It’s one thing processing abstract statistics, quite another when you know someone who takes their life.

The enormity of the problem hit home like a kick in the guts. The efforts of people like Brian are so important. He has a simple message that he wants to get out there to encourage help seeking behaviours and treatment of depression.

“Many veterinarians are surrounded by lethal substances 24/7. Those that cascade into the severe untreated depression category (3.9% for veterinarians against 2% in the general population) are the concern.  Should this group have access to lethal substances they are high risk.

For this reason we have to encourage veterinarians to get depression treated early before any cascade to the worst forms. They should also gate keep their colleagues.

Depression is relatively common but suicidal intent is relatively rare and usually fleeting. When suicidal intent is real individuals cannot be left alone.

All you have to do is ask if they have thought of harming themselves and if they have a plan. Those that answer in the affirmative to both questions are high risk. They must see a doctor or be taken to the hospital.

We would not leave a diabetic dog without insulin, why would we leave a

depressed colleague without neurotransmitters?

We just have to get the mental health message out there in perpetuity as we can’t take the drugs from them.

Nurses and pharmacists also have access to lethal drugs and have a suicide rate twice that of the general population.

In the USA if you have a gun in the house it increases the suicide risk by a factor of 3. Veterinarians have a “gun” in the house!”

For urgent help anyone can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours).AVA members can call the AVA Telephone Counselling Service (24 hours) on 1800 337 068.

Thanks Brian. I honestly had NOT thought about it like this before. Clearly access to drugs to perform euthanasia is key to our ability to alleviate profound suffering, and no one wants to jeopardise that. But we are human beings. Is there a level of risk to ourselves that we have to take into this equation? I’d love to hear people’s thoughts.

OTHER RESOURCES

This is an article I wrote about burnout and depression in the vet profession.

Here is one about whether performing euthanasia increases the risk of suicide in vets.

And another link to mental health resources here.

Also…if you have not yet entered our incredible David Attenborough competition, well, you are seriously missing out. There’s still time! Click here for more details.

Date with your dog: boy's weekend

Phil and Bosca bliss out in front of the fire.

This weekend Phil and I popped over to visit Bosca. Phil doesn't always relish the company of other dogs, but Bosca is a firm favourite and they indulge their common interests like barking in unison and lying on new furniture. 

Bosca indulges in the forbidden activity of stick-chewing on the rug. Fortunately the size differential (and a distinct lack of teeth on Phil's part) means there's no competition between Bosca and Phil for sticks.

We're trying to schedule a few more Phil-specific weekends as he's a bit over me working on assignments at home. (Who isn't??). This way everyone wins.

Bosca has taught Phil the odd bad habit...like coveting thy mother's cheesecake.

Phil also met (fore) and Jess (behind). They all liked each other its just a very awkward photo. Happens sometimes.

If you're looking for a weekend read, I just learned that the Pope thinks couples should be having kids not pets. Thoughts?