Ponsonby Tails - August 2007

Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007

In this issue:-

Introducing Gareth Dunkerley - by Oliver Young

• A word from Gareth

• A new (small) addition to the Ponsonby family

• IMPORTANT - Vaccine now available to protect your cat from FIV/AIDS

• Special Offers

Introducing Gareth Dunkerley - by Oliver Young

Nine years ago I set up Ponsonby Veterinary Centre with the support of my wife, Janet. My goal was to create one of the best veterinary clinics in New Zealand focusing on providing exceptional standards of healthcare and service for pets and their owners.

Last year my children had the opportunity to learn to ski and became smitten with this addictive sport. As skiing has always been one of my passions I have been only too happy to support them. Last Christmas my wife and I decided to take this support one stage further and relocate to Wanaka to be closer to the mountains.

Having made this decision we embarked on a process of finding the ideal candidate to look after and continue to build the levels of service and care provided at Ponsonby Veterinary Centre. The successful candidate had to have a love for veterinary medicine and wish to provide an exceptional service. We found Dr Gareth Dunkerley in London where he had been working for 7 years and now wished to return to his homeland. Not only did he fulfil all our expectations he exceeded them! I know you will all be very happy with the care he provides for your pets for many years to come.

Thank you so much for all your support. It has been great getting to know everyone over the years and if you see me in the snow let me know how your loved pets are doing.

Best Wishes

A word from Gareth

I would like to introduce myself as the new owner of Ponsonby Veterinary Centre.

I am originally from Hawkes Bay but have spent the last 7 years working in small animal practice in London. As much as I loved my time in the UK there was always that tie to our lovely country New Zealand. When I heard that Oliver Young was selling his beloved practice I knew instantly where I wanted to be.

Oliver Young has created a wonderful environment at Ponsonby Veterinary Centre. PVC is a place where clients and pets get the highest quality of care. It's also a place where the team at PVC are proud to work. I am very excited at being a part of that team and I look forward to continuing on where Oliver left off.

It's always a difficult transition for pets and their owners when a new vet comes along. I will endeavour to make the transition as easy as possible on you all. Thank you to all those clients I have already met. You have made me feel so welcome. I look forward to meeting everyone else in the future. Please pop in and say hi if you are passing by the clinic.

Dr Gareth Dunkerley

A new (small) addition to the Ponsonby family

Some of you may have noticed an unusually bleary-eyed vet going about his business in the last 6 months; we can now reveal that Michael and his wife Rebecca were elated to welcome their daughter Emily into the world just before Christmas last year. This has meant a major lifestyle change for Mike with the clichés of sleepless nights and endless nappy changes proving all too true! However he is making sure that he still indulges his cat's strange habit of chasing up and down stairs and into closets; and he still has "doggy time" walking his Bullmastiff twice a day. We hope to have Michael back in the land of the living once Emily starts sleeping through the night!

 

IMPORTANT - Vaccine now available to protect your cat from FIV/AIDS

FIV stands for "feline immunodeficiency virus," just as HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. FIV is a common virus that causes AIDS in cats; the immune system is suppressed, which can lead to skin problems, diarrhea, anaemia, respiratory infections, urinary infections, kidney failure, mouth infections, eye infections, brain infections and cancer. The average life expectancy from the time of diagnosis for FIV is 5 years. Humans cannot be infected with FIV; FIV is a cats-only infection.

How Is FIV Diagnosed?

Most of the time, infection from FIV is discovered using a simple blood test performed in our laboratory. (If there is any doubt regarding this result a follow-up confirmation test called a PCR test is the next step.)

How Do Cats Get Infected?

The major route of virus transmission is by the deep bite wounds that occur during fighting. There are other means of spreading the virus but they are much less common. Casual contact such as sharing food bowls or snuggling is very unlikely to be associated with transmission.

If your cat goes outside then it is at great risk of contracting FIV.

How Common is FIV?

Very common in Central Auckland. The virus is found with a reported prevalence of 10-14% in the general population of cats; stray tomcats tested at animal shelters have been reported to be infected at a rate of 20-30%.

How Can FIV be Prevented?

FIV infection is preventable by keeping cats indoors and preventing cat fights.

In 2004, Fort Dodge Animal Health released a vaccine for FIV. This vaccine confers excellent protection against infection with FIV. In New Zealand we have such a high rate of disease that it makes sense to protect our cats as far as possible. The vaccine does not include one strain of FIV that is commonly found here, however evidence of cross-protection with this strain has been demonstrated.

We recommend a blood test be performed before the vaccine is given, in order to find out whether your cat may already have been exposed to FIV. A course of three vaccinations are needed, 3 weeks apart, before a full immunity is created. A yearly booster is then needed to maintain resistance to FIV.

Vaccinated cats will test positive for the FIV virus on routine tests. The PCR test may need to be used on occasion to distinguish a vaccinated cat from a true infection.

Special Offers

MERIAL NEW ZEALAND AND FRONTLINE PLUS® welcome Gareth Dunkerley to Ponsonby Veterinary Centre. Print out and detach the voucher below, and bring it in to claim your $2 discount on Frontline purchased before 31st October 2007.

ROYAL CANIN WALTHAM would like to welcome two great additions to Ponsonby Veterinary Centre - Dr Gareth Dunkerley and Royal Canin.  Print out and detach the voucher below, and bring it into the clinic to receive a $5 discount on Royal Canin food before 31st October 2007.