The Destruction of Hyde Park

Is it just me or does anyone else share my sense of despair when a substantial chunk of our beloved Hyde Park is yet again trashed and rendered unavailable?

We have to go through process this at least twice a year, during which time this jewel of our city resembles some giant prison camp, inaccessible to all those who might like to walk, run, exercise their dogs, do sport, or frankly, just breathe a little fresh air surrounded by trees, grass, open space and nature.

The latest horror is of course the ghastly Winter Wonderland. At a stroke when it started in November, it took out of action the biggest area of open green space in the centre of London. December passed and now towards the end of January as the barriers finally come down, we are greeted by the sight of countless acres of muddy wet wasteland, as the guys in hi-viz jackets prepare to fence it off yet again whilst is is reseeded, re-turfed, primped and preened.

If previous years are anything to go by, the whole process should just about be complete by the time they're ready to fence it off again for the summer concerts.

I realise I'm sounding like the archetypal grumpy old man, and don't get me wrong, I do love it when the sound of live music wafts across the park, and the Christmas lights do look lovely, BUT.... do we really have to go through this every time?

Who makes all the money out of all this? Maybe it's none of our business, what with it all being Royal Parks business, and of course they need to pull in some more cash, what with the Royalty being short of cash, but there's no doubt in my mind that some private individuals are likely to be making fat profits out of each event.

Lucky them.

Just a shame for those who want to use Hyde Park as a park.

Microchip identification of dogs becomes law on 6th April 2016

From 6th April 2016, every dog in the UK will have to have microchip identification in place.

It's always been a legal requirement for any dog to be identifiable, and the law still requires dogs to wear a collar and identity tag when out in a public place, but the legal requirement for microchipping is new.

On the face of it, that  seems like a good enough idea. A microchip is the only means to definitively identify an animal, and is reckoned to be sufficiently secure to be the basis of identification for the pet passport scheme. So it's fine. A good idea all in all.

It means that if ever you and your dog are separated (whether lost or stolen), there's no argument about who's dog belongs to who. And then if there's any question of legal liability in case of a fight, bite or accident, the same applies. We do have to be responsible for our dogs and their behaviour.

Our only concern is that all dogs over the age of 8 weeks have to have a microchip and some of the 8 week old puppies that come into this clinic - and no doubt many others across the land - are still pretty tiny, the poor little mites.

There's us, going out of our way to try to make sure the whole vet experience is a nice one, so they don't become fearful, and then we have to spike them with a great big chip needle. Ouch. But that's the law so if your dog is not yet microchipped, get on with it before it becomes illegal not to.

Call us on 020 7723 0453 if you need any more information or need to have your dog microchipped - we have a special discount price available until the end of February. It can be done during a routine consultation.

Oh, and by the way, don't you love government legislation terminology? Here it is:

Obligation to microchip dogs

3.—(1) Subject to a certificate issued under paragraph (2) or (3), from 6th April 2016 every keeper of a dog which has not been implanted with a microchip by that date—

(a)which is older than 8 weeks; and

(b)which is not a certified working dog for the purposes of section 6(3) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006(1),

must ensure that it is microchipped.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply for as long as a veterinary surgeon certifies, on a form approved by the Secretary of State, that a dog should not be microchipped for reasons of the animal’s health.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), from 6th April 2016 a keeper who imports a dog must ensure that the dog is microchipped in accordance with paragraph (5) within 30 days of importing the dog unless a veterinary surgeon certifies, on a form approved by the Secretary of State, that the dog should not be microchipped for reasons of the animal’s health.

(4) A certificate issued under paragraph (2) or (3) must state the period for which the dog will be unfit to be microchipped.

(5) A dog is microchipped where—

(a)a microchip which complies with regulation 4 has been implanted in the dog; and

(b)the details set out in regulation 5 are recorded on a database by a database operator meeting the conditions set out in regulation 6.

I'm sorry, but isn't the dairy industry too big?

I very much appreciate the widely held concern about the fall in wholesale milk prices and the poor returns that dairy farmers are able to achieve in the current market. Add to this the on-going difficulties with TB control and the farce of the badger culls, and we have a beleaguered industry in quite a state of crisis. 

Milk is a great source of energy, protein and calcium if you don't have anything else to eat. And a cow is a great way of converting vegetation that is relatively indigestible for humans into a steady supply of such nourishment. It's also mobile and fresh, which is especially useful when you don't have a fridge. 

But the above have limited value in our society and I can't help noticing that our shops are now full of skimmed, low fat or even non-dairy dairy products, partly because many of the base constituents of milk are actually quite bad for us as adults, especially given the relative abundance of other food types. 

Is the elephant in the room not the issue that we all consume far too many dairy products anyway and that the industry is therefore bigger than either our economy, health or environment can sustain? 

Last time I checked, I was weaned when I was about six months old. 

Life without meat #2

2 days into vegetarianism, I went down with what felt like a terrible hangover. Woke up with a ringing headache - very unusual for me unless I've been drinking gallons of red wine the night before, which I hadn't. It's dry January, remember? - a state which progressed into feelings of nausea and exhaustion.

I baled out of work half way through the day, also very unusual for me.

Was this detox?

Yuk.

Fast forward through 5 days of vegetables, beans, nuts and water. I think the medical term is flatus, but my guts are beginning to get used to it.

On a mercy mission with daughter (a prime architect of the current nutritional regime) to visit elderly mother in Cheltenham, whizzing happily down the A417 in the Cotswolds. We were just talking about lunch.

'Mmm, yes I'm hungry. Pub lunch? '

'Sounds great.'

Then we remembered that we were vegetarians, and that this might make a Sunday pub roast slightly challenging. And what's more, mission creep seemed to crept up on me yet again, and where this had initially morphed surreptitiously from dry January to de-tox vegetarianism, apparently now I was heading for the full planet-saving vegan.

'You know you want to be a vegan, Dad. Anyway, you have to, otherwise we're all going to die. Do you want me to die?'

'Well, no, of course not'

'Well then we all have to become vegans and that includes you'

'Oh'

'There's a pub'

As we skidded off the main road and lurched into the gravel of the car park in front of the picture-perfect roadside hostelry, our hopes were not high. We imagined the sudden silence in the bar as we feebly asked

'Could we have the roast pork without the pork, please?' silently wondering whether the gravy was made from boiled animals or not, as the locals prepared the gibbet in the pub garden.

'That's what we did with the last people who looked they might vote for Jeremy Corbyn' they'd say as they poked their pitchforks at the tattered remnants of the last vegetarian in the county.

But not a bit of it. No less than 7 vegetarian or vegan main course options on the menu. Oh yes, here in rural Gloucestershire (http://www.thegoldenheart.co.uk), the world has already changed. We are clearly bang on track for a rosy future for generations to come, with no starving children, no desertification, no war and no economic crises ever again.

The nut roast was a triumph: peace, love and eternal cosmic wisdom. Right here, now!

Saving the world in 2016

One day at the beginning of January, we sat down as a family to dinner and started to discuss our various exploits and antics over the Christmas and New Year period. Teenage parties, boozy dinners, late nights, long lunches, sore heads, unexplained stains on carpets, the usual litany of destruction and chaos.

'We should do dry January' someone said, and 20 minutes later, I realised that the discussion had somehow suffered mission creep, and that I had just agreed to give vegetarianism another try. I can't quite remember just how we got to that point, but as the last of the Coq au vin slipped down, I began to realise that we were heading for some changes around here.

This would be my third shot at it.

Episode 1 was when I was a student way back in the late '70s. A group of us lived in a cottage outside the city, and decided we would embrace certain aspects of the hippy ideal. This would include becoming vegetarians and being committed to what was then called 'alternative technology'. We were early eco-warriors and talked a lot about trying to change the world and save the planet. Rather than being rebels without a cause, we had a cause all right, but there wasn't much real rebellion going on - we had degrees to study for, after all.

The vegetarianism all started as a result of a particular dinner I cooked one night. Being a veterinary student, I had a working familiarity with the anatomical details of quite a number animals and felt that it was no big deal to stretch out both our food budget and sense of culinary adventure during my occasional visits to the butcher. But when I served up a dish of pig's trotters, my companions felt that I had crossed a certain line from which there was no going back. Not only was my dinner uneaten (it was, to be fair, almost inedible), but the protests were loud and vocal. And two of the gang were turned into life-long vegetarians on the spot.

Episode 2 was many years later, and also came on me as a bit of a surprise. Far less an emotional or ethical decision, I was simply persuaded that meat and dairy products were actually not very good for me and that a diet of vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits, devoid of alcohol, coffee and other stimulants would be the route to unimaginable energy, fitness, stamina, excitement, joy and fulfilment.

This was not wrong, but I lost about 10kg in weight and being already skinny at the start, I tired of continually being asked by concerned friends, family, clients and chance acquaintances

'Are you alright? I mean, really?'

So I gave up and went back onto the dark side.

Episode 3 started seven days ago.

I'll keep you posted.

In case you wondered why we blood test your dogs at vaccine time...

Regular visitors to our clinic will know that when it comes to your dog's 'booster vaccination' visit, we are more likely to have a conversation with you about taking a vaccine antibody test before deciding whether to vaccinate or not.

What you might not realise is just how unusual this is for a veterinary clinic to take such a strategic and well-considered approach to vaccination, to focus our efforts on making sure that your dogs remain fully protected rather than just vaccinating away with little regard for any possible adverse consequences.

We are proud that for many years we have been so far ahead of the rest of our profession, and it was gratifying this week to read an article this week in the Veterinary Record (the weekly journal of the British Veterinary Association)  about vaccination  against parvovirus, the often fatal virus gastro-enteritis that affects dogs.

Here are just a few direct quotes from the paper and it's accompanying editorial piece:

- vaccination may be unnecessary if an animal already has antibodies against the infectious disease, but usually vets do not know the immune status of their patients

- antibody status against canine parvovirus should be determined instead of periodic 'blind' vaccination  to ensure reliable protection with unnecessary vaccination

- such an approach could prove useful in reducing the adverse effects of vaccination, such as hypersensitivity and immunosuppression

- obesity is considered a chronic inflammatory state that can lead to impairments in innate and adaptive immune functions

- Riedl and others have helped to develop a new concept; to evaluate the immunity of a dog before it's first and subsequent vaccinations

- with cat calicivirus (flu) infections, serological data in predicting protection are limited

- transient side effects to vaccination are common and can be indicative of an adequate immune response

- transient side effects occurred in 37% of dogs: lethargy 17%, gastro-intestinal signs 12%, increased thirst 1% or a combination of problems 5%. Injection site reactions with local swelling or pain 2% and lymph node enlargement 20%

The final recommendation was that:

- antibody status should determined instead of periodic re-vaccinations to avoid unnecessary vaccinations in adult dogs.

The Hyde Park Veterinary Centre - way out ahead in appropriate pet health care!

LGBT vets led by our very own Mat Hennessey

Vets come together to support LGBT colleagues

18 September 2015

Mat Hennessey is the founder of BVLGBT

Vets across the country are coming together to back a new initiative that will support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender colleagues in the veterinary professions and provide a support network promoting fairness and equality for all.

The new British Veterinary LGBT group (BVLGBT) will meet at the British Veterinary Association (BVA) headquarters at the end of September in London to bring together supporters and start to plan activities for the coming year.

Vet Mat Hennessey started the group after noticing a medics banner at the Pride in London parade and realising that there was a need for representation and support for the LGBT community amongst vets. BVLGBT is open to anyone who wants to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights within the veterinary professions, whether studying or working, and already has nearly 300 members.

Mr Hennessey said:

“Seeing that banner brought to the fore something that I had been aware of for some time – the need for a visible and supportive community for veterinary professionals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and the colleagues who want to support us and promote equality.

“Veterinary professionals are a supportive bunch, but there has not been an open culture for LGBT vets on campus and in practice and that should change. The nature of veterinary work also means that vets can be located in remote, rural regions, without an LGBT community to plug into and this can be a very lonely and isolating experience. BVLGBT wants to engage with all colleagues who could benefit from the group and we are particularly keen to reach out to vets working in those rural areas without an LGBT community to feel part of.  We are here for you.”

John Blackwell BVA President commented:

“This is a forward thinking and much needed initiative and one that BVA is proud to support. Veterinary surgeons and our veterinary nurse colleagues work within a close-knit community whether it is practice based or otherwise and the formation of BVLGBT sends a clear message out that the veterinary professions and organisations such as BVA welcome diversity and will fight for equality. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our LGBT colleagues and look forward to marching with them at Pride in London in June 2016, having achieved much in the coming year.”

To find out more and become involved in BVLGBT, please emailbvlgbt@gmail.com  

The BVLGBT/BVA meeting in September 2015 is by invitation only. Please email bvlgbt@gmail.com