3 things you ought to know?

One:
    This Thursday (29th October) it's the Hyde Park Vet Halloween Pet Party from 6-8pm at the Pet Boutique at 63 Connaught Street W2 2AE. Dress yourself up, peel the kids away from the television and come along for a Halloween Fancy Dress moment. Judges for the event are the irrepressible Jo Good and Anna Webb, the Barking Blondes from Radio London's 'The Barking Hour'  (you can listen in to BBC Radio London 94.9FM every Thursday 3-4pm for all that's dog in London).
 

Two: 
    Last week, Codie, one of our veterinary nurses, climbed 5,895 metres to the very top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and in the process she and her friend Sophie Holmes, who has cystic fibrosis herself, raised over £10,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. If you want to chip in, click on their Just Giving page. We think it's a pretty amazing achievement and and are very proud of them both.

Three: 
    We're about to start the dreaded Firework season. Loads of fun and games for the people setting them off and having firework parties, not so much or you are an anxious or noise-phobic pet. There's lots you can do to help them cope better and make the whole experience a bit less of a nightmare. Take a look at our Firework Advice page for more information or come and talk to one of our veterinary nurses about how you can help them.

    Look forward to seeing you on Thursday evening from 6pm

Vegans in a hamburger joint

Sitting in a local burger joint last night with the family, one of them posed the question to the waitress

"Which is your favourite cheese in a cheeseburger?"

Imagine my surprise when she replied

"Well it used to be the blue cheese but I don't eat cheese any more because I'm a vegan."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh yes, there are several vegans on the staff here - three in fact, plus one vegetarian."

"Anything to do with the food?"

"Oh no, I just couldn't help feeling sorry for them,"

The animals, I assumed she meant. But apparently management don't like them mentioning that bit.

                   =

Killing lions for fun

Isn't it weird?

A highly paid medical health professional pays £££ to go all the way to Zimbabwe to kill a lion.

And - oops, the country's most famous one.

I know I'm a vet, so maybe it's a bit different for me, but I still find it astonishing that anyone - particularly in this day and age of environmental sensitivity - would WANT to do such a thing.

And then put it up on Facebook as a matter of pride.

Maybe in the hope that his patients, as they sat in his dental chair, would gaze admiringly at his manly, latex-gloved hands and think 'Hmm those are the fingers that cradled the rifle and then pulled the trigger. Those are the hands that belong to a man of courage and sensitivity, just the type of hands I'd like in my mouth, fixing my teeth.'

Not sure whether he necessarily deserves to have to close down his clinic as appears to be happening, but you would think he could find something better to do with his time...

Pet Owners and Trainspotting

I see that the Blue Cross has commissioned a survey to see if there are any benefits to owning pets. Apart from the obvious, that is.

And the results?

From what is admittedly a fairly small sample (1000 people out of the billions on the planet, of whom 13 million are classified as pet owners living in the UK), came the following conclusions.

If you are a pet owner, you are more likely to:


- have a job (40% of non pet owners were unemployed)
- spend more 'family time' together
- enjoy your job
- be fitter, taking at least 2 hours more exercise a week
- earn £3000 per year more
- manage an average of 5 people in your work (against 2 for non pet owners)


I'm not sure what to do with this astounding information, but if it's representative of the real situation, rehoming centres like Battersea Dog's Home and the Mayhew really ought to be empty.

When Irving Welsh wrote that now infamous sequence in Trainspotting, maybe he missed something (and I paraphrase in case there are children watching):

"Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life… "

Maybe if this data had come out sooner and he had bothered to read it, some of the nihilist gloom could have been avoided.

Choose a dog would be my advice.

Or a cat.

Sara Cox and Scott Mills at The Hyde Park Vet Dog Show in aid of Pets As Therapy

We did it!

The weather held and we basked in glorious sunshine all afternoon.

So many dogs and people, it was a great fund raising event in aid of Pets As Therapy

Sara Cox and Scott Mills were joined by Hanna Attwell (owner of one of last year's winners), James Lacy (Lily's Kitchen), Jennifer Dubois (Pets As Therapy) and Michelle Middleton (Carter Jonas) on the judging platform.

They picked clear winners for the waggiest tail, mixed breed dog, puppy, senior dog and dog the judges would most like to take home.

Carter Jonas are very generously going to match our fundraising efforts, so if anyone wants to make further donations to this very worthwhile cause, cheques or cash donations can be made at the clinic any time over the next two weeks.

Many thanks to our other sponsors and benefactors who helped make the day such a success: Lily's Kitchen, Royal Canin, The Pets Pyjamas, Natural Instinct, Red Dingo, The Dog House, Vetplus, Canagan, Pet London, Protexin, Kruuse, Bayer, Novartis, Kong, MSD and Agria Pet Insurance.

We'll keep you posted with the total raised...

Pets win prizes at the Hyde Park Vet Dog Show Wednesday 24th June

Everyone's a winner at the 

Hyde Park Vet Centre Dog Show

in aid of Pets As Therapy!

Wednesday 24th June 2015, 4.00-6.00pm

    Download your registration form now at Dog Show 2015 

    But let's just cut to the chase... This is what you can win! Our various sponsors have
helped put together some fantastic prizes for Wednesday's Dog Show:

    In each category, the First Prize includes an engraved silver cup, a Lily's Kitchen Hamper, a Red Dingo Collar and Lead set, 3 months supply of Milbemax and Advocate, a £20 voucher for the HPVC Pet Boutique and a Pet London toy.

    The Runner-up gets a Royal Canin Gift Set (including a slow feeder, a small bag of lifestyle stage dry food, and a treat handle), a Carter Jonas Lead and a pack of Natural Instinct Lamb Lites.

    The Goodie Bags for the first 50 entrants includes a 500g bag of Canagan Free-range Chicken, Pet food can covers, Stationery (pens, sticky notes, note tabs), a Frisbee, a Flea comb, a pack of Poo bags, a 500g Natural Instinct tub, Lamb Lites and Rogzlites.

    So hurry up! Register now using the downloadable entry form


    There are 5 competition classes:

1: The dog with the waggiest tail

2: The best crossbreed dog

3: The best newcomer for dogs under 18 months old

4: The best golden oldie (dog, that is) for those over 8 years old

5: The dog that the judges would most like to take home


    We ask for a minimum donation of £5 for each entry, with all funds raised going to Pets As Therapy, a maximum 2 classes per dog, one person only in the ring with each dog, Sara Cox and Scott Mills, will be joining the judging panel!


    If you need any more information drop in at the clinic, email us on hydeparkvet@aol.com or call 0207 723 0453, otherwise, we look forward to seeing you on the day

    And don't forget to register now at Dog Show 2015

How to be happy?

Is it time for a reworking of this (reputedly) Chinese saying?

"If you want to be happy for a day, get drunk 
If you want to be happy for a week, kill a pig
If you want to be happy for a month, get married 
If you want to be happy for life, have a garden"

In this world of Health & Safety concerns about binge drinking, suggestion 1 can no longer be recommended.


As for suggestion 2, it may well be considered OK if you're a Bear Grylls wannabe faced with that or starvation, but if you're just on some weird voyeuristic reality TV show featuring people in bikinis looking hungry, I don't think it works for me. The pig was virtually tame, for goodness' sake. 

No further comment on Suggestion 3

And now I'm old and grey, I'm allowed to sit and admire my small garden and take delight in seeing healthy bees do their normal bee things while in the rest of the world, the mighty agro-industrial business does it's best to kill off the natural world around us. We need more bees.

But luckily there are plenty of variations on the theme:

"If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap. If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing. If you want happiness for a month -- get married. If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else." 

Or try this

"If you want to be happy for an hour, get drunk; If you want to be happy for three days, get married; If you want to be happy forever, make a garden"

Curiously, the English version is quoted as being:

"If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree"

Some would say that getting a puppy would do the trick