“Helping Pet owners of Mersea Island and surroundings to maintain the well being of their beloved family pet, through provision of veterinary care and education on responsible ownership.”

A term that we use a lot in the veterinary industry is “preventative healthcare” What we mean by this is focusing on keeping pets healthy by offering products and services that promote wellness and prevent illness and disease.

The reason we put so much importance on this is not only because it is always better for the pet but also because it is better for owners too; No one wants their pet to feel unwell but also it is usually more cost effective to employ “preventative healthcare” rather than treating a pet when they are ill.

Our focus is on both physical health as well as emotional health and we invite our clients to understand the value of visiting us regularly so that we can offer advice throughout your pet’s life. This is why we offer services such as our Nose to Tail healthcare plan, which offers the key elements for keeping pets healthy. While it doesn’t prevent them getting injured or becoming sick from the unexpected, it does offer the best opportunity to protect pets from otherwise preventable diseases and parasite infection.

In addition, the plan includes regular visits and health checks which enables us to offer advice and pick up on early signs of illness before they progress. We aim to support you with providing the best care for your pet in every area of wellbeing such as asking questions around behaviours you may have noticed in your pets. Sometimes this can also lead us to diagnose a problem that may otherwise have gone undetected.

Ultimately every pet owner wants their pets to be happy and healthy and most recognise the importance of keeping them up to date with vaccinations and health checks. However, something we want every pet owner to be aware of is how doing everything to keep your pet healthy is nearly always more cost effective than only treating them when they are ill.

For example, dealing with a flea infestation can work out so much more expensive than using recommended prescription products regularly to avoid the problem, as well as saving both the pet and those sharing the home, discomfort associated with a flea infestation.

Dental issues are also extremely common in both dogs and cats and most of these issues are preventable with the correct dental care techniques being performed at home on a regular basis. If this is neglected the resulting disease is incredibly painful for pets and often they hide their discomfort. By the time an owner realises there is a problem there may be no other option than to put the pet under general anaesthetic and remove the teeth completely.

Ideally, we would like pet owners to visit us regularly throughout their pet’s life in order that we can recommend specific diets where appropriate and advise on how to brush pet’s teeth. This is all “preventative healthcare” and designed to prevent your pet needing surgery later in life and all the costs associated with that.

Another example is arthritic pain. As with dental pain, pets often don’t show pain in the way we would expect so owners don’t always realise how uncomfortable their pet is. There is so much we can do to advise owners on exercise and environmental management as well as supplements and pain relief.

Managing pain is always an urgent priority but early intervention plays a big part in setting the pet up for a longer and better quality of life. Pain becomes harder to control the longer it is left unmanaged and being able to identify and treat signs of pain earlier can be less costly than putting this off until only the highest dose combination of medication can help, and this may only be a short-term solution before quality of life is too badly impacted to continue.

Even something as simple as learning how to check your pets’ ears and when to clean them can have such a huge impact on your pet’s welfare and avoid ear infections. Due to the excruciating pain associated with ear infections, often the only option is to put the pet under anaesthetic to ensure the ears are thoroughly cleaned before being receptive to antibiotic treatment. This is another example where being committed to something like regular ear cleaning for your pet may avoid the cost of surgery, as well as distress to a pet suffering from ear pain.

Ultimately our objective is always to ensure that the pets in our care are healthy and happy. We achieve this by having a wonderful relationship with our clients which is built on kindness, trust, and a commitment to education on responsible pet ownership.

This has a positive impact on the pet, our clients, and our team but ultimately it will also be more cost effective for you to invest in what your pet needs to keep them healthy rather than having the financial responsibility of the costs of treatment when they are unwell.

We invite clients to join us in seeing their relationship with their pet as a “learning journey” We are passionate about sharing our knowledge and whilst it isn’t always possible to avoid a pet becoming sick or injured, we are committed to sharing our professional learning and experience with you, and support you in keeping your pets as happy and healthy as possible.