It is now a legal requirement for all dogs in the UK to be microchipped. This is to try to reduce the stray population and encourage responsible pet ownership.

All puppies born after April 2016 should be chipped and registered to their breeder, before the details are changed to the new owners. Any adult dogs who haven’t been done, should be chipped as soon as possible since you can be fined!

However, it is a very good idea to microchip all your pets, not just the dogs! Cats often wander and lose collars, so it’s just as important. We can also chip rabbits, birds and even reptiles!

A microchip is hardly bigger than a grain of rice and having it implanted is quick and simple. Like a normal injection, it is inserted under the skin at the back of the neck, and once there, it lasts a lifetime.

All the chip numbers are held on a central database and you can register as many contact details as you like, so as well as your own numbers, add family members and even work, to ensure if your pet does go missing, someone is always contactable.

Finally, don’t forget to keep that information up to date! A chip loses it’s effectiveness if the numbers are no longer current!

If you would like your pet to be microchipped, or want to know how to add more numbers to the database, please just speak to our friendly practice team!

NEWSMillenniuM Veterinary Practice• www.millenniumvets.co.uk• MILLENNIUM WAY, BrAINtrEE, EssEx, CM7 3Gx• 30 WEst strEEt, CoGGEshALL, EssEx, Co6 1Ns

WINTER 2016

Four Weddings and a... fifth wedding!When planning our practice’s 50th anniversary, we could not have anticipated the celebration of four weddings! 2016 became a very special year for three of our RVNs - Lydia Holmes, Laura Baster and Hannah Bourn - after marrying their long-standing partners. But the one that shocked us all was our receptionist Jan Kappes! Jan surprised us all when she sent a message round that she had left cakes in the staff room as she and her partner John (of 23 years!) had just got married! There was also a 5th wedding that deserves a mention: Mae Garrett, daughter of Director and Veterinary Surgeon David Garrett was also married this year. While Mae can’t lay claim to any previous entry on the MVP payroll her closest encounter of the animal kind lead to the delivery of a healthy human baby - Mae was going to babysit the baby’s older brother so the parents could go to hospital but instead helped deliver the baby! We would all like to congratulate Lydia & Chris; Laura & Steve; Hannah & Dan; Jan & John and Mae & Markus on their marriages and send best wishes from us all.

Onto the next chapter…Congratulations to Emma! Emma Sargant became our new Head Nurse at the end of October, after Gary Rutland moved to pastures new. Emma qualified 10 years ago and has further qualifications in advanced anaesthesia and emergency and critical care nursing. She has worked in a number of different practices during that time, including a long spell in emergency nursing at the out-of-hours service Vets Now in Witham. Emma isn’t new to us as she joined our MVP nursing team in 2014, but brings many nursing interests and previous Head Nurse experience to this role. And something you may not know about her… she has a rescued Staffie called ‘Stanley’, shows Netherland Dwarf rabbits and is also a National Panel Judge for Netherland Dwarf rabbits!

We also want to wish Gary every success as he takes up his new position as Practice Support Adviser for Bayer Animal Health. Gary worked with us for 20 years, 11 of them as our Head Nurse – but this is a completely new venture for him, as he breaks away from working in practice to supporting many practices across a wide region covering the Midlands, East of England and London.

Emma and Gary

Stanley

Jan and John Barlow

Laura and Steve Parker

Hannah and Dan Lane

Lydia and Chris King

Mae and Markus Garrett

Do you like us? For further information contact the practice on (01376) 32551124 Hour Emergency Service (01376) 325511

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StaFF NEWS

WE WOULD LIKE tO WISH aLL OUR CLIENtS aND tHEIR PEtS a VERY MERRY CHRIStMaS aND a HaPPY NEW YEaR

RSA is the largest insurers of cats and dogs in the UK: underwriters of insurance policies such as those offered by Argos, Tesco, M&S Money, John Lewis and More Th>n. We have been added to their network of preferred referral veterinary practices. The aim of the RSA Referral Vet Network is to provide its customers’ pets with the highest standards of veterinary treatment and care, while controlling referral costs and maximising policy limits. The RSA’s chosen practices are staffed by veterinary surgeons with postgraduate veterinary qualifications in their chosen disciplines. Our practice’s own referral service, Millennium Referrals, is now a partner of the RSA Referral Vet Network, for the specialist referral treatments we offer in orthopaedics, dermatology and oncology.

the new veterinary referral network

avoiding Christmas calamities!The festive season is an exciting time, with plenty of lovely food, chocolate galore, presents, visitors, not to mention all the decorations and the tree! So here are some tips to keep your pets out of trouble over this fun time.Festive food alert! With so much extra food in the house it is essential to keep it well away from pets. Rich foods can lead to upset tummies, but be especially aware of raisins in puddings, pies and cakes, since they can be very toxic to the kidneys. Chocolate is another festive favourite, but as little as 50g of plain chocolate can be fatal in small dogs. Turkey meat is fine but if your pets get hold of turkey bones, there is the potential for dangerous gut blockages. Also, don’t forget about the presents under the tree! Dogs, with their sensitive noses will be able to tell exactly which gifts are edible and the wrappings and ribbons won’t do their tummies any good either!Visitor alert! Christmas is a time for families and our homes are often full of visitors celebrating the festive cheer. Many pets will revel in this extra attention but some will find it extremely stressful. If your animals are more shy than sociable, make sure they have a safe space they can retreat to undisturbed.Winter walks: when going for an after lunch walk, take care of your dog’s paws. Snow and ice can ball up between the toes, especially on furry feet, and road grit can cause nasty sores if it is not washed off once you are home. Also slim fine coated breeds such as whippets find it hard to conserve heat and will benefit from a dog coat in cold weather.Pinch an inch! With many pets spending more time indoors during the winter months – they are getting less exercise and need correspondingly less food. Keep an eye out for any weight gain since excess weight can cause a range of health problems including heart disease and diabetes.If you would like any further information on any of the topics mentioned in this article, please speak to a member of our team. Have fun with your pets and stay safe over the festive season!

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voiding Christmas calamities!The festive season is an exciting time, with plenty of lovely food, chocolate galore, presents, visitors, not to mention all the decorations and the tree! So here are some tips to keep your pets out of trouble

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This Newsletter is provided as an education service to our clients. All news and other items in this newsletter are for information only and should not be treated as a substitute for specialist veterinary advice. For all images, the copyright is the property of the photographer.

We are very pleased to announce that Honey did find her new forever home. Over the summer Honey became an international star after becoming the centre of the #belungwormaware campaign for Bayer. At the same time they launched the #homeforhoney campaign and a new family came forward for her. Honey spent a year and half in our care and thanks to the hard work and dedication of registered veterinary nurses Hannah and Steph and receptionist Jane, taking her into their homes, Honey moved to her new home.

She is now living the life of luxury and has a new BFF Paige!

We would like to thank everyone for following and

sharing Honey’s story. Thanks to Annie, Honey’s new owner, you can still follow Honey’s progress through her own Facebook page Honey I’m Home.

Honey’s home

Connect to us using our unique vetcode - MILLEN01 - to use all the app features. • Set reminders for all your pet’s appointments and treatments• Build your pet’s profile and keep all your pet’s important information to hand• Capture precious moments and add them to your pet’s wall• Track and map all your walks with your dog• Carry out regular Quality of Life Assessments on your dog (available for cats soon) • Have all our contact details to hand and receive updates and messages from us,

straight to your devise

FOR MORE INFORMatION PLEaSE VISIt OUR WEBSItE OR RING US aND SPEaK tO a MEMBER OF tHE RECEPtION tEaM.

Honey and Paige

Campaign pictures

Emergency cover continues 24-7 by ringing 01376 325511.

During normal service our duty vets will see emergencies between 7am – 10pm in Braintree. All in-patients stay in our care and if required can be nursed throughout the night. Between 10pm and 7am, your call will be automatically redirect to Vets Now, based in Witham. For further information on pet emergencies please visit our Pet Advice pages on www.millenniumvets.co.uk

Opening hours will vary during the Christmas holiday period so please visit our website or ring and speak to a member of the reception team.

In case of an emergency

Download the free PetDialog app, via Google Play or the app Store, and build your pet’s history