❤️Heart Month ❤️
February is Heart Awareness Month for us humans but did you know your pets can have heart disease too? 🐕🦺🐈
They can either be born with congenital abnormalities or develop problems with age. You may notice changes in your pets breathing rate and effort at home, or they may not be as energetic and become more tired when exercising.🩺❤️
The best thing you can do to keep an eye on you pets heart is to have a veterinarian listen to their chest on a yearly basis at their annual vaccination, or if you notice any of these changes at home then give us a call.🩺❤️
If we hear any irregularity in the exam we may advice further tests such as X-rays or an echocardiogram to assess the structure of the heart.🩺❤️
There are medications and modifications we can make if we do find any issues with their heart, which can improve their quality of life and longevity.
Heart checks are a crucial part of our job as animals cannot tell us when they don’t feel well.
❤️🥰So not only look after your heart but your pets as well, remember they love you with all of it!🥰❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️