Nova the wonder dog !

By Helen Burns | Dated November 26, 2017

Nova is a dog who makes being a vet easy!

Recently, Nova’s housemate, who is a black and white papillon, was suffering from a troublesome ulcer on the cornea in his eye. It wasn’t healing as quickly as we would have liked, so we needed to pull out one of our big guns. Believe it or not, they are eye drops that we make from a dog’s own blood. Weighing less than 5kg however, Jaxson didn’t really have much blood to give.
So, up jumped Nova, literally, ever so keen to donate blood for his brother. And he did. And the eye drops cleared up Jaxson’s ulcer in a matter of days.

Grant it, Nova and Jaxson are owned by a dog agility trainer, but they are perfect examples of dogs who are well prepared for vet visits. In fact, after Jaxson had been examined on the table, Nova attempted to climb up just so he could be examined too.
To give dogs, cats and indeed all other species, the best chance of being relaxed when handled, it is important to start when they are young. In a relaxed, calm, non threatening manner, we encourage you to ensure that your young pet is comfortable to be handled everywhere, in particular their paws and head. Handle them regularly, always at a time when they are in the right mood to cooperate! We also encourage you to bring them in to see our lovely receptionists, and have a treat and a pat at the vet. Through gentle handling and positive reinforcement, we hope that we can help the nervous nellies of the north shore feel a little happier when they visit the vet.

Nova keen to help out