News and events

Further to intense media interest, and with full permission of the owners, Capontree can confirm that a case of Cutaneous and Renal Glomerular Vasculopathy (CRGV), or "Alabama Rot", has been diagnosed in a dog living in private land just north of Longtown within the last week.

The 4-year old male Labrador was seen at our practice with lameness and skin lesions over the muzzle and limbs, that had failed to improve with treatment prescribed at another veterinary clinic. The dog subsequently developed vomiting, then acute renal (kidney) failure and despite our best efforts at treatment sadly had to be euthanased due to continuing deterioration. CRGV was later confirmed by post mortem at Anderson Moores specialists in Winchester.

We understand that 3 such cases have been confirmed across the country in this last week. However, it is extremely important to remember that cases of this awful disease remain extremely rare, with just 81 confirmed cases since the first in late 2012.

Although an environmental cause for this disease is considered possible it has not been proven with testing to date. CRGV has not been seen in animals other than dogs. Owners of dogs affected by CRGV have not been affected by this illness. There does not appear to be a breed, body weight, sex or age predilection.  Cases have been identified across the whole of UK and there may be a seasonal distribution with cases being identified between November and June.

The best information is available at these sites:-

http://www.andersonmoores.com/about/article.php?u=RGK33G6A7DDBSJDV6F65

http://alabamarot.co.uk/

We would urge you all to read this information and share it amongst your friends.

Please remember that this is an extremely rare disease but if you are worried about your dog, particularly if it has any unexplained skin lesions, please make an appointment to see your vet. 

Does your cat have dog breath? Does she rub her mouth a lot, or shy away from food. If any or all of these are happening then your cat could have dental disease. Studies have shown that 85% of cats over the age fo 3 years are affected with dental disease - from gingivitis to tooth abcesses and broken teeth.

Not only can this be painful for the cat - it has been shown that bacteria can spread from the mouth, to other parts of the body potentially leading to infections elsewhere.

In order to combat this we have launched a special dental offer for cats.

Included in the offer is a full general anaesthetic, a complete examination of the teeth while asleep, a scale and polish of the teeth, any extractions, an injection of antibiotics, a pain relieving injection, also included is a post dental check up a few days later.

All this for £99.95 - regardless of how long it takes to do any extractions required.

So if this sounds like something your cat needs, please call and book an appointment for a check up.

It is important that your pets have regular health checks and booster vaccinations to keep them fit and well. Dogs need yearly boosters to protect them against Leptospirosis. Cats need yearly cat ‘flu vaccinations. If your pet‘s vaccines have lapsed now is a great time to get them protected. We are running a vaccine amnesty at the moment. Your pet’s vaccines can be re-started for the price of a yearly booster. Contact us to make an appointment

Do you have a “photogenic pooch” or a “made for the camera” cat? We are looking for more of our client’s pets to be the face on our vaccine reminders. If you have taken some great pictures of them and are happy for them to be used on our vaccine reminders please send them in to us at andy.reid@capontreevets.co.uk or dan.lewis@capontreevets.co.uk – can they please be in high resolution. We can’t promise to use every picture but would love to see them. We are also always on the look-out for pictures to use on our in-house TV's!