A great article from our friends at Petsecure Pet Insurance!




A purr-fect partnership

A purr-fect partnershipPetsecure teams up with CCA to provide trial cat insurance
Petsecure, Canada’s largest pet health insurance provider, is proud to announce a new partnership with the Canadian Cat Association (CCA). As part of Petsecure’s Breedsecure program, new cat owners will be able to protect their kittens from nose to tail with a six-week trial of accident and illness protection.
“Petsecure is a great partner for the CCA because both organizations care about animals and their welfare,” said CCA President Carolynn Campbell. “The trial coverage benefits our members, because it gives them an introductory look at the plans to help them choose one that will fit their budget and needs.”

Through the Breedsecure trial, cat owners can be reimbursed for 80% of eligible veterinary bills (up to $500, less a $100 deductible per incident), including diagnostics, x-rays, hospitalization, exam feeds, taxes and more. When the trial concludes, they’ll be given a personalized quote for a full Petsecure policy on one of four comprehensive insurance plans, from a licensed insurance advisor.
The stress relief provided by a pet health insurance policy, said Campbell, is one of the greatest benefits CCA members will see from the partnership – and it’s something she’s experienced first-hand.
“I had a kitten go home and suffer an injury to its tongue from a fishing hook. The kitten required a lot of care, and the trial pet insurance coverage certainly helped with the cost. Petsecure’s insurance offers breeders and pet parents peace of mind that their animal would be covered if there was a serious illness of injury.”
The CCA is Canada’s registry of pedigreed cats since 1960. To date, the CCA has registered over 190,000 individual cats, and has grown and evolved into a registry with affiliated clubs across Canada. The CCA’s goal is to provide feline-related services to its membership and the general public, including breed information, public education, pedigree registry, and much more.
Petsecure is the core brand of Petline Insurance Company. As the first and only licensed insurance company in Canada to focus solely on pet insurance, Petline is dedicated to responsible pet ownership.
For more information or a free, no-obligation quote, visit Breedsecure.ca or call 1-800-268-1169.

Meet our Team member of the month for July!
Andrea C.
Andrea has been with Winrose since April 2006.
...

She graduated in 2007 from Red River College as a Registered Veterinary Technician. Andrea loves spending time with her husband and their fur babies "Banner" and "Austin". "Banner" is a high energy, lovable Belgian Malinois and "Austin" is a naked breed of guinea pig called a skinny guinea pig.
You can follow "Austin" on Instagram @skinnypigaustin and enjoy regular adorable photos. Andrea has a special interest in exotics and wildlife.
She also enjoys yoga, reading, scrap-booking and sewing adorable small critter cage/bedding items.
Please tell us why you like Andrea so much!!!!

Caring for Bearded Dragons

To keep things interesting on the blog I thought a post about Bearded Dragon care would be fun. They are the most common reptile pets we see in the clinic and are native to Australia. There are a few reasons these guys make popular pets. They tend to have very laid back demeanors and seem to enojy interacting with people. They also have less demanding husbandry requirements when compared with many other repltiles. That being said I recommend doing your research prior to getting one (just as with any pet!).

photo courtesy of http://www.lizardtypes.com/bearded-dragon/

Bearded dragons live on average 10 years in captivity and grow to be anywhere from 12 to 20 inches. They generally should be housed alone although sometimes juveniles can be housed together. A single adult dragon requires a minimum enclosure size of about 48 inches long x 19 inches wide x 22 inches high (75 gallons). The tank should have both basking and hiding areas, and the addition of some branches and rocks would be welcome by most beardies. The best substrate for the bottom on the cage is up for some debate amoung the experts but at Winrose we do not recommend using sand or gravel on the bottom of the cage. This is due to problems seen with gastrointestinal impactions and irriations to the eyes and mouth. Repticarpet is a good option or paper towel which can be easily changed.

Heating and cooling of the enclosure is very important. There must be a warm and a cool side so that the dragon can choose where to go to regulate their body tempterature as needed. During the day the temperature should be 24 degrees C on the cool side and up to 30 degrees C on the warm side. There should also be a basking area that should be in the range of 32-37 degrees C. You should have at least 3 thermometers in the enclosure (one for each temperature zone) and they should ideally be placed where the Beardie spends most of its time. Special lighting is required for most reptiles, including Bearded Dragons. UVB light is required for calcium metabolism. A specific UVB light should be purchased and changed every three to six months. 

Juveniles should be fed a diet that is 50% vegetables and 50% insects. Adults should be fed about 80% vegetables and 20% insects. Ideal veggies include dark leafy greens such as romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, collard greens, baby kale, endive, parsely, bok choy, broccoli leaves and florets. Small amounts of other veggies can be given such as carrots, squash and peas. Greens should be chopped or shredded and sprayed with water before being offered on a plate once or twice a day.

Crickets can be offered once or twice daily and should be no longer than the width of the dragon's head. They should be gut loaded and dusted with a calcium supplement 4-5 times a week. Fresh cool water should be available daily in a shallow dish that the bearded dragon can easily climb in and out of. You can also encouage drinking and healthy shedding by misting with water once daily and doing a warm, shallow water soak twice weekly for about 15 minutes.

Thanks as always for reading!
Dr Ingrid

Please note that much of the information from this article was sourced from http://www.seavs.com/exotic-pet-care-information/ which is an excellent source for husbandry information for all types of exotic pets.

Meet Jessica S our employee of the month for June 2018. Jess has been at Winrose Animal Hospital since August 2016. She has two dogs Gary and Oakley. Jess enjoys spending time with her two boys and is the owner/operator of her own Jewellery Business Copper and Pine.  Tell us why you think Jess is so special!

Meet Danielle L. our employee of the Month for May 2018. Danielle has been at Winrose since February 2017. She graduated in 2016 with a Veterinary Office Assistant Diploma from Roberston College. Danielle has two dogs, Bowser and Baylee, whom she loves very much. Bowser is a German Shepherd and Baylee is a mix between a Husky, Border Collie and Akita. You can follow them on Instagram @bayleeandthebowser and enjoy daily photos of them.  Danielle has a special interest in large breed dogs such as German Shepherds, Mastiffs and Great Danes.  She also plans on taking them Animal Health Technologist course in 2019 at Red River College

We are excited to announce Dr. Tim Bowles will be starting at Winrose Animal Hospital Tuesday May 1, 2018.  Dr. Bowles graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001.  He brings many years of experience with him as well as an interest in surgery and endoscopy.  Please help us welcome him to our practice.  We know he is looking forward to meeting all of our great clients!

Meet Tara O. our team member of the month for April.

Tara has been at Winrose Animal Hospital since 2016. Tara is actively involved in all of our community events for the Winrose Warriors and Rainbow Buddies Program. She enjoys all the technical skills she gets to use on a day to day basis at Winrose. She has a keen interest in Dental Radiology. In her spare time she enjoys camping with her family, yearly skiing trips and spending time with her dog Trixie! Please take a moment to tell us why you think Tara is so special!