Aurora, known as Rory to her friends, is a 6 month old female Siberian Husky puppy. In her short life she has spent a portion of it at the Reservoir Veterinary Clinic. It began when Rory fractured her patella when she was 3 months old. Dr Andrea took radiographs of Rory's knee and was able to see the fracture of her patella. The options for treatment were strict rest or surgery. We decided to start with strict rest as recommended by an orthopaedic specialist. This was a lot easier said than done for a very active puppy and Rory had to come in for regular check up's every week.

Socks the 1 year old Border Collie was brought to the Reservoir Vet Clinic as he had been lame in his right hind leg. When he was examined Dr Wayne found that Socks was not placing his foot on the ground at all and was hopping on 3 legs. When Dr Wayne closely examined Socks' leg he found that his patella was luxated. This means that his knee cap was not sitting in the right position, it had moved towards the inside of his leg. Patella luxation usually occurs in smaller breed dogs but can occur in any breed.

Zeus is a 9 month old Siberian Husky who managed to escape from his backyard in late January. On his travels he was unfortunately hit by a car and was bought to the Reservoir Vet Clinic by a good Samaritan. Nurse Lauren scanned Zeus for a microchip and luckily he had one. We discovered that he was a patient of ours and had completed puppy school here only months earlier.

Ben is a 14 year old Poodle Cross who visited the Reservoir Vet Clinic because of a small laceration on his eyelid. Dr Andrea examined Ben and found that he was in good health other than his eyelid. Ben was lucky in that the rest of his eye was ok, however he needed to be given an anaesthetic so that his eyelid could be sutured.

Rocky is a 6 year old Jack Russell Terrier who was referred from his usual vet to see Dr. Wayne Fitzgerald as he had an oro-nasal fistula. An oro-nasal fistula is an abnormal opening or tube connecting the nasal cavity and the mouth cavity.

Rani is a 6 year old German Shepherd who was brought to the Reservoir Veterinary Clinic as she was unwell at home. Her owner had noticed that she did not seem herself at home, she was lethargic and not her usual happy self. On her way to the vet clinic she vomited in the car.

Koopa is a 10 year old German Short Hair Pointer Cross. Koopa was bitten by another dog around her neck early in August. Koopa was examined by Dr Andrea who found that the other dog had torn a hole in Koopa's neck. She required a general anaesthetic to clean her wound, place a drain to remove any fluid and stitch the torn skin back together. Koopa was immediately given a pain relief injection and she was admitted to the hospital ward.

Samson is a 4 year old Spoodle who was examined by Dr Andrea because of his destructive behaviour when he was left alone at home. When Samson's owners would go inside and leave him alone he would injure himself as well as damage doors and carpet in the house in an attempt to get to his owners during these periods of anxiety. His owners had tried to reduce his behaviour but to no avail.

Just like us our senior pets also suffer from osteoarthritis. Roscoe is a 13 year old Australian Silky Terrier who is currently on a treatment program for his osteoarthritis. Roscoe has always had a luxating patella (this is where the knee cap can move from the groove it is situated in) but his degree of luxation did not warrant surgery to fix the problem.

Sheena is a guide dog puppy who regularly visits the Reservoir Veterinary Clinic with her puppy raisers Ralph and Eileen. She always says hello to everyone at the clinic, including giving Ma a big kiss. Now that Sheena is 1 year old she has been assessed to see if she is suitable for training as a Guide Dog. The great news is that she passed with flying colours and will undergo intensive training required to become a guide dog. Once her training is complete Sheena will in turn become a valuable and loyal companion for a visually impaired person.