This Month at Vetrica

10 September 2004

Latest News

This page contains the latest news from Vetrica and Vetrica OnLine. It updates at least monthly, and will also keep you up to date with the latest news about animal care and welfare.

An archive of previous months articles is also available.

Dog Thefts in Rosyth

We have had reports of one theft, and one attempted theft of Staffordshire Bull Terriers in Rosyth. The attempted theft was a dog tied up outside a shop. The would-be thief sprayed an unknown substance into the face of the dog, but was chased off by the owner. Fortunately, the dog has had no ill effects from the experience.

More worryingly, the successful theft involved a puppy stolen from inside its own house. The presumption is that these dogs are being targeted for use in dog fighting. For the time being at least, it would be wise not to leave dogs, especially Staffordshire Bull Terriers tied up outside shops, or even unattended in the garden.

Quote of the Month

He doesn't really bite... more takes hold of your finger and doesn't let go.

This Month's Interesting Case

Cheeky is a cockateil, whose owners noticed him chewing at his leg one day. On closer inspection, they saw his leg ring was cutting into his leg. They promptly called us in to remove the ring...

The leg can be seen cutting into Cheeky's leg. Inset: Skin is visible growing over the ring.

As you can see from the pictures, the ring was causing severe trauma to Cheeky's leg. The skin was swollen either side of the ring which had incised all the way through to the bone. This case was so long standing that the skin had actually healed over the top of the ring.

Under anaesthetic, we removed the ring with a pair of wire cutters, exposing the bone and soft tissues that had been damaged. Fortunately, birds are very rapid healers. A few days antibiotics, and Cheeky was as good as new.

Rings are put onto the legs of a variety of species, typically budgies, cockateils and rabbits. They are slid onto the leg at a very young age, the rapid growth of the animal ensuring that they cannot fall off. We frequently see cases where the ring has cut into the leg like happened to Cheeky. Most cases require an anaesthetic to remove, because the animal is in so much pain. The rings are very tough (especially rabbit rings), and difficult to cut. An immobilised patient is essential to remove them safely.

Leg rings are used as an identification mark when breeding and showing animals. For pets they are irrelevant and should always be removed before they cause problems. Fortunately, an anaesthetic is not usually required if the ring is not cutting into the leg.