VETCall is delighted to announce that we have been nominated in the 'Practice of the Year' category in the Petplan Veterinary Awards. Petplan has worked closely with the veterinary profession for over 40 years and sees first hand each day the fantastic work that goes on in veterinary practices across the UK. Theyrecognise that keeping customers happy and pets healthy is a team effort from the receptionist and support staff right through to the vets and nurses themselves. Thes

There is a dark side to the world's biggest dog show, Crufts, organised by the Kennel Club. The Kennel Club sets the criteria on what each breed should look like and this year, dogs showing faces and muzzles flattened and distorted by selective breeding, demonstrating the brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, that makes breathing a struggle and often needs surgery to correct. This is a serious animal welfare problem. I hold the Kennel Club responsible. They encourage br

34 Police Forces in England and Wales reported more than 5000 cases of dog theft since 2011. Of these just 12 percent of dogs were reported to have been returned to their owners. Dog theft is a particularly nasty crime, causing distress to owners and to the dogs themselves. This a a rising issue with hundreds of dogs being stolen every year. Dogs that are stolen are often simply reported as missing and very few are ever returned to their owners. Pet Theft Awareness Week aims

I commissioned an oil on canvas painting (1.8m x 1.4, digital watermark not an actual painting) by Martin Jordan (www.martinjordan.co.uk) to be sold with proceeds to a group of private game farms, Balule, in South Africa who have lost 14 white rhinos to poachers. Rhinos are poached for the supposed medical qualities of their horns (but the horns consist of keratin, the same stuff as finger nails). The painting has been criticised by some as being politically sensitive but ref