The Word-July

WHO (THE HELL) DO
YOU THINK YOU ARE?
Part 2
Small animal veterinary care during the
Covid 19 lockdown.
‘What we can and can’t do.’
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has outlined very clear guidelines about the provision
of veterinary care during lockdown which all veterinary practises must follow. The ultimate
aim of these rules is to protect the public, protect veterinary staff and protect animal welfare.
‘Animals should only be seen in emergencies or where, in the judgement of the veterinary
surgeon, urgent assessment and/or treatment is needed in order to reduce the risk of patient
deterioration to the point where it may become an emergency in the near future (ie within the
three-week time frame currently laid out by the Government for these measures). Routine
treatments, other than those essential to maintaining the future food supply chain, should not
be carried out until further notice.’
If you have any concerns about your pets, please contact us by phone in the first instance.
If we feel your pet needs to be seen we can book you an appointment. Upon arrival at the
surgery car park, please call us and the vet will speak to you over the phone to obtain the history
of the problem. We will then collect the animal from you in the car park and take it inside
for examination. The vet will then call you to discuss their findings and recommendations for
treatment. We will not compromise social distancing so please ensure all cats and small pets
are suitably restrained in a pet carrier.
Examples of routine treatments which we are currently unable to provide include
vaccinations,new pet checks, adolescent heath checks,senior health checks,routine dental
checks, neutering surgery and routine reproductive work. Please contact us if you are unsure
about the urgency of a problem.
Many owners with ill and debilitated animals will be rightfully concerned about what would
happen if their animal needed to be put to sleep. We are obviously not undertaking home visits
at the moment so the animal would need to be brought to the surgery. We would then take the
pet inside and insert an intravenous catheter attached to a long tube called a giving set before
returning the animal to the owners in their car. This tube allows us to give an intravenous injection
but at the same time maintain social distancing whilst the owner is holding and comforting
the animal.
We are happy to post repeat prescriptions and flea/worm treatments for our clients and payments
can be made over the phone. Our 24 hour emergency service is operating as normal.
Our Wincanton surgery will be unmanned after 4pm, but please call our normal number if you
have any concerns and the vet can come and meet you. Out of hours charges only apply after
6.30pm.
Shaftsbury and Tisbury 01747 852064 . Wincanton 01963 400499
www.longmeadvets.co.uk
(A journey into my family tree)
In many ways it’s hard to believe that Mildred
Tartt was a champion at any sport, let alone
archery.
But there you have it, according to the records
she was actually crowned South East
regional Champion three times. Mildred was
infamous for her confrontational style “she
would loom over and stare down her opponents
prior to a shoot-off” recalls Ralph Ponting
in his classic book “Bullseye: English Archery
in the 19th and 20th Century (revised)”,
he also relates to the enthralled reader
Mildred’s famous showmanship, some would
call it gamesmanship: “as she would pull the
arrows from her quiver, she would buckle at
the knees and stumble as though drunk; she
seemed to take great delight in struggling to
connect the arrow to the bow-string, inadvertently
spinning around and making the crowd
duck and cower in fear”
The genealogist-chap turned to me and
asked, ‘have you ever fired an arrow Harry?’
I thought for a few moments before replying,
‘Other than in anger, no’. And that was the
end of that.
Until 2 days later I suddenly remembered, I
had once fired a crossbow, in Broadcasting
House no less.
You see, I once appeared on the BBC TV
show, The Golden Shot. Unfortunately I
sneezed at the crucial moment and accidentally
took out the lighting rig. Bob Monkhouse
would later say that that was the one and
only time in his professional career that he
ever slapped a contestant.
Following my inadvertent sneeze, no contestant
on The Golden Shot would ever be
permitted to fire the crossbow again. Hence,
Bernie the Bolt became a household name.
Harry Tartt