CENTRALLY located on Nixon Street, in Shepparton’s CBD, the team at GV Vets Clinic and Hospital, provide an extensive range of professional medical services across the greater Goulburn Valley region.
Built on a shared passion for best-practice treatment for all patients; the team are committed to a holistic healthcare model that ensures whole-animal-care is prioritised. With this, the practice offers both onsite clinic consultations as well as offsite, home and farm visits.
Co-owners, Frances Jenner and Brett Davis, offer complimentary expertise, explained Dr Davis.
“Frances has a keen interest in small animals, while my focus is on large animals.
“I am particularly passionate about raising awareness of the importance of using pain relief, in common procedures such as disbudding (preventing the growth of horns in calves), castration and marking of calves and lambs, he said.
“In line with our commitment to providing whole-animal-care, we endorse the use of pain relief when performing these types of procedures on livestock.
“Industry standards have changed over time and more and more producers are now incorporating pain relief as a more ethical treatment of their stock,” Dr Davis explained.
“We provide three forms for pain relief. The first is local anesthetic, which lasts for two to three hours and is used to block the pain signal to the brain. Anti-inflammatories are the second form, which provide relief for up to three days, by reducing inflammation around the wound or procedure site, and limiting the intensity of the pain signal to the brain.
Sedation, is the third form and is commonly used when disbudding. It provides short-term pain relief for cattle and causes drowsiness for around 30-60 minutes, which is useful in that it also provides us with the opportunity to easily assess the animal for any additional issues like hernias, extramammary teats, or to apply their ear tags.
