"--A’ *' '■ « V -
“1 M
chips are down, you’ll your
" ■ “Vrfef”
H ' H AVI NG seen .the distress:ir« ?- flgJB and angujsh*owiTe'rs/ 4 , • ? /
. B ~ h Teel when
their.pets v.«-t ss£j. • JH* Bjgo missing, we always .‘‘aAi-.. advise our clients to
get.their pets L- - microchipped Last summer one of our patients, ..-
Spider, a mischievous male cat, went missing from his home, but was found with the help of his ' microchip. ’Having searched everywhere, the owners had given up hope after. ■
• ^
- /Then;-out of the blue, a phone cal) from an old friend came saying:-, they.had found Spider.
/-./ -.While walking home oneeveningj
They had just passed a local pub/;/' "' when they._heard a cat miaowjn the: bushes.
' V ‘ - Being cat lovers
they.checked it > , ■
Spider had been missing for eight- ~ ~ weeks.
was okay and carried on walking: ■ However, it followed them the half - mile backto their home: Forthe • next two mornings the cat stayed in theirgarden.: ■
• -
Being concerned, they fed him- and contacted a friend from the .
• RSPGA for help. They came v down and scanned the-cat/:/ finding his chip/and on ■:
-- checking the database the ^microchip number revealed ' the cat was in fact Spider. With his identity revealed ■
the.friends rang Spider's
■ ■
■: owners to tell them the good news. Apart from having lost a ■
bit of weight, Spider was well and soon happy to be home again. ... Recently another cat, found in
the back of a van; was brought-.-: - to our surgery to be scanned and traced to its home 100 miles down
■
’ I . »' ~ -> .- - t''r> * -f • ' Z t A :7 ~ L , ' ' - v
-/- TTY. ’*0
* vt/r Vet's View
> Wednesday, February 26,
Your monthly column featuring advice and news on animal matt from Davies and Johnson Veterinary Surgeons of Woodplumptc
'withe M6 in-Staffordshire. - R It turned out the guy with they
a, had been working the day before on the street where the cat lived ’ and that it must have . ' jumped in his van - when he,wasn't' lopking. ; Micro- ;;
..chipping is -.
'■a relatively jj 'cheap and
; easy procedu '.providing
iderrtifi cation .Ve
, - fc^rescuejShtr&j^ gardens andthe'RSPC
■‘7 routinely sca'n stray animals to‘1 check for microchips^! riWhep pets are chippe
tKeir/ovfcnersJcan be' j contacted within minute instead
of.daysand.S
' ’ Gwemi^erit;figur^| for 20 j 2 rev'ealed that.;
■: stray*d6gslaidnecort|- the'taxpayer and local . charities £57rn.' T
pC-^To try and reduce thi bill; Parliament plans" •to make'mjcrochippihc
J- ,compulsory in Englanc iby April 2016. :
: Hopefully, this will encourage responsible pet -
ownership as*' - • 'V well.: ■ ■ '
Don't keep your flevents secret iCARINGTOR ALL YOUR VETERINARY NEEDS
Telephone 01772 690380
www.woodplumptonvets.oo.uk
COMPANION ANIMAL SERVICES ^
We pride ourselves on our caring, friendly, personalised approach and aim to provide the ; ■ highest level of veterinary service with good continuity of care. ?
■
24 hour emergency cover by our o w r vets at our own surgery.-- .
[ ,• Veterinary & nurse clinics _■ "■’- v ' RCVSTier 2 accredited practice - ;
Small team of permanent staff - . r- t no locums employed ,
- %
FARM ANIMAL SERVICES ' Comprehensive clinical cover „
Routine cattle fertility work ~ Pig and poultry services
• Comprehensive surgical facilities ^ • Extensivemodem diagnostics l• Intensive care and isolation units : :
y ” — ^ _ -*■ r
» High quality kennels & exercise garden • Veterinary nurse training centre
Spread the word
How one man’s passion became his ideal job
FOR David Mower, the. - golden anniversary of .
v-Leighton Moss has a ■ . special significance; it is also his 50th year with
the.RSPB.
• r
• David, originally from East Anglia, began his . long association with the charity at 15; when . he became a volunteer at Minsmere in Suffolk, • and in June he is due to retire from his role as warden at the Silverdale reserve.
"I was always a keen birdwatcher '
•.Advanced surgical services ' • Herd & flock health planning
• Production and disease monitoring Regular farmer tuition courses & meetings*'In-house laboratory'' -- „ # GAME BIRD CONSULTANCY-^ '— ‘1- 1 -V' --J
from the age of 12, and then I :. ; - made friends with one of the
-.fir- wardens at Minsmere and started. > to volunteer," he says.‘:"WhenTX; was 181 got a job with the'RSPB.: The policy then was to train young ■ people up and give us experience, so when
newnature.reserves-came up we could take on the new roles. "My contract said I could be - .
24 HOUR EMERGENCY COVER BY OUR OWN VETS
Woodplumpton Road Woodplumpton Preston Lancashire PR4 OTA
W O W 24
W0W247.C0.GR-;i'
moved at anytime so I routinely moved every six months and saw . the different habitats. I went to . Orkney and one or two other . ; ; glamorous places.''- . When David moved to Leighton Moss In 1986, there were no < qualified staff/ - _
--. ■, "The RSPB was very forward
thinking in taking on.Leighton , Moss; even when there was still ■
- ,
duck shooting on the reserve,-"- he.... says. "If we hadn't got a foot in the door the land may never have. :
-^-been purchased for conservation:" ■ For David one of the best parts ■
- has been what he refers to as the 'wonderful' staff. - "Everybody who works
there.is
. so committed to conservation,?'- . he says. "They also work for each other, so if a pile of stock arrives • forthe shop, nobody would think - twice about helping move it and if the cafe is struggling you might ■ find the office staff washing up.
;. "There's this really nice spirit . which is a joy to work.with.- -j -
;
- • --"I've certainly been lucky to spend my whole career doing . ' something that is my passion,and e.<- interest. I like the soft, low habitat - 1 wouldn't want to'be walking -.: - Jn the Lake District every day: l'm ;>
-
, a reed bed person. You do Jail in periodically:::- but when you know '- it intimately as I do, you fall in less."
-/’about working at Leighton Moss / . . ■
TEAM SPIRIT: David Mower with a bittern on the reserve
. Instead, he had to identify some birds.
led to W
H in warden "I was interviewed.on site,"
says John;
whowas.theria poultry farmerjust’a few miles from' - . Leighton Moss in Silverdale. "I suppose.tpy practical knowledge - of farming helped.-l knewa little
r ---- ------- He says: All I had was a letter . _ marshes. This changed the wildlife 1 .enjoying for years „ , . I, / , -y . creating pools on the salt' career fEN John Wilson was . ;,
r interviewed for his job as . , warden at Leighton Moss
degree. Nor was he asked to do a • presentation. ■ _■
in 1964 he didn't need a >
• studying the birds he says are most important to him - bearded tits, Even before he was appointed, he took it upon himself to do a study of local birds, choosing the dunnock because so little was known about it. That passion
"
transferred to bearded tits, whose populations 1947 was down to just four pairs in England, all of them at the RSPB reserve in Suffolk: . "When'I started in 1964 it was .unthinkable'that these birds would . one dayijiest at Leighton Moss,"--.';
prompting significant population increases.
Much of the success with the
bearded tits, however, was down to John. He encouraged them to nest in reed ,'wig-wam' nesting boxes - which were such a hit that there were 50 nests on the site one year. John has written four scientific papers on them... so far. And then there is the marsh
harrier. In 1967 there was just one ; pair remaining in England, now -
-.about land management and I ^//lihesays. "The thrill of finding them -had a
keenne.ss for.vyildlife and an ‘ with young in 1973 was absolutely --. wnu nas visnea o i- countries to 1
either, and although he'began work ..dropped to just seven'
pairs.the’ : •' his time^atthe reserve ,"lt's much " in May, it wasn't until the following . followirigyear. /.
There was no induction for John . 65 pairs in 2000, although that" y ‘
: j more visFtof o’rientated noW "he
September that he visited the RSPB ."Another great achievement ? ' says. "Which means more people Hu‘
- cap enjoy
thejthings.that'l've beenH
telimg me I needed to improve the- vLcompletely.-The crowriing glofy.. 5 / If ybu come acrifss Jol^ri'^hen site and look after it, but I was so was getting avocets'to nest here ,- you visit Leighton Moss heJs-S"— ^-^ thrilled with the job and working V- nn'2001>.When I first starte'd'bird ■ ■ unlikely to reveal who he is"bu?4'-- with wildlife I always wanted an,. / watching they’d only just begun tq'-,there is'riothing he Iik4i mo>e Lhanl
OUtdP °r i e ,/ John stayed for 35 years, retiring ' .The shallow, brackish pools he - to visitors , j ' ' 5 . ''re-coionise Bntain'i
< w - passing on h'is wealth of knowledge: v W
I" 1 ®ut a'^ough he is now. ^
...refers tq.were created in k way that' ^ /'And I'm stillT4ami^q'tdo^ h f ^ 78, his links with the reserve are fa;-//.made them more attractive to dth'ef-; Says/'J'm'learning ail the time ' i j f - from severed. On average he visits-j: ^-species too,'including widg'eon>' five days each weekend is stilUC SSgreens'hank arid spotted'redshank>ii--
' interest in how we could improve fantastic.J've been studying them t pursue his paSSion for birdwatching, the site." . '
■ ‘
there are 250, four at Leighton ■ Moss; another highlight for John, •' who has visited 5T countries to
f , - ' . :>ver sincelAt the peak we .had ' &7 It is^not only among the'wildlife^ 'that he has seen changed 6vei
Wednesday, February 26 ,2014 '
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