WELCOME TO OAK HOUSE

We pride ourselves on a friendly, caring approach giving the highest standard of health care to you and your pets.

We are happy to treat all types of small companion animals – dogs, cats, rabbits & other pocket pets, birds and reptiles at the main Plains Road surgery and at our sister branch surgery at 26-28 Station Road, Carlton.

All operations and in-patients are treated at our purpose built clinic at our main 333 Mapperly Plains Surgery.

We opened the Plains Road Surgery in 2014 with full consulting, operating, diagnostic & hospitalisation facilities in a brand new state of the art premises.

We are committed to providing the highest levels of care for you and your pets.

Our team will always try their best to attend to you as quickly and efficiently as possible.

We always try to keep on time with our appointments, but unfortunately due to the unpredictable nature of veterinary medicine, we will sometimes fall behind with our consultations.

We thank you for your patience in such situations, but if this is causing you a problem or you need to rearrange your appointment, please speak to a member of our team and they will be happy to assist you.

If you have any suggestions or feedback, please ask a member of our reception team for a feedback form, as we welcome your suggestions on how you think we can improve.

Imported Pets
Read more if you have an imported pet

Over the last few years there have been a rise in the number of pets being imported
into the UK.
Pets can be brought into the country legally via Rescue charities, private imports by
their owners but also increasingly by other illegal routes.
Due to the increasing number of cases of potentially serious diseases that can affect
humans [Zoonoses] being imported into the country by pets we have developed our
practice policy.
The RCVS and DEFRA have asked all practices in the UK to be vigilant for any illegally
imported pets and also because certain exotic diseases, such as Canine Brucellosis,
can be extremely serious if passed onto humans.

New Patients –
We strongly advise you contact us before considering homing an imported pet, or at
least as soon as they have been collected, so that we can advice about health and
behavioural issues you may have to deal with, as well as organising any specific
testing or health measures you may need to take with your new pet.
We strongly recommend owners to keep their new pet quarantined from other
household pets until vet has had chance to discuss and assess the pet’s disease status
with you.
When any new imported pet is registered with the practice, either if owned by a new
or an existing client;
-We will need to know when & where it was imported from, and we ask the owner to
provide all relevant paperwork for us to check.
Please always make sure you are provided with all the relevant paper work for the pet
from the importer or rescue centre when you collect them.
-A vet will then need to check it’s microchip and paperwork, including passports,
permits & blood test results before we could register the animal as a patient.
-If there are any irregularities/errors then the vet would need to check with owner
and if necessary we have to report any irregularities to either Nottinghamshire Trading Standards or APHA as appropriate.

Behavioural Problems
Many rescue dogs are from feral backgrounds or from households that treat pets
differently to how we do in the UK and as such are often not socialised or already
suffering from complex behavioural issues.
Dealing with these behavioural issues, while often rewarding for the new owner, can
also be very stressful for both pet and owner. It can also be time consuming and
expensive to treat, with sadly some pets never adjusting to a new lifestyle.
Please discuss with our staff about any concerns or advice with any pet with
behavioural problems.
We have access to refer pets to recognised behavioural specialists if necessary.

Exotic Diseases-
Brucellosis
Brucellosis canis is a disease which has seen a sharp rise in incidence in the UK from imported pets.

Brucellosis is a zoonosis – this means that it can seriously effect humans as well as
dogs. In humans it can cause miscarriage, abortion and generalised illness.

It is not obvious a dog is carrying Brucella and dogs once infected can be so for life.
Brucellosis canis is a Notifiable Disease in the UK and all Brucella positive pets need
to be notified to the APHA by law and again advice is given as per the APHA
guidelines.

Brucellosis is more of a risk if the dog has been imported from certain countries eg
Romania and other Eastern European countries but can be found from imports from other parts of the world.

All imported pets who don’t have evidence of a negative Brucellosis test will be asked
to have a test taken before being registered with the practice.

This test is sent to the APHA labs & can take 1-2 weeks for a result.
An estimate can be provided for costs of testing.
We will not register any pet that the owner will not test for or is positive for
Brucellosis, without initial discussion and authorisation from the Directors.

Other Disease Screening
If not already done pre-import, we also recommend all imported pets have an
appropriate screening test initially on arrival eg Idexx 4DX [checking for Anaplasmosis, Lymes Disease, Ehrliciosis & Heartworm infection].
The vet can advise the appropriate tests & give estimate for costs.
We have also recently seen an increase in imported pets suffering from other exotic
diseases, such as Leishmaniasis.
Again, like Brucellosis, often these diseases are not obvious when you collect your pet
and can often not start to be ill until several months or even years after re-homing.
These diseases can be really nasty for the pet, cause real welfare implications and
distress for their owners. Often, because these diseases are not commonly seen in the UK, they can often be hard to diagnose and can be extremely costly to treat. In some cases there is no effective treatment and euthanasia is the safest option.

Summary
We love to welcome all new pets into the practice but due to the extra responsibility
and the increased risks involved with imported pets, we strongly recommend careful consideration is taken before taking on an imported pet.

Always thoroughly research who you are taking the pet from and make sure they are
happy to provide you with all the information and paperwork you require.

Make sure you have the time, emotional strength and money before making a
commitment to homing an imported pet.
We are always happy to discuss any advice and precautions with you, ideally before
you have taken on the pet.

GIVING THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF HEALTH CARE TO YOUR PET
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Emergencies

Emergencies & After Hours

FAQ's

What happens in an emergency?

In the event of needing to contact the duty vet out of hours, please ring one of the normal surgery numbers and listen to the directions given on the answer machine.

What about payment?

We try to keep our fees reasonable, but they also have to be realistic and reflect the level of care provided. We ask that payment is made at the time of treatment. For your convenience, we accept Delta, Switch, Visa and Access cards.

What is the best choice for my pet?

Save money and protect your pet with the Oak House Pet Health Club. Check out all the membership benefits and see how much you could save.

Save money and protect your pet with the Oak House Pet Health Club. Check out all the membership benefits and see how much you could save

Testimonials

My puppy had some health issues and so far they've been more than helpful. They always go above and beyond to make sure everything is covered even during the lockdown.
Could not have asked for a better vet!
Big thanks to Andrew 🙂
Kat

Nottingham