Welcome to 2025!

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The march of time doesn’t seem to have slowed down this millennium, so I thought I would sit up and pay it some mind.

Until somewhat recently, I thought that I would not keep ageing, rather, just stay in some Peter Pan existence of protracted youth. It seems this plan isn’t playing out how I was expecting it to. My knees, for sure, are calling bullshit on that one! Perhaps having kids has started my chronometer ticking with the rest of the world. They certainly help me to see that five years just went by (again). The same applies for our pets. Except that the five-year swish that just went past is 1/3rd of their lifetime!

Now, here's a New Year's treat for you … I am going to blow your mind right now … ready? 

A dog year is not equivalent to seven human years. Whoah!! 

I hope this news didn’t hit your New Year hangover too heavily. Dogs and humans actually exist in the same temporal frame of reference. Their years are the same length as our years (if this wobbles you a little, then don’t watch the movie Interstellar).

So, with a pet’s life, each of these five years is more precious as it is roughly 1/3rd of their life. With this in mind, preventative medicine and early intervention in disease become even more valuable in promoting a happy, long(ish) life in your furry loved ones.

Vets internationally have agreed to advise health tests for pets over seven years old. Certainly, once they hit double figures in age, we find that routine health checks often flag non-clinical (occult) diseases in most patients.

Undertaking a routine health check (like I did earlier this year) has helped us identify a myriad of different diseases in ageing pets that the owners were unaware of. These diseases range from heart, liver and kidney disease to endocrine diseases. If these are picked up early, the prognosis for a longer and happier life is much better in these furry people.

As your car needs an MOT every year to ensure it is safe to drive on the road, so too does your little mate, to know that he or she is firing on all cylinders. We use our blood machines, X-ray machines and ultrasound machines to check all aspects of internal health.

If you want them to enjoy many happy ‘autumn years’, they should undergo regular age relevant health checks. You can find more in the articles section of this website.

Here’s to us all skipping merrily along with the march of time. The tempo won’t change, so enjoy the dance! 

Happy 2025!