I had a great time answering questions on a live stream of “Ask a Banbury Vet”- some personally tricky reflections on coping with euthanasia especially stands out. I’ve also been thinking about animal consciousness this week- I hope you enjoy my thoughts.- John

Are animals conscious?

Ask some someone 100 years ago and they would have replied that the body needs a “vital force”, some mysterious power flowing through its sinews to animate it; you’ve only got to look at the Frankenstein story to see how people thought. 50 years ago, scientists would have very ponderously claimed that language was essential to consciousness. Thankfully things have moved on…

Video: Ask a Vet Live!

I spent an enjoyable hour on Wednesday evening answering questions from members of the “Ask a Banbury Vet” Facebook group- lots of interesting enquiries ranging from difficulties with flea control to how vets cope with euthanasia.All our videos are now available as a podcast on the iTunes store or via this RSS feed

Fear Free Veterinary Practice

Danielle is developing a “Fear Free” set of guidelines for the surgery; this will include free visits and meet the vets for treats, making a good first impression for pups and kittens etc.  Lorna is arranging cat only consulting sessions once a week I will be starting to do video consults over WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype etc. for ongoing cases that don’t necessarily need a physical examination, and get stressed if they have to come into the surgery. To book a video consult simply ring the surgery as per usual.