Vet Continues Her Mother's Work With Launch Of Updated Puppy Hand-rearing Guide

Mrs Samantha Bloomfield MRCVS, a vet working with the Goddard Veterinary Group, is continuing her mother's work with the launch of a fully updated and revised version of a book called 'The Puppy and Kitten Clinic Nursing and Hand Rearing New born Puppies,’ published by Mrs Betty Bloomfield in 1994. Samantha Bloomfield's book, called 'Bloomfield's Manual of Puppy Hand Rearing: The Complete Practical Guide' offers a practical guide to hand-rearing puppies and provides guidance for caring for those born prematurely or unwell. It includes advice on the assessment and monitoring of newborn puppies; recommends feeding techniques, including orogastric tube feeding; suggests regimens for sick and immature puppies and provides information on conditions such as neonatal sepsis, hypoglycaemia, hypothermia and fading puppy and swimmer puppy syndromes. Betty Bloomfield drew upon her experiences as a special care baby nurse to hand-rear her first puppy in 1974 and, as demand for her services from veterinary staff and breeders grew, she set up The Puppy and Kitten Clinic in 1990, a unique referral service for ill and premature puppies and kittens. She ran the clinic from her home in Hertfordshire with help from her daughter Samantha until she left to study veterinary medicine in 1997. Samantha, who now works in small animal practice at the Harrow Weald branch of the Goddard Veterinary Group, has maintained a strong interest in hand-rearing puppies, takes referral cases and has lectured to breeders and to the veterinary profession. She comments: "Hand-rearing puppies is still an area about which very little information is available either for veterinary staff or for breeders. It's also a complex and challenging task which can take an emotional toll. Bloomfield's Guide was - and still is - viewed as the definitive guide and I retain a passion for the subject having been involved in it since my teenage years. As equipment and knowledge has advanced, I felt rewriting my mother's book to bring it up to date was the best way to continue her work and legacy. I hope my version will provide an essential practical hand-rearing manual and will give both veterinary staff and breeders the confidence to give it a try if required. I'm very grateful to the Goddard Veterinary Group for supporting my work in this area." BLOOMFIELD'S MANUAL OF PUPPY HAND-REARING: The Complete Practical Guide is published by Bloomfield Scully Publishing paperback; 70 pages at £24.95. ISBN: 978-0-9926692-0-1. It will be available from Amazon in October 2013 and pre-orders are now being taken at www.puppyandkittenclinic.com

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