Top Pet Club – Nature Care: A new take on care – for your pet, for our wildlife, for our planet

This is a story of dogs, cats… and bees.

Our Top Pet Club has been a huge success since we started in 2021, offering great value for money for preventative pet care such as vaccinations, parasite treatments and much more.

At Peacock Vets we don’t just care for your pets; we also care about sustainability and looking after our planet.  We therefore wanted to ensure that we continue to give our clients the great value benefits that they expect, but including unique options to enable us all to care for our pets whilst caring for nature, too.

Treating and monitoring for worms, ticks and fleas is essential for the safety of your family, so it is important not to simply stop using parasitic treatments without having a discussion with us first.  We can discuss the best options for you, your pet, our wildlife and our planet.

Why Peacock Vets are revising their Pet Club for the better.

More and more evidence is coming to light that parasite treatments used for our pets are having a major impact on our environment.  Some products have already been banned for use within agriculture because their use correlated with a decline in the bee population.  In addition, these pet treatments contain substances which also harm aquatic life and other insects, all essential for biodiversity.  For these reasons, Peacock Vets has decided to reinvent our popular Top Pet Club plans to include eco-friendly options.

Our revitalised plans offer the same excellent value, including vaccinations, free anal gland expression, microchipping and insurance administration, for example, as well as an option for additional discounts on set treatments and procedures. 

How have the plans changed for the better?

We believe that by offering regular monitoring for parasites, there will be significantly less need to introduce unwanted pesticides to your pets via standard parasite prevention treatments.  Plan members who choose our Nature Care option will therefore have access to unlimited nurse checks for fleas and ticks, and we will treat only when needed.

Nature Care is an option for those owners who wish to reduce their impact on our environment when it is safe and appropriate to do so.  Reducing the amount of preventative treatment used is not practical or feasible for all of our clients and it must be the right decision for you, your pet, our wildlife and our planet.  We will therefore never force any changes to your pet’s treatment regime unless you agree to them.  We will also always ensure safe and appropriate alternatives are available, continuing to provide treatment if this is not the case.

Reducing the amount of pesticides that reach our rivers and environment is beneficial, and we believe that reducing the amount of pesticides introduced to our pets via preventative treatments will have a positive impact on nature

What else is included?

• Vaccinations
• Free 6-monthly health check
• Free anal gland expressing
• Free nurse nail clips
• Free microchipping
• Free insurance administration
• Discounts on set procedures and medications (Top to Tail plans)

 

Why is it important to monitor and treat against parasites such as fleas and ticks?

• Fleas can cause itchiness and dermatitis, and severe infestations can cause severe anaemia in young animals.  They can also carry tapeworm.  If fleas take hold in your home, it can be difficult to eradicate the infestation.  

         If you choose not to treat preventively, we can assist with flea checks, which are free of charge in our Nature Care option.

• Ticks can carry other diseases such as Lyme disease.  They can transfer these diseases to your pet, but also to humans.  As it is unlikely that ticks transfer disease within 24 hours of a bite, if you check your pet daily, there is less risk.  Owning a dog or a cat does not increase your risk of being infected with Lyme disease, irrespective of their tick status.

         

          We can show you how to effectively check for ticks.

• Toxocara is a roundworm that can cause illness in humans. Historically, pet owners have been advised to treat their pets every three months for worms.  The main risk factors for contracting toxocariasis include contact with soil contaminated with dog or cat faeces, especially in children who play in such areas. (Rarely, it can be contracted by eating undercooked meat).  Routine worming of adult pets in low-risk settings does not help to lower the number of worms found in the environment.

         

         Treatment can be useful for pets who are likely to be shedding a significant number of eggs.  These include puppies and kittens (less than 6 months old), pregnant or lactating females, and dogs who hunt, eat prey or are kennelled outdoors.  For this reason, we will continue to provide worm treatment with our kitten and puppy bundles.  

         We will continue to advocate regular worming for Toxocara for clients who have households with young children, elderly or vulnerable people and anyone who is immunocompromised.

• Lungworm in dogs has become a fairly common issue with potentially serious consequences.  The prevalence of lungworm is geographically variable in the UK.  While positive cases have been diagnosed in our immediate surroundings, the areas around Chippenham and Corsham are not deemed to be extremely high risk.  

         

         Our Nature Care option offers testing for lungworm, with treatment only for positive cases.

• Tapeworm infestations in the UK are likely to be well-tolerated in adult pets, and rarely cause issues.  As puppies and kittens are commonly infected, however, we advocate worming young animals.  Most cases in the UK do not pose a risk to humans.  Infection of adult animals in Wiltshire is quite rare (especially for those pets that don’t eat other animals or raw food that has not been frozen).  The main source of tapeworm infection is from fleas.  

         

         The Nature Care option will include worm screening and can be individual intestinal and lungworm screenings or a combined screening

How will I choose what is right for my pet?

All our Top Pet Club plans are designed to spread the cost of routine and additional care for your pet.  The Nature Care options are available for those who wish to consider our planet and the impact to the environment in addition to caring for their pets.  We will discuss the options available with you at the time, and we can decide together on the most appropriate solution for you, your pet, our wildlife and our planet.

Finally…

As an independently-run veterinary practice, we are passionate about offering cost-effective care for your animals.  We believe that our Top Pet Club plans provide the best opportunity to spread the cost of routine and additional care.  Whilst offering the Nature Care option costs us more to provide, we have worked hard to keep the monthly cost as low as possible, still giving great value.  As an example of this, our stand-alone worm screening (for intestinal worms or lungworm) is available outside of our plans at £50, so having them as part of the Top Pet Club offers very good value as you gain so many other benefits as well.

New preventative treatments are being developed, and we will continue to monitor research into their efficacy and effect on the environment.  Some newer products contain even stronger pesticides, and whilst evidence is still emerging, it appears to be equally damning.  These drugs are still toxic to aquatic life, birds and insects, pollinators and other useful bugs such as dung beetles.  Any toxicity is likely to contribute to a decline in biodiversity.

We are very proud of our new Top Pet Club offerings and our attitude towards the environment.  We are not just about caring for your furry friends – we want to help care for dogs, cats… and bees.  

Top Pet Club – Nature Care: A new take on care – for your pet, for our wildlife, for our planet

Please contact us to find out more about this unique option.