Nina Fotara shares her experiences of veterinary ultrasound this week. Not content with being a dog trainer, masseuse and Reiki teacher, she is a breeder of Longhaired Weimaraners and primarily a dog ultrasonographer in the Essex area. Nina trained through the Vet Image Solutions training courses, and uses the VIS Scanpad. She reveals that although the MSU Dog Scan machine was her initial scanner of choice, using the VIS Scanpad during training and seeing the variety of features and high quality of this scanner persuaded her to purchase this machine instead.

Being somewhat of a ‘canine guru’, Nina has found that veterinary ultrasound fits in very neatly with all her other dog-related work she carries out. For example, someone that requires her ultrasound expertise may end up discussing a behavioural aspect of their dog and vice versa. This vast amount of ‘doggy knowledge’ is sure to make Nina the go-to person in her area for all things canine related! It is not surprising therefore that Nina’s business, Essex Canine Pregnancy Scanning has gained in popularity, requiring the addition of an additional member of her team – her daughter Gabriella! Gabriella is also fully trained, and Nina explains she hopes to diverge somewhat from her mum’s footsteps by scanning other animals, such as snakes. In the future, Nina hopes to expand her business further in the Essex area and build up a good reputation. It sounds however like Nina is already on her way there, with the relevant experience and qualifications she possesses and the fact that a good portion of her work comes from personal recommendations.

So what advice would Nina give to any would-be ultrasound practitioners? She suggests that when scanning it would be advisable to find out how many times an individual has mated, as well as when the initial mating happened. This is to ensure that the practitioner is able to correctly gauge the number of scans required to work out the corresponding time of gestation- advice that is sure to be of great use to anyone struggling to pinpoint a particular period during pregnancy. For information on any of the scanners mentioned here, please feel free to contact us or click on the relevant links above.