Swiss dogs and cats have own ‘patient record’ ; German-speaking Switzerland shortage of St. Nicholases; Snow has fallen in the Swiss Alps

News for 19 November 2024

Just like their human owners, pets in Switzerland now have a digital health record, where their vaccinations, X-rays, laboratory results, and other medical treatments will be recorded and easily accessible.

With the new ‘PHBooklet’ digital health record, dog and cat owners can manage their pets' data online themselves.

Registration for this system, operated by a company belonging to the Swiss Association for Small Animal Medicine, costs 25 francs per year.

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With December 6th only a couple of weeks away, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people willing to take on the role of St. Nicholas in Swiss-German regions.

It is not known why this scarcity of ‘Samichlaus’ affects German-speaking regions more than others, but the situation is reportedly especially dire in Zurich and Bern, where you have to ‘book’ St. Nick's visit a year in advance to make sure he makes an appearance.

According to Swiss media, shortages in some cities are not as bad as in others, but this doesn’t mean outsourcing the job to out-of-towners is a viable option.

That’s because “the customs and appearance of St. Nicholas differ greatly from community to community. The one from Zug looks like a bishop, while Zurich's resembles Santa Claus.”

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From the high altitudes of 2,000 metres and above, the snow line has fallen to between 1,000 to 1,500 metres over the past 48 hours.

There is now between 5 and 15 cm of fresh snow at mid-altitudes, along with “a noticeably lower temperature,” according to MeteoSwiss weather service.

This means that the ski season, which already debuted in some Swiss resorts, has a good chance of staying on track.