Animal Health Education
Vaccinations
Immunizations that have been handled properly, are administered appropriately and are given at the correct intervals help protect pets from disease. When designing a vaccination program for your pet, our veterinary professionals will consider your pet’s lifestyle and risk of exposure to diseases before making recommendations. Up-to-date vaccination records are important, especially if you travel with your pet, allow your pet to board in an out-of-home facility, have your pet professionally groomed or venture to area dog parks.
Through Petly (free to our clients) you have the ability to access and print a copy of your pet’s immunization records… of course, you can always just give us a call as well. We would be happy to assist you!
Intestinal parasite screening and prevention
Both cats and dogs are susceptible to infections by internal and external parasites. Unfortunately, some of these parasites are zoonotic (possess the ability to infect people as well as animals). For this reason, prevention of intestinal parasites is important for the health of the entire family. Most intestinal parasites are not visible in feces or by the naked eye. Your veterinary team is able to screen for infection by obtaining and then processing a small sample of feces and performing a microscopic analysis.
In addition to intestinal parasite screening, periodic deworming and parasite prevention medications are likely to be recommended and/or administered. Symptoms of intestinal parasite infection can include vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and poor overall body condition. Because of the risk to pets and humans, it is important to perform intestinal parasite screenings and include monthly preventatives in the routine care of family pets.
Flea & Tick Control
Health concerns associated with fleas:
Itching and discomfort
Flea allergy dermatitis
Anemia
Tapeworms
Health concerns associated with ticks:
Ehrlichiosis
Lyme disease
Rocky mountain spotted fever
Anaplasmosis
Fleas and ticks are bothersome and potentially dangerous external parasites.
Flea and tick problems can be difficult to treat. Therefore, we recommend a year round, complete (pet and environment) prevention program.
Fortunately, there are several effective flea and tick preventives available to assist in the war against these parasites. Pet owners may be tempted to purchase an over-the-counter product to protect their pets from these parasites, but please be cautious since many of these products can have serious side effects if used improperly. In addition, some products are known to have limited effectiveness.
Nutritional Counseling
Similar to human beings, what our pets nourish their bodies with is extremely important. The quality of the nutrition our pets eat can have either a positive or negative influence on their overall health and well-being. Our staff can provide guidance regarding your pet’s nutritional needs for each of their life stages.
In addition, our hospitals can also provide information on diets that assist in the therapeutic maintenance of many different health concerns (heart, kidney, skin, urinary, etc). At each of our locations we carry a comprehensive line of high quality Hill’s prescription and non-prescription foods. In addition, our hospitals carry a selection of Royal Canin veterinary prescription diets.
Heartworm is a worm that resides in the heart and lungs of infected dogs and cats.
Unfortunately, due to the mostly mild temperature, level of humidity and abundant water sources, heartworm disease is prevalent in our area.
Heartworm larva is transmitted from pet to pet by mosquitoes. Once a pet is bitten by a larva carrying mosquito, the larva will complete it’s life cycle in their host (your dog or cat) and become capable of causing a life threatening disease.
Fortunately, heartworm infection is a preventable disease and there are a number of exceptional heartworm preventions available. These products, when provided year-round, provide excellent protection against heartworms and many preventatives also protect against several species of intestinal parasites that can harm pets as well as people.
Signs of heartworm infection can include:
Respiratory problems
Coughing
Exercise intolerance
Vomiting
Weight loss
Sudden death
