Appointments

Our clinic sees patients by appointment only.

For Emergency information please view our Emergency page.

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Preventative Care

Preventive care includes annual examinations, vaccinations and lab work. Recent scientific evidence has proven that protection from vaccinations lasts longer than we previously believed. So even though we are not vaccinating as frequently, it is still very important for us to see your pets at least once a year. During this exam a complete physical examination is performed and any annual blood work or diagnostic testing is completed. Pets that are on daily medication typically need to have blood work performed to make sure the chronic use of the medication is not affecting any other organ systems adversely. Older pets may need routine blood and urine evaluations to monitor for chronic health conditions.

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The annual wellness examination includes evaluation of the heart, lungs, abdomen, eyes, ears, skin, teeth and the pet’s body condition. It can be very helpful in picking up significant new health concerns that may not be evident to the owner because the pet is not displaying serious clinical signs yet. Annual screening exams and blood work may point out early problems in various organs BEFORE the pet starts to show clinical signs. This allows us to initiate treatment early and slow the progression of many diseases. Any changes in the pet’s nutrition, deworming schedule or exercise program can be addressed at this examination. Our veterinarians believe that no two animals are alike, thus all recommendations are tailored to the individual animal and family situation. This exam is also an excellent opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have about your pet(s).

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Vaccinations
Vaccines are an important part of the first visits for puppies and kittens. Young animals are much more susceptible to infectious diseases than are mature pets because their immune systems are not yet fully functional. The immunity that they get from their dams begins to wear off around 8 weeks of age and is completely gone by 4-5 months of age. Thus it is very important for all puppies and kittens to receive a full vaccination series by 4 – 6 months of age. Once the initial vaccine series is complete it must be boostered a year later to insure continued immunity. After this point, many vaccines are not needed on an annual basis, although some like Lepto and Bordatella are. Older pets typically need their core vaccines every 3 years or when vaccination titers indicate that immunity is waning. Every pet is different in its risk factors and chance of exposure, so while we have a core set of vaccines recommended for all pets, there are many others that may be indicated for some individuals while they are not recommended for others. Each client and pet will have its own recommended vaccine protocol tailored to its lifestyle. Vaccine protocols are reviewed by our veterinarians during the pet’s annual exam.

Technician Appointments

Nail trims and expressing anal glands are done by two or more of our licensed technicians and trained veterinary assistants for these appointments. We appreciate you making an appointment on our technician schedule for these appointments to try to reduce your wait time, but you can also walk in for these appointments. If you walk-in with a pet for a nail trim or anal gland expression rather than making an appointment, please be patient if you need to wait – we will get to your pet as soon as we possibly can.

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Nail trims can be very stressful for some patients. We use low stress handling techniques for all procedures in our practice, including nail trims. Sometimes, anti-anxiety or sedative medications will be necessary to get the procedure done with as little stress as possible. In some cases, over time, as the pets get used to positive reinforcement, we can reduce or stop medication needed for nail trims. If the technicians or assistants feel the procedure is too stressful for your pet, they will find a doctor to discuss a plan moving forward to make it less stressful and then will come to discuss the plan with you. In certain cases, we may only get one toe or one foot done before the stress is too much and we may ask you to come back in a few days after medication has been administered to calm the patient.

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