Services:Medical & Wellness
Regular Exams
Regular check-up exams are just as important for your pet as they are for you. When you bring your pet in for a check-up, your veterinarian is able to develop a clear picture of your pet's overall health and wellness. We recommend your pet have at least one regular check-up each year, though more frequent exams are better. During a wellness exam, your veterinarian will listen to your pet's heart and lungs, evaluate your pet's vision, check for unusual lumps or swelling, look inside the mouth and ears and evaluate your pet's joints and muscles. Blood work also may be recommended. Wellness exams can spot health problems before they become more serious or difficult to treat. A routine exam is an excellent time to talk to your veterinarian about behavioral issues, nutritional recommendations and any health issues related to your pet.
Senior Pet Exams
As animals move into the senior phase of life, they experience changes that are very similar to aging humans. Diseases and conditions commonly known to affect older people also affect our canine and feline companions, including kidney, heart, and liver disease; tumors; cancer; diabetes; depression; arthritis; thyroid conditions; hormonal problems; neuroses and loss of sensory perception. Understanding these changes and how you can provide for your pet's needs are essential to quality of life.
Senior wellness exams provide hidden answers. Studies have shown that as many as 20 percent of senior dogs that appear healthy upon physical examination have an underlying disease. Once symptoms appear, the conditions may be too difficult or costly to diagnose or treat. A semi-annual senior wellness exam can include laboratory tests so sensitive they can detect the onset of diseases and conditions early, when treatment and prevention are most effective.
Vaccinations
Our hospital follows the current American Veterinary Medical Association and American Animal Hospital Association vaccination guidelines, which recommend three-year boosters on the core viral vaccinations for adults (distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus in dogs and herpes, calici and panleukopenia in cats). We use the Continuum line of vaccines, the only USDA-approved three-year duration of immunity vaccine currently available for these core diseases.
Annual boosters are recommended for the bacterial diseases endemic in our area, including bordetella and leptospirosis. Additional vaccines (Lyme disease, rattlesnake and feline leukemia) are considered non-core, and recommendations are based on each pet's environment, lifestyle and health history.
For more information about the AAHA's vaccine guidelines, click here.
Dental Care
Keeping your pet's teeth clean and healthy does more than just get rid of "dog breath"—proper dental care has far-reaching health benefits for your four-legged companion. Diseases like gingivitis and periodontal disease can cause pain and discomfort for your pet, and could lead to other, more serious health problems. We recommend regular dental cleanings and check-ups for your pet. We offer teeth cleaning, polishing and extractions, and our staff will help educate you about the best ways to care for your pet's teeth at home.
Microchipping
Each year, millions of pets go missing and many never make it back to their homes. Implanting a microchip in your pet is a simple, painless way to avoid this tragedy. A microchip is a tiny electronic device, about the size and shape of a grain of rice. It is implanted beneath a pet's skin between the shoulder blades and stays there for the pet's entire life. This procedure is as easy and as painless as a vaccination. Each microchip has a unique number. This number, along with information about the owner and pet, are added to a national pet registry. Most veterinary hospitals and animal shelters have electronic scanners for detecting and reading these implanted microchips. If a lost pet is found and a microchip is scanned, the registry is called and the owner can be contacted.
Emergencies
When after-hours emergencies arise, we refer our clients to Animal Emergency Hospital of North Texas (AEHNT), located at 2700 West State Highway 114, Grapevine, Texas 76051. AEHNT can be reached at 817-410-2273.