Annual Exams
This is an opportunity for you and your pet to meet with one of our doctors. The doctor examines your pet from head to toe. We have instruments that help us look deeply into eyes and ears and the doctor also palpates lymph nodes, abdomen and joints to detect any abnormalities. Of course an exam isn’t complete without listening to heart, lung and abdominal sounds.
Laboratory Diagnostics
Your pet needs annual bloodwork to monitor the interior functions of the body. Even pets that appear very healthy benefit from this. Not only does bloodwork establish a normal “baseline” for your pet, it often pinpoints abnormalities long before an animal shows any signs. Early detection can make such a difference in the quality and length of your pet’s life. Some of the routine tests we do analyze kidney and liver function, monitor thyroid and glucose levels, and also screen for infection or signs of parasites.
Vaccines
We always recommend age-appropriate vaccines. Through your input we also tailor your pet’s vaccine schedule to his or her lifestyle. This helps avoid over or under-vaccinating cats and dogs. We schedule Bordetella (kennel cough) annually, although you may choose to schedule it every 6 months to accommodate boarding and grooming facility requirements. We now give safer Purevax Feline FeLV and Rabies vaccines. These vaccines provide protection without the need for adjuvants, chemical additives that may present potential risks to feline patients such as injection site reactions and chronic inflammation.
Parasite Control
Helping your pets stay free of parasites is not only good for them, but also keeps your home environment safer for its human occupants. Some intestinal parasites, such as roundworms, can be passed from pets to people. Good hand washing after petting the animals helps, but it also necessary to keep your pets on good quality deworming medication. People are often surprised to find out how common these parasites are because pets frequently show no sign that they have them! To determine infection, we can submit a pet’s fecal sample to our outside laboratory for evaluation.
The other parasite that is extremely common in this part of Oregon is the flea. ALL YEAR LONG we see pets that are suffering from them. Sometimes the infested animal is even one that is kept strictly indoors.
The products we carry and recommend most often work on both fleas and many of the intestinal parasites. For dogs we recommend Sentinel. It is a once a month flavored tablet that deworms for roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, prevents heartworm, and prevents any fleas that hitch a ride on your dog from reproducing. Before an adult dog can start on Sentinel we do a simple blood test to ensure they are not already infected with heartworm, which is spread by mosquitoes. Puppies less than 6 months of age do not require testing. We also recommend Frontline Plus as a topical flea and tick control for dogs.
For cats we find that both “Advantage Multi” and Program Injectable work very well. Advantage Multi is a monthly topical product that protects against fleas, roundworm, hookworm, heartworm and ear mites. Program Injectable is a 6 month injection that protects your cat’s environment through interrupting the flea life cycle.
