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Wellness & Preventive Care

Annual wellness exams evaluate your pets overall health, detect problems before they get serious, and keep them on track to live a long, healthy life.

Cat and dog cuddling in a grass field
Cat and dog cuddling in a grass field

Wellness over the lifetime

While we strongly recommend annual examinations for all pets, as your pet grows and ages, their healthcare needs evolve.

Juvenile Wellness

Newly adopted puppies and kittens should receive a wellness exam as soon as possible. The first step is to screen for fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites or any other health problems to ensure that your new family member is healthy and that disease is not transmitted to other animals or humans in your household. Puppies and kittens are especially vulnerable to parasitic infections that can threaten their health. Proper screening and preventive products can help protect them against intestinal worms, fleas and heartworm disease. Juvenile pets also have immature immune systems which makes it difficult to fight off disease. According to the American Animal Hospital Association, vaccinations are the most effective preventive measure you can take for the health of your pet. A visit to your veterinarian is imperative if you notice any of the following:

  • Unexplained weight loss

  • Excessive drinking and/or urination

  • Loss of appetite or lethargy

  • Behavior changes

  • Diarrhea or vomiting

  • Skin lumps, bumps or irritation

  • Bad breath, plaque on teeth or bleeding gums

  • Ear odors, redness, scratching or head shaking

  • Trouble urinating or defecating

Adult Wellness

We recommend all pets be examined at least once a year in order to prevent/detect medical problems. Pets age faster than we do and as a result, health problems can progress much more rapidly. Regular wellness examinations will confirm that your pet is healthy or help catch problems before they can become more serious. Dependent on your individual pet, the visit may include any of the following: a health consultation, blood work, a physical examination, pain assessment, nutritional counseling, vaccinations if necessary, an intestinal parasite screening and a recommendation for an on-going wellness routine. We will assess your pet’s comfort level and address any concerns about pain. Even younger cats and dogs can experience chronic pain due to joint disease (osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, cruciate (ACL) disease) and dental disease.

Senior Wellness

Thanks to the advancements in veterinary medicine, pets are living longer than ever. However, with this increased lifespan comes an increase in the variety of conditions and diseases that they are susceptible to, including osteoarthritis, kidney disease, heart disease, liver disease, cancer and diabetes. And because pets age faster than we do, health problems can progress much more rapidly. As a result, we recommend that senior pets undergo blood work regularly so that we may catch any of these diseases in their early stages, allowing us to begin treatment as soon as possible.

A visit to the veterinarian is imperative if you notice any of the following:

  • Changes in mobility: difficulty getting up from a down position, trouble with stairs, limping, decrease in ability to jump on furniture or jump into the car, decrease in play activity

  • Unexplained weight loss

  • Excessive drinking and/or urination

  • Loss of appetite or lethargy

  • Behavior changes

  • Diarrhea or vomiting

  • Skin lumps, bumps or irritation

  • Bad breath, plaque on teeth or bleeding gums

  • Ear odors, redness, scratching or head shaking

  • Unexplained weight gain