Routine Preventative Care
It is important for your pet to receive routine checkups just like it is for you. A complete physical examinaton for your pet may uncover health issues or concerns. It allows us to make sure that your pet is healthy and also allows us to catch any health problems before they become serious. You should bring your dog or cat in for a checkup at least once a year, and once every 6 months for older pets.
During the visit we will check your pets' vitals, weight, make sure all vaccinations are up to date, and perform any necessary blood work. Blood work can help to diagnose heartworm and tick disease very common in our area. Tick borne diseases {Erlichia, Anaplasmosis, and Lyme diease} can be picked up by a simple 8 minute in house snap test {4DX}. These diseases can be treated more easily when detected early.
Routine Fecal Flotation by Centrifugation and Fecal Giardia tests are needed not only for the health of your pet, but for the health of the family. Alot of the parasites found in dogs, can be zoonotic {transferred to humans} in nature. Regular deworming maybe needed. Starting in 2012, SFAH will now due all fecal flotations by a method called centrifugation. Although, more sample is needed and may take 24 hours for results, this is the best method for intestinal parasite diagnosis. This is the method supported by the CDC for confirmation of parasites in animals.
During this routine well pet visit, vaccinations will be addressed as to each pet's needs, environment, and age. Puppyhood diseases become less important at geriatric ages, so communication with the veterinarian and owner is key to agree on each vaccination that is administered.
