Annual Wellness For Your Pet

Examinations:

       Annual exams check your pet’s body from nose to tail. These important physical exams can catch problems early, when treatment is most effective, and are a valuable tool for ensuring your pet stays healthy.

Annual Blood screen:

Why does your pet need annual blood screening?

1. Blood work allows us to evaluate things we cannot see on physical exam and gives us a more complete picture of your pet’s health.  This way we can identify potential problems early and intervene early on.  Problems that are identified and treated early have a better prognosis for long term health
2. Blood work lets us know what is normal for your pet.  Each value on a blood screen has a reference range of what is normal for most pets. 
3. Blood work allows us to see trends in your pet’s values.  A value may be in the normal range for many years but may be continually creeping up over time.  This can alert us to an impending problem and we can institute an appropriate therapy as needed.  This is why it is especially important to have the blood screen done yearly.

What is included on an annual blood screen?

Heartworm test

Heartworms are a very serious parasite.  All pets in Missouri need to be on heartworm prevention.  If they are not yet on prevention this test will let us know if they are negative so that it will be safe to start a preventative program.  For pets that are on routine prevention this will let us know that our preventative program is effective.

Complete Blood Count

1.      Hematocrit or Packed Cell Volume: measures the percentage of red blood cells to assess anemia and hydration status

2.      White blood cell count:  White blood cells can be indicators of infection, disease, or allergic conditions

3.      Platelets:  Platelets are a part of the clotting system and adequate numbers are needed to prevent excessive bleeding

Serum Chemistry Panel

1.      Albumin: Albumin is a serum protein that helps evaluate hydration, hemorrhage, and intestinal, liver, and kidney disease

2.      Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP):  ALP is an enzyme that can indicate liver, gallbladder, or Cushing’s disease.  It also indicates active bone growth in young pets.

3.      Alanine Aminotranferase (ALT):  ALT is an indicator of liver damage

4.      Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN):  BUN can be an indicator of dehydration, kidney, or liver function

5.      Creatinine:  Creatinine is an indicator of kidney function

6.      Globulins:  Globulins are blood proteins that often increase with chronic inflammation and certain disease states

7.      Glucose:  Glucose is a blood sugar.  Elevated levels may indicate Diabetes and other diseases.  Low levels can cause collapse, seizures, or coma

8.      Total Bilirubin:  Elevations may indicate liver or hemolytic disease.  This test can help identify bile duct problems or certain kinds of anemia.

9.      Total Protein:  This is an indicator of hydration status and provides additional information about the liver, kidneys, and infectious diseases.

Fecal (stool) test:

            This test requires only a small amount of stool and allows us to check for intestinal parasites that can adversely affect your pet's health. Some of these parasites are also transmittable to humans, especially children.

Dental prophylaxis (cleaning):

With an increasing emphasis on preventative medicine, veterinary dentistry is starting to get the attention it deserves.  For many years veterinarians used the amount of tartar on the teeth as the main indicator of dental disease, we now know that this is an inadequate means of assessing the degree of dental disease.  Periodontal disease is the most common ailment of small animals and is caused by the invisible plaque which contains the live bacteria that are producing the toxins in the mouth.  Gum problems begin when bacteria accumulate at the gum line around a tooth.  

A complete veterinary oral examination begins with a examination of each tooth.  We use a dental record chart similar to the one used by human dentists, to identify and record problems with your pet’s mouth.  Anesthesia is absolutely essential to allow us to examine each tooth individually.  Modern medications and monitoring equipment are used to increase the safety of anesthesia.  A dental exam must use a periodontal probe to measure gum pocket depths around each tooth.  One or two millimeters of probe depth normally exists around each tooth. With pockets 4 millimeters or greater we know periodontal disease is present and additional treatments are often necessary to preserve the teeth.  Unfortunately sometimes the disease is too far advanced to save all the teeth and extractions are required. By addressing the dental disease in the early stages it may be possible to modify the progression of the disease and help prevent the loss of teeth.

We may also take x-rays of abnormal teeth.  X-rays show the inside of the tooth and how the root is anchored in the bone. These features are normally not seen as they are inside the tooth or below the gum line.  Many decisions about whether the tooth can be treated or must be extracted are based upon x-ray findings. 

Heartworm and flea prevention:

            This is the ideal time to refill a year’s worth of your preferred heartworm and flea prevention. Buying it now will ensure you always have it on hand, so doses won’t get missed, and save you extra trips to our office.

Vaccinations:

Dogs

Rabies: Transmitted through a break in the skin – often a bite from an infected animal. It is almost always fatal. This vaccine is required by law every 2 years after the first administration.

DHL4PP: Prevents several diseases including distemper and parvo virus.

Distemper is a highly contagious disease spread between dogs by contact with the mouth and nose. This disease can attack all parts of the body and can be fatal or cause life-long disorders.

Parvo virus is a viral infection of the intestinal tract causing bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, and is often fatal. Common in puppies, this disease can live in the environment for months after exposure to an infected animal.

Bordetella: Also known as kennel cough, this is a respiratory infection transmitted by being in close proximity to an infected animal. The respiratory symptoms can be persistent and difficult to resolve.

Lyme: This disease infects the musculoskeletal system, heart and kidneys. It is transmitted by tick bites. Left untreated, the disease can progress to chronic arthritis.

Cats