Senior

Senior Wellness

     If your dog or cat is getting older you may have noticed some changes with him or her.  We consider any dog over 7 years old or cat over 9 years old to be geriatric.  With their increasing age, there is an increased risk of health problems that we need to be monitoring more closely.  Our staff is strongly dedicated to your pet’s health and especially the relationship you have with them.  We want to do everything to continue a healthy relationship with your pet as long as possible.

      We have developed a Senior Wellness Program to address the special needs of geriatric patients. Instead of yearly exams with vaccines, we recommend bi-annual examinations including bloodwork, urinalysis, weight monitoring, nutritional counseling and further diagnostic testing if needed.  Your pet’s health could change drastically in 6 months, therefore we need to keep a close eye on little changes that may be occurring, some of which you may not even be aware of.

      To help you understand our wellness plan better, we’d like to explain each individual diagnostic test we would be performing.  Your pet’s first visit of the year would include a full physical exam by the veterinarian which includes checking every body system for abnormalities and addressing any concerns you may have.  This also includes monitoring their weight and body condition; at this time we will make appropriate nutritional recommendations. Then we would give the appropriate yearly vaccines as determined by your veterinarian. 

      Your pet’s second visit is also very important because we will be performing a full physical exam again, monitoring for any changes that may have surfaced since the last visit.  We will also perform bloodwork, analyze a urine and fecal sample, check their weight and complete further diagnostic tests if needed.  The bloodwork will include a heartworm test, a full blood profile including a thyroid check and a complete blood count.  The profile will monitor for metabolic changes including kidney, liver, and pancreas function.  It also checks the levels of glucose, calcium, protein, cholesterol, electrolytes and more.  The thyroid check measures the T4 level which can let us know if there is a problem with your pet’s thyroid gland.  The complete blood count or CBC will give us more information about the number and characteristics of your pet’s red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.  The urinalysis will check how well your pet is concentrating their urine along with screening for the presence of glucose, protein, blood, crystals, and bacteria.  The fecal test checks for internal parasites and is recommended yearly by the CDC.  Other diagnostic tests we may recommend would be  x-rays, ultrasound, ECG, a full thyroid panel and yearly dental cleanings.  These tests would be determined based on the veterinarian’s evaluation of your pet’s specific needs as well as your concerns.    

      As always, if you have any concerns between your bi-annual appointments, please don’t hesitate to call our staff or schedule an appointment.