To assess your pet’s health, our veterinarian will do a number of things. First, they will take a complete medical history, assess behavior, and review any known medical conditions with you. Then they will conduct a head-to-toe examination and give vaccinations (based upon your pet’s lifestyle) and discuss current nutrition recommendations. Wellness labwork will be collected, including parasite testing is also an integral part of the annual exam to make sure that your pet is healthy beyond what the eye can see. These labs include a complete blood cell count to make sure your pet is not anemic and doesn’t have any infections, a chemistry panel to make sure organ function is normal (kidney, liver, and electrolytes), and parasite testing (heartworms, intestinal parasites, and tick-borne diseases) to make sure he is disease-free. Last, the doctor will spend time answering all of your questions and going over any new information that is relevant for your fluffy friend.

Plan on arriving on time and spending about half an hour to 45 minutes in these exams. We have a lot to talk about! During the first seven years of your pet’s life, we like to see your pet once a year. As they age and have more health concerns, sometimes needing more care, we like to see your pet at least twice a year.

We perform not only periodontal probing to find problem areas but also take digital dental x-rays for a complete assessment. Digital dental x-rays help us assess your pet’s oral health. In fact, two-thirds of our pets’ teeth are under the gumline and are not visible. X-rays show us what is under the gingiva which we cannot see. Studies have shown that without x-raying a pet’s mouth, 75% of significant dental problems are missed in our pets. When was the last time your pet had dental x-rays?

Digital dental radiographs allow assessment of the teeth (fractures or internal disease), the surrounding soft tissues (periodontal disease, stomatitis, cysts, draining tracts, abscesses, fistulas, tumors), the joints (TMI or mandibular symphysis), and the bone (jaw fractures). Digital x-rays can also reveal subgingival (under the gums) foreign objects, cysts, and tumors.

In order to ensure that the anesthetic dental procedure is as safe as possible, Pinebrook Animal hospital does several things. First, labs are run to make sure there are no last-minute problems that we need to know about, like an infection or kidney problems. Secondly, we run an EKG to make sure there are no heartbeat abnormalities before starting anesthesia. In addition, we place an IV to make sure we can have access to the bloodstream to administer saline and just in case we need to give an emergency medication. These costs, as well as the digital x-rays, are reflected in the base cost of the dental cleaning. If, however, we discover after taking x-rays that your pet needs some infected or abscessed teeth extracted, those costs will be additional, and we will inform you as to those costs.

We do everything to make your pet’s stay at our hospital comfortable, as well as sending home appropriate pain and antibiotic medication when necessary. If you are not sure if your pet needs a dental cleaning, please schedule a no-charge evaluation of their teeth so we can decide what their mouth needs!

There are many diseases and abnormalities that can cause the heart to not pump as well as it should, which means that heart diseases can affect your pet all day, every day, dramatically affecting your pets’ quality of life. We offer screening tests for heart murmurs, congenital abnormalities, and cardiac diseases that show up later in life, as well as specific cardiac tests such as echocardiograms and electrocardiograms.

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart, which allows your pets’ veterinarian to measure how thick the heart’s muscular walls are, how well the heart contracts, and how well the valves are working. Your pets’ veterinarian can also prescribe the appropriate medications after a successful diagnosis to keep your pets’ heart as healthy as possible. Some symptoms of diseases of the heart may include exercise intolerance, lethargy, collapse, and difficulty breathing. It is important for your pet to see the veterinarian if your pet has any of these symptoms.

We want you to get your medications and products from reputable, trusted suppliers, so we have stocked our pharmacy with a huge inventory of quality brands and products that are properly stored under optimal conditions.

We carry popular items like flea and tick preventatives, as well as, heartworm preventatives and other medications. If you have any questions or want to learn more about our pharmacy, please contact us today.

With the advances in digital x-ray technology, we can now manipulate the digital images that we take off a pet’s systems to see what is wrong. This has allowed us to detect things like hairline fractures and orthopedic conditions that were previously not visible.

Radiology (x-rays) is routinely used to provide valuable information about a pet’s bones, gastrointestinal tract (stomach, intestines, colon), respiratory tract (lungs), heart, and genitourinary system (bladder, prostate). It can be used alone or in conjunction with other diagnostic tools to provide a list of possible causes for a pet’s condition, identify the exact cause of a problem or rule out possible problems.

The use of radiology is safe, and our entire staff is highly trained. It is our goal to provide your pet with the highest level of medical care possible, and this is just one of the many ways we achieve that.

Our veterinary team takes every precaution so that your pet receives the highest-quality care. We perform a physical exam and pre-anesthetic testing before surgery, monitor your pet during surgery and provide appropriate pain medication to keep your pet comfortable during recovery.

Making sure our patients remain safe during surgery and other medical procedures is extremely important to us. Our team of veterinarians and veterinary technicians is skilled in using anesthesia and monitoring patients to ensure their safety and provide the most comfortable experience. Anesthesia and patient monitoring vary greatly from clinic to clinic. You can be confident that we use the most effective and up-to-date protocols. The type of anesthesia we use depends on the procedure. Some require general anesthesia, while others may only call for local anesthesia. We also closely monitor every procedure, regardless of whether it’s routine or more advanced.

We will communicate with you about the things you need to know before, during, and after your pets’ surgery. It is our goal to make the entire process go smoothly and to eliminate the stress and worry of surgical procedures. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

Pets can have a wide variety of behavioral issues, from simple house training problems to severe anxiety and aggression issues. This is where we come in. We are qualified and experienced in diagnosing and addressing behavior problems with an approach that combines skills from veterinary clinical medicine, behavioral medicine, and pet training. As you learn to communicate with your pet, you’ll watch your bond grow over time.