Annual Health Exams

Your pet’s health is very important to us. Prevention is the key to a healthy pet. Preventative medicine includes vaccination, parasite control (flea/tick/heartworm/internal parasites), and early detection. Finding conditions before they become serious problems is the basis behind annual exams, and can keep your pet healthy for longer with appropriate treatment. Exams give a baseline of the pet’s health standards and allow the doctor and client to set protocols based on that particular pet. An exam is a time when the vaccine protocol, senior pet health care, behavior and nutrition might be discussed, depending on your pet’s needs. As your pet ages, normal aging conditions may occur that you may not be aware of - these can be diagnosed early through routine laboratory exams, and as a result can be easily and inexpensively maintained before they become serious and more costly.

Vaccination

Vaccinations are key in preventing many life-threatening illnesses. For example, parvovirus, an often fatal virus in puppies, is easily prevented with an appropriately timed vaccination protocol. Panleukopenia is equally as devastating and preventable in kittens. The vaccine protocol that is appropriate for your pet will be determined during your health exam, as some pets have higher risk for exposure than others. All kittens and puppies should receive serial vaccination from two to four months of age, every 3 weeks, to allow protection while their immune systems develop the ability to provide appropriate immunity for a longer duration.

Parasite Prevention

Fleas, ticks, heartworms, and internal parasites like roundworms and hookworms can not only affect your pets, but can affect you as well. Prevention from infection and infestation by these common parasites has been the target of much research, and many products are available at this time. CPH carries a selection of these products, including:

• Revolution for cats (heartworm, fleas and internal parasites)
• Advantix for dogs only (fleas and ticks)
• Sentinel for dogs only (heartworm, fleas and internal parasites)
• Capstar for dogs and cats (adult fleas)

Dental disease occurs in varying degrees in every pet.  It begins with a buildup of bacteria in your pet’s mouth, which combines with saliva and food debris between the tooth and gum and causes plaque formulations.  As the bacteria grow in the plaque and calcium salts are deposited, that plaque then turns to tartar.

The bacteria and their by-products that are in plaque act on periodontal tissues, resulting in destruction directly, as well as inciting an inflammatory response from the pet’s immune system.

Periodontal disease, if left untreated, affects the tissues that support the teeth, eventually leading to oral pain, tooth loss and systemic disease.

The bacteria that builds up in a mouth severely affected by periodontal disease can seed the bloodstream and damage other organs such as the heart, liver or kidneys.

Warning signs of oral disease include bad breath, a change in eating or chewing habits, pawing at the face or mouth and depression.

Broken teeth are a common issue in dogs, while painful resorptive lesions are a leading cause of oral pain in cats.

If your pet is found to have dental disease, recommended treatment may include a dental cleaning under general anesthesia.  Your pets teeth will be scaled to remove plaque and tartar and polished to provide a smooth surface that is more difficult for bacteria to adhere to. 

Tooth extraction may also be necessary in some cases of dental disease, for example if the root of the tooth is no longer healthy or if there is a fracture or a resorptive lesion present.  This is also done under general anesthesia, and with appropriate nerve blocks and pain management.  It is considerably less painful to have a diseased tooth extracted than to allow it to remain.

Prevention of dental disease can be started at home - brushing your pets teeth with animal specific enzymatic toothpaste on a regular basis can help prevent the build-up of tartar.  Bi-annual veterinary check-ups which include dental examinations are also recommended.

Pets can’t tell us where they hurt.  A thorough physical examination by a veterinarian can gain a lot of information about your pet, but often it is necessary to do further testing to diagnose the underlying cause for your pets illness or discomfort.

X-rays, or radiography, can show evidence of cardiac (heart) disease, pulmonary (lung) disease, foreign objects in the stomach and intestine, abdominal masses, bone fractures and dislocations...the list goes on.  X-rays are limited in some areas, and interpretation can be difficult.  CPH is able to email our x-rays to board certified veterinary radiologists for a second opinion, often receiving results within hours of being sent.

Bloodwork - the most commonly run ‘bloodwork’ are a complete blood count (CBC) and a chemistry panel (chemscreen), both of which are able to be run on-site as needed.  Other more specific blood tests are often necessary, which are sent to an off-site laboratory; these results are usually back within 24 hours, although that varies depending on the test.  Pre-operative bloodwork is required to assure your pet does not have any obvious reason to avoid anesthesia.  Annual geriatric screenings are also recommended, along with a urinalysis.

Urinalysis - evaluation of your pets urine is often vital to diagnosing or confirming a disease process.  While it seems obvious that you would need to have a urine sample to diagnose a urinary tract infection, urine can also help clarify diseases such as diabetes or kidney failure.  A urinalysis is recommended for all geriatric pets, along with annual bloodwork.

Urine culture - indicated with suspicion of a urinary tract infection, to identify the bacteria, quantify the amount of bacteria, and identify what antibiotics are indicated for treatment.

Fecal exam - fecal material can harbor many internal parasites, some of which can be passed onto human members of your family.  Examination of fecal samples can identify the need for additional deworming for your pet, and can identify a cause if your pet is showing signs of gastrointestinal upset.

Culture, Cytology and Biopsy - often samples of tissue or material need to be examined more closely.  Ear infections can be treated much more effectively when the underlying cause is known, and ear cytology can be performed in-house to identify that cause.  A culture of ear debris may be necessary to diagnose a resistant strain of bacteria and alter treatment accordingly.  Fine needle aspirates (cells removed through a needle) of masses, as well as biopsies (actual pieces of tissue) are sent to an outside laboratory for pathologists to evaluate.

There are many other diagnostic tools available, and recommendations will vary based upon the individual needs of your pet.

Soft-Tissue Surgery

Soft-tissue surgery encompasses all aspects of surgery with the exception of orthopedics.

The most commonly performed soft-tissue surgeries in small animal veterinary medicine are sterilization procedures, more commonly known as spay (female) and neuter (male).  Mass removals and declaws make up the majority of other routine procedures.

Other surgical procedures would be too numerous to list, but one of the specialized procedures that CPH offer is a perineal urethrostomy (PU) which can decrease the risk of urinary obstruction in male cats that are prone to that.

Orthopedic Surgery

Orthopedic surgery includes procedures such as cruciate repair, femoral head ostectomy (FHO), and patellar luxation repair, all which can be performed at CPH by Dr. Lockhart. 

Other orthopedic procedures that may require a specialist include comminuted fracture repair, total hip replacement and intervertebral disk rupture repair.

Email Reminders

At CPH we try to limit our impact on the environment as much as possible.  A typical veterinary hospital sends out postcard reminders to let clients know that it is time for their pets to be seen, which can lead to a significant amount of paper.

Email reminders allows us to eliminate the use of a large amount of that paper, which in turn decreases our environmental impact.

Don’t worry, for those of you who are not inclined to use email we will still send out postcard reminders - on recycled paper. 

Text Message Updates

When your pet is under our care at CPH, for surgery, drop-off appointment or  hospitalization, we often give updates as to how they are doing.  Many clients are unable to take phone calls during work hours, or would prefer a less invasive method of receiving their information.

Text messages to cell phones are commonplace,  and allow us to send along information without interrupting a client’s day.  For example, a quick text stating that ‘Kitty is waking up well from surgery’ allows a client to be aware of the fact that their pet has had her procedure done and is waking up well without needing to be paged to the phone or interrupted in a meeting.

Picture messages can also be attached with the text, if the client’s phone accepts them.

Phone call updates will still be available for those who prefer them, and any discussions will of course be done by phone rather than by text.

Text messaging is still occasionally hit or miss between some networks, and occasionally a delay in the message will occur - there is no taboo against calling the hospital to check on your pet if you haven’t heard from us, our staff is always happy to give an update in real time as well.

CPH offers bathing and grooming for dogs of all shapes and sizes.  Grooming appointments are currently available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays.  Our groomer takes the time to discuss what type of cut you would like for your dog when you drop-off, or by phone if that is not possible.  After your first visit, our computerized records allow her to recall the exact cut and repeat it or note any changes that you would like.