Primary Care
Preventative Care
There are serious and deadly preventable diseases that can affect your pet. We are happy to offer quality preventative care
for this reason. Preventative care is an essential part to your pet’s happiness. Pets require a nose to tail physical examination, vaccinations, testing for parasites, and preventative medication in order to stay healthy and live happy with you. Physical examinations are recommended every year in order to ensure your pet stays healthy! Vaccinations and preventative medications are specifically recommended to fit each pet’s lifestyle. Preventative care will be specifically tailored to your pet’s individual needs. Meaning, we are here to provide specific preventative care for young pets, middle-aged pets, and senior pets, as well as various breed specific preventative care.
General Surgery
There are general surgeries that are routinely recommended for your pet. We also recommend screening your pet
with pre-anesthetic bloodwork prior to surgery in order for safety and to allow us to tailor anesthesia to your pet’s specific needs. The routine general surgeries performed at our practice include Spay (“fixing” a female dog), Neuter (“fixing” and male dog), and soft tissue surgeries, such as, growth/mass removal (removing “lumps and bumps”). We also have well-trained veterinary and technical staff to monitor and care for your pet before, during, and after surgery.
Spay: Removing the uterus and ovaries of a female dog under general anesthesia. A spay is recommended in order to prevent serious, life-threatening bacterial infections, reproductive tract disease, and various types of cancer.
Neuter: Removing the testicles of a male dog under general anesthesia. A neuter is recommended to prevent serious diseases of the reproductive tract and various types of cancer.
Growth/Mass Removal: Removal of growths (“lumps and bumps”) is essential for the accurate testing and diagnosis of both cancerous and non-cancerous growths/masses.
Dentistry (With Dental Radiology)
Can you imagine what your teeth would look like and what your mouth would feel like if you never brushed your teeth
or went to the dentist……Just as it is for you, dental care is essential for your pet to stay heathy and live happy. Your pet’s teeth also require x-rays, ultrasonic scaling, and polishing to prevent severe dental infections. Severe dental (or periodontal) disease and infections can lead to severe, life-threatening systemic infections that can affect multiple vital organs such as the heart and kidneys. We are here to help prevent these severe dental infections by offering state-of-the-art dental services within our dental suite specifically designed for the proper dental examination, inspection, cleaning, necessary tooth extractions, and dental radiology (x-rays).
Diagnostics
Digital Radiology
Most people think of getting an x-ray when they have a broken bone. However, It is very common to utilize Digital
Radiology (more commonly known as “X-rays”) either alone, or in conjunction with other diagnostic tools or testing, such as ultrasound, bloodwork, etc. in order to investigate certain symptoms your pet may be having. We can investigate and discover vital information about your pet’s body, such as respiratory system, gastrointestinal system (stomach, intestines, etc), heart, or bone abnormalities. Digital Radiology, in particular is very fast and efficient for investigating and quickly diagnosing your pet during an illness or preventative screening (if necessary).
Ultrasound
Most people associate getting an ultrasound during pregnancy to look at a baby in the womb. However, ultrasound technology
can be extremely helpful in providing even more information than radiographs (“X-rays”). Ultrasound technology utilizes high frequency sound waves to produce pictures of organs or structures inside your pet’s body. For example, we can use ultrasound technology to investigate your pet’s abdomen for masses, blockages, foreign material, or any abnormalities causing various symptoms you pet may have during an illness. Dr. Charles has elaborate ultrasound training and works very closely with a radiologist, which makes our ultrasound service both efficient and advantageous.
In House Laboratory
We all are used to the routine Laboratory tests that us humans need to stay healthy and prevent any future illness.
There are also certain instances in a pet’s life in which lab work is recommended, such as before surgery (pre-anesthetic bloodwork), during an illness, or during the senior ages. Laboratory tests include bloodwork, urinalysis, metabolic testing (Cushing’s Disease, Diabetes, Thyroid Disease, etc.), culture and sensitivity.
Examples of laboratory tests that we offer:
CBC/Chemistry Bloodwork: Routine bloodwork and pre-anesthetic (before anesthesia or surgery) bloodwork usually consists of a complete blood count (CBC) and a blood chemistry (Chem). The CBC measures both the quantity and quality of your pet’s white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. The Chemistry measures various chemicals and enzymes in your pet’s blood to provide vital general information regarding your pet’s organ health and function.
Urinalysis: A urinalysis is a routine test that gives us information on both the physical and chemical properties of urine. This valuable test is usually offered in any comprehensive evaluation of your pet because it can assess the health of both the urinary system and kidneys. In addition, this test can also reveal problems in other organs and reveal and/or confirm diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus.
Culture and Sensitivity: Culture and sensitivity tests are often utilized when we can’t figure out why a certain antibiotic is not working clinically. For example, most of us have encountered an ear infection that just WON’T go away! Well, this is when we would recommend a culture and sensitivity test. A culture is the test that finds out which bacteria or fungus is causing an infection. Then, a sensitivity test finds out what medicine (antibiotic or antifungal) specifically will work best to treat the infection.