There was once a time when people only brought their pets to the veterinarian when the pet was ill and needed help immediately. Times have changed and medicine has advanced, and we at the Animal Clinic of Rockbridge want to take a preventative approach to the care of your pet. Although we often treat sick animals, we want to help you keep your pet from getting sick. This will also result in more visits to the vet but overall will cost you less.
This concept of preventative care is known as wellness. Your pet ages six to seven years for every year of your life. This is why we recommend twice yearly examinations in order to catch any problems early. If caught early, there are many treatments and diets which can lengthen the life of you pet. All dogs and cats are exposed to pathogens and critters which can cause disease or illness. Even your pets who are kept indoors are at risk, for not all problems come from the environment. In addition, the outdoors always seems to find a way to come indoors.
With twice a year wellness exam, or as we call it, a life cycle consult, a technician and veterinarian will ask you specific questions about your pets behavior, lifestyle, diet and other topics in order to determine a disease prevention program specific for your pet and the risks to which they are prone A dental grade and body condition score will be assigned to your pet. A nutrition specialist is also available for a consult to help you understand the prescription diets. Our vaccination protocol varies on the age and vaccine history of your pet. However we only give two injectable vaccinations in order to reduce the occurrence of reactions. Some of our vaccinations are also on a three year rotation. In addition, there are also blood tests which we recommend for it alerts us to problems with internal organs which could otherwise go unnoticed. Statistics say that 17 percent of animals who look healthy actually have a problem internally.
For senior animals (animals older than seven years old) we offer a senior wellness package. Included in this package is a urinalysis to test for urinary tract problems, an ERD to test for early kidney damage, an EKG in order to make sure there are no heart abnormalities, blood tests to test internal organs, tonometry to test the pressure of the eye and blood pressure monitoring. Since these tests are bundled together, we offer them at a discounted rate compared to getting all the tests singly.
If you have any questions, we encourage you give us a call or to come in and speak with us. Our goal is not only to treat your pet and keep them healthy but also for you to understand all that we do and why we do it.
