Dog and Cat Services

All Creatures Animal Hospital strives to provide you with medical services that are modern and up to date. We provide a large array of services to meet the medical needs of your pet.

• Preventative Wellness Care
• Vaccines
• Labs
• Dental Care
• Neuter & Spay
• Surgical Care
• Behavior Consultation
• Nutritional Consultation

PREVENTATIVE WELLNESS CARE:

Preventative Wellness Care services or visits are when a pet comes in for an exam when they are not sick or hurt in order to perform a general checkup. These visits are very important for the wellness of your pet. They provide us the basic state of your pet’s general health and well-being so that if your pet does have to come in for an illness or injury, we have information for comparing your pet’s normal well-being versus their state of well-being while ill or injured.

• Yearly Exam
• Semi-Annual Exam (6 months after yearly)
• Fecal Check Workup (fecal float & fecal smear labworks)
• Heartworm Test
• Basic Screening Bloodwork Package or Comprehensive Bloodwork & Urine Package
• Vaccinations
• Intestinal Parasite Dewormer
• Preventative Medications for Fleas, Ticks, and Heartworm

VACCINES

The veterinarians at All Creatures constantly review and research what are the best protocols for vaccines to provide your pet with the best wellness care. Vaccines that are required for your pet to socialize or be in public environments are considered “Core Vaccines;” there are other vaccines available that are not strictly enforced as well. The guidelines we follow indicate that the core vaccines are:

Canine Vaccines

• DHLPP (Combo Vaccine) – for Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Para-influenza, and Parvo Prevention
• Bordatella Vaccine – for “kennel cough” viruses and bacteria
• Rabies Vaccine – for rabies virus, which is required by law (see your county's regulations)
• Canine Flu – optional, currently covering both canine flu strains

Feline Vaccines

• Feline Distemper Vaccine
• FVRCP Vaccine – Combo vaccination of the following viruses: rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia.
• Feline Leukemia Vaccine
• Rabies Vaccine--for rabies virus, which is required by law (see your county's regulations)

For more information check out our Pet care Resources Dog and Pet care Resources Cat.

LABWORK

We emphasize the importance of ordering labwork once a year for puppies & kittens, and adult dogs & cats, and then twice a year for senior pets. Lab tests give doctors the opportunity to see how your pet is doing internally – are the kidneys okay? How are the thyroid levels? Is the diet providing enough nutrients? These are all aspects of your pet’s wellness care that cannot be determined by a physical exam alone. The labs we recommend for preventative wellness care are:

• Heartworm Test – this looks for parasites that reside in the heart and the aorta. This test is required if you choose to purchase a heartworm preventative.
• Fecal Check Workups – there at two tests to check the fecal: a fecal float and a fecal smear. The float looks for hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. The fecal smear looks for protozoan parasites called coccidia and giardia, as well as bacteria overgrowth issues.
• Bloodwork Tests – We have a basic screening package and a comprehensive package. They both look at the complete blood count, endocrinology system, and immune system. The comprehensive package includes a urinalysis.
• Urinanalysis – this test is looking for many issues visible within the urine, such as: crystals in the urine, cells, and pH issues that could be signs of an infection or kidney issues.
• Urine Culture – if there is an infection visible in the urine, this test would determine what bacteria specifically is causing the infection as well as which of the many antibiotics available to specifically target the bacterica so that we can provide you with the best treatment.

DENTAL CARE

During the yearly and semi-annual exams, the veterinarian checks your pet’s teeth, gums, and mouth for any medical concerns. If any issues are found concerning the mouth, we schedule for a procedure under anesthesia. This allows the vet to carefully and thoroughly clean the mouth or complete teeth extractions or other issues. Dogs and cats require lab bloodwork to be completed for it to be put under anesthesia.

NEUTER & SPAY & OTHER SURGICAL CARE PROCEDURES

We recommend a pet be neutered at the ‘adolescent’ life stage. This can vary depending on the pet, and we can advise you what the best age for surgery is during the pre-surgical exam. All pets must have a pre-surgical exam before performing any surgical or anesthesia procedure.

For any surgical procedures, we require bloodwork screenings labwork be completed before any surgical/anesthetic procedure to rule out any underlying medical issues not visible in an exam. The results of the bloodwork can be used to pre-approve a surgical/anesthetic procedure for 30 days; if the client chooses not to do the procedure within 30 days of the bloodwork, another bloodwork screening may have to be performed again prior to surgery/anesthesia.

On the day of the procedure, we do a recheck of your pet, which includes: an Electrocardiogram, preparing a catheter (IV line port in the arm) prior to anesthesia to be available in case of emergency medicines need to be administered, we do another preliminary exam, and then we administer anesthesia. Surgical procedure time varies depending on the case, and along with the procedure we provide a complimentary nail trim, ear cleaning, and anal gland expression. Once the procedure is complete, your pet is in the hands of a registered medical professional (Vet Nurse) until the patient is awake and alert. We then monitor the patient for the whole day for any complications. The suture removal visit is included in the cost.

Behavioral Consultation

Here are All Creatures, we try to seek the root of all problems. Sometimes a behavioral issue may be presenting because of an unknown,  undiagnosed medical issue needing immediate attention. Other times, the behavioral issue may be due to training or the pet presenting fear or anxiety around others. We recommend allowing us to perform a behavioral consultation to see if there is a cause that can be determined for the behavior. If it is something that requires medical treatment, we can start right away. If it is an issue of training, our medical team will refer you to the best professionals outside of All Creatures that can better focus on training to reduce the behavioral issues that are a concern.

Nutritional Consultation

Pets must be on a healthy, well-balanced diet to be sure they grow up as strong, healthy, happy pets. As an owner, it is hard to know what food is healthy for them or how much they need to eat. Our medical staff stay up to date on the best food options out there for your pet and they can help you understand what those foods are as well as any specific dietary needs for your pet.

Our veterinarians recommend to avoid Grain-Free diets, as studies have recently shown that they can lead to heart disease as they age. Our veterinarians currently recommend:
• Hill’s Science Diet (general and prescription dietary options)
• Royal Canin (general and prescription dietary options)
• Purina Pro Plan

Ask your vet at your visit about best dietary habits and food choices. Check out our Dog Care Resources for more information about diet recommendations.