Overall pet care recommendations

We all want the best for our pets. The following information is given to our clients and their pets as a guideline to quality health care. These guidelines will help you know what care you should be looking for from your veterinarian.

The Animal Care Clinic's goal for each pet is for them to live a long and healthy life. To that end, there are several different areas of health care that the Animal Care Clinic doctors and staff can have a major influence along with you as an owner on your pet's quality and quantity of life. In order of importance these areas are:

Comprehensive Physical Exams: Comprehensive physical exams are the basis for optimal care. During each comprehensive physical exam the major systems are reviewed by history and hands on exam. From the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, by visual exam, by palpation, and by measuring the basic parameters of weight, temperature and heart rate the exam gives us an initial assessment of the pet's health status.

Food Choice: As owners, the choice of food and the feeding of proper amounts is the most influential portion of health care you provide for your pet on a daily basis. There are many options available to us for consideration. We at the Animal Care Clinic recommend iVet as a food of choice for most of our patients that do not have special needs. However, other foods or even homemade formulas may be necessary for optimal health. Diet is part of the history taken at each comprehensive physical exam.

Laboratory testing: As the comprehensive physical exam provides a look into the externally available information, laboratory testing gives us a look at the inner workings of the body. A fecal exam should be performed every 6 months, blood testing and urinalysis should be performed every 6 to 12 months, heartworm testing every 12 months. As our pets age we may need to add blood pressure measurement, glaucoma testing, EKG, or more may be necessary to diagnose or monitor disease conditions.

Vaccinations: Because each animal is different, the Animal Care Clinic subscribes to the concept of risk factoring. Risk factoring allows us to help focus the need for which type of vaccine your pet should receive based upon their own lifestyle. Depending on the pet being an urban, rural, social, or an isolated pet points to the type of vaccine to be given. The Animal Care Clinic also subscribes to the idea of extended vaccine protocols to minimize vaccine side effect risk. In some instances, blood testing of protective titers can allow us to safely extend the period between vaccines.

Micro chipping: This simple injection can help protect your pet from being lost without an ability to be identified. The procedure can be performed at any office visit as no anesthesia is required to implant the chip.

Neutering: Spaying (ovariohysterectomy) or castration (orchidectomy) helps your pet to be a better member of the family. By neutering our pets we can help with pet population control. These procedures are normally performed at 6 months of age.

Emergency Care: We provide emergency service by having a doctor on call. Simply call the office at 223-8866.

For appointments or emergencies simply call (859)223-8866

Officer Don and Pilot

I went for my initial helicopter ride with Officer Don yesterday to check out how Pilot will do as Officer Don's copilot. We had a wonderful flight around the Lexington-Georgetown-Paris area. The weather was beautiful and the air was smooth.

As Pilot finishes his "flight school" we will look forward to his traveling with Officer Don on some of his flight duties. Pilot should do really well.

If anyone has an interest in learning to fly - plane or helicopter - be sure to contact Officer Don for his help.

Pip has been found after 5 years

A poodle/terrier that I micro-chipped as a young dog in Lexington, Kentucky was found in Palm Springs, CA after being missing for 5 years. The owners were at their resort home in Palm Springs when Pip got loose.

Read the story at the below link

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090604/NEWS01/906040329/Missing+dog+found+5+years+later

This is a great story and shows the value of getting your pet micro-chipped.

Hootie's results

We received confirmation today from the pathologist about Hootie's pathology report. He has ostoesarcoma (bone cancer). We are currently working up his chemo therapy protocol now that we have confirmed the type of cancer.

The following link is to pictures taken during the surgery. These pictures may be a bit graphic - so if you have a weak stomach or young children please be forewarned.

If you have had similar experiences please feel free to share them with others through the blog thread.

http://animalcareclinic.net/member_content/292_amputation.html

Hootie's Post op

Hootie, one of my personal cats at the clinic, is recovering nicely from his amputation of his diseased(cancerous) leg. He is adapting to being 3 legged as we have now given him some freedom Be sure to look at the video posts of the mild limp before the surgery. Just shows how subtle a major problem might present itself.

The clinic website is www.animalcareclinic.net

Have any of you had animals that have had to have amputations? They really do well for the most part. No emotional grieving over the loss of a limb. They just adapt and go on with life.

Butch Schroyer DVM
Animal Care Clinic