Wellness & Preventative Care

A wellness examination is a routine medical examination of a pet who appears healthy, as opposed to an examination of a pet who is ill. A wellness examination may also be called a “check-up” or a “physical examination”. The focus of a wellness examination is to make sure your pet is as healthy as possible.

Every pet and family is unique, so we strive to provide preventative health care that is specifically tailored and individualized to your pet and lifestyle. Based on your pet's history and physical examination, your veterinarian will then make recommendations for specific preventive medicine treatments. These may include vaccination, parasite control (including preventive treatments for fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites, and heartworm), nutrition, skin and coat care, joint health, weight management, or dental care.

Since animals age more quickly than people do, we are advocates of annual wellness exams for young animals and biannual (twice yearly) for pets who are 7+ years old in order to maintain maximum health with preventative care.

As part of a complete wellness examination, your veterinarian may recommend wellness screening tests. There are main categories of wellness testing recommended: complete blood count (CBC), biochemistry profile, urinalysis, fecal testing, and thyroid hormone testing. Within each category, your veterinarian will advise you about how extensive the testing should be.