Annual Wellness Exams Keep Your Pet Healthy

At Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic, we believe the key to keeping your pet healthy begins with the annual pet exam. We know you want to give your pet the best care possible. These vitally important exams help us to get to know your pet both from a medical and personal standpoint. The tests we perform give us valuable information about what is normal for your pet so that if illness or injury occurs, we have a better idea of how to treat him or her.

We firmly believe these annual physical exams are the simplest and best preventive step you can take for your pet. Because pets age seven times faster than we do, regular examinations are important to monitor your pet’s health. Wellness examinations along with screening blood and urine tests can establish a baseline for your pet and detect any changes early. Catching changes early, before they become serious, often means that they will be easier and less expensive to treat. We will talk to you about health problems and behaviors to look for and we will listen carefully to your questions and observations. Working together, we can help your pet to have the best health and the best life possible.

To read more about our wellness care programs, click on the links below.

We Look Forward to Meeting Your New Pet

Congratulations on the newest member of your family! Now that you have a new puppy or kitten, Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic wants you to keep him or her happy and healthy. The best way to do this is to start at the beginning with an examination soon after he or she comes home with you.

We recommend a complete physical examination including analyzing a stool sample to check for parasites, blood work, and vaccinations appropriate to lifestyle. At your pet’s first visit, we will provide you with a Puppy or Kitten Pack, which contains important information about your pet’s care. As your puppy or kitten grows and matures, regular examinations and individualized care will continue. Throughout your pet’s life, we encourage annual physical exams because early intervention can improve the chances to minimize the effects of or cure a serious illness.

Our veterinarians will work with you as your puppy or kitten grows to tailor a program of Adult Wellness and eventually Senior Wellness to help enhance a long and happy life.

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Pet Vaccinations Are Key to Prevent Disease

We understand how important it is to you to keep your pet healthy and safe. At Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic, we know that basic “core” vaccines protect most pets from common diseases. We always consider your pet’s lifestyle and exposure to other animals before we tailor your dog or cat's vaccination program to his or her particular needs.

Up-to-date vaccination records are important, especially if you board your pet. We recommend keeping these records handy to avoid any last-minute confusion. We also provide you with online access to your pet’s medical records, where you can double check your pet’s vaccination history and print a copy if needed.

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Heartworm Prevention for Dogs & Cats

We live in an area with a high rate of heartworm disease, and, believe it or not, heartworm disease is completely preventable. Unfortunately, it can be difficult and expensive to treat in dogs and is not treatable in cats. Dogs or cats can get heartworm disease through a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes carrying heartworm larvae can transmit them to your pet. The larvae enter the bite wound and move through your pet’s body. Adult worms live in the heart, lungs, and nearby blood vessels, where they can grow up to 12 inches long and reside for years.

Because the early stages of heartworm disease may show no symptoms whatsoever, Loomis Basin recommends annual testing even for animals on monthly preventive medications. We will prescribe the right product for your pet, always considering his or her habits and lifestyle, and will show you how to give it.

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Internal and External Pet Parasite Prevention

Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic will help you to protect your precious pet from parasites that can sap strength and make him or her uncomfortable. At each annual exam, we recommend testing a stool sample to check for internal parasites (worms) and we may prescribe deworming treatments just to make sure none of these pests are present. Regular testing and treatment are the keys to prevention.

External parasites include fleas, mites, and ticks that can carry disease. Depending on individual exposure, we may prescribe preventive medications that will reduce the chances that either you or your pet will be bothered by these insects. As with any medication, we will show you the right way to administer flea and tick preventives.

It is not only important to protect your pet from parasites that can carry disease, but it is equally important to protect yourself and other members of your family by limiting the chance of exposure to potentially harmful diseases. For more information, please read the CDC leaflet What Every Pet Owner Should Know About Roundworms and Hookworms.

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Senior Pets Get Special Care

Loomis Basin appreciates how pets find their ways into our hearts over the years, becoming faithful companions and members of the family. If your pet is older than 6 years of age, he or she is considered a Senior Pet and therefore deserves and requires more care and attention when it comes to veterinary care. As your pet ages, we recommend he or she sees one of our veterinarians for a wellness exam every 6 months. Six months may seem like a short time until we recall that pets age, on average, 5 years for every chronologic year. Six months for your pet is like 2 to 3 years for you.

These vitally important semi-annual wellness exams, along with blood work, will screen for kidney and liver function, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, and hypertension. The majority of age-related problems in pets can be remedied or eased with early detection and can be treated effectively before they cause too much pain.

Not only do we believe in the importance of comprehensive, regular veterinary care in extending the life of your pet, we believe it is equally important to help provide your pet with a good quality of life overall. Consistently, we find that obesity is a major contributing factor to many age-related joint problems and arthritis. Exercise and diet become even more important as your pet grows older. We are happy to provide recommendations to you on how to keep your senior pet physically fit and at an appropriate weight as he or she ages.

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Pet Nutritional Counseling

Healthy eating habits are as important for your pet as they are for you. Nutritional counseling at Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic helps you to provide your pet with the right food given his or her stage of life and health status. Combined with good fitness habits, proper nutrition can help to prevent or ease pain and give your pet a happier life.

We proudly carry and recommend Royal Canin diets. We believe that Royal Canin is the most comprehensive, nutritionally advanced, and palatable line of therapeutic, preventive, and maintenance diets available for dogs and cats.

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Microchipping Your Pet

No one wants to suffer the heartache of one’s cherished pet getting lost. Fortunately, a simple procedure can help protect your pet. About the size of a grain of rice, a microchip implant can identify your beloved pet if he or she ever becomes lost. An important addition to collar tags, a microchip can provide a permanent identification method for your pet.

Microchips use Radio Frequency identification (RFID) technology to store data and can communicate that information to a device equipped to read it. The capsule containing the microchip is biocompatible, meaning that it does not hurt your pet. A microchip lasts for the entire lifetime of your pet. Most animal shelters and veterinary hospitals are equipped with microchip scanners that are used anytime an animal is presented without a known owner or other identification.

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