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| We offer a full range of services to help you care for your best friend. | |||
| Preventative Medicine | Compassionate Care | ||
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| We offer a full range of services to help you care for your best friend. | |||
| Preventative Medicine | Compassionate Care | ||
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Preventative medicine is the cornerstone of our practice. It's always better to identify potential illness early before an advanced state is reached, when more treatment options are available and there is greater hope of arresting the progression or reversing the process.
Neutering males reduces roaming, aggressiveness, and behavioral problems such as urine marking. It reduces the risk of prostate problems, and eliminates the risk of testicular cancer. This procedure can be done at 6 months of age.
Nutritional counseling helps you optimize your pet's health. Obesity is a growing problem with pets and we can show you how to avoid or treat it. Specialized diets are available to treat many medical conditions, and we can advise you on these.
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Dental scaling
is an important aspect of our preventive health plan. Most animals over 2-3 years of age have accumulated significant tartar and can benefit from dental prophylaxis. The brown or green discoloration you see on your pet's teeth is 90% bacteria, and can lead to a serious condition where bacteria gets into the bloodstream, or cause infections in other organs such as the heart or kidneys. Gingivitis ("red gums") is the leading cause of tooth loss in animals.Early intervention and diligent home care can reverse gingivitis; in more advanced cases it can prevent further tooth loss. We perform dental prophylaxis under general anesthesia, including both ultrasonic and hand scaling, thorough dental examination for cavities and pockets, polishing of the teeth and a take-home brushing kit (or spray). We want to work with you to maintain your pet's good dental health (and fresh breath!). There is no substitute for daily brushing -- let us show you how to add this essential procedure to your pet care routine.
We recommend the Northern Virginia Dog Training Association (703-356-0320), a nonprofit organization. Group classes meet indoors and use positive training methods. Fairfax County also runs obedience classes, as do many independent schools. We suggest that you investigate a school's philosophy before enrolling your dog. Dr. Owel and Dr. Miller will be glad to help you decide whether or not a trainer is a good fit for you and your dog. | |||
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Compassionate Care | ||||
 Our state-of-the-art laboratory offers on-site blood testing for serious illnesses such as heartworm disease, feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus. This allows us to have the results within minutes, minimizing your anxiety and waiting time. We also use sophisticated blood analyzers to do complete blood counts and chemistry panels. This lets us evaluate the blood system and organ function quickly, without the need to send samples to an outside laboratory for critical patients. Urine samples can be examined in-house as well. Some tests still need to be sent to the laboratory, but in most cases the results are available the next day.
We offer boarding for pets of all sizes. Cats and small-to-medium sized dogs are housed in stainless steel cages with open-barred fronts. Large dogs are kept in concrete-floored runs with concrete dividers and chain-link fronts. Pets are fed once a day (unless you request otherwise) and provided with fresh water at all times. Dogs are walked at least twice daily and everyone gets a sanitized cage and clean bedding every day (more frequently if needed). Our kennel staff showers loving attention on our boarders and informs the medical staff of any signs of illness. |
We stress pain management. Animals, like people, feel pain after surgery. Unlike people, they can't tell us when they hurt, so we anticipate procedures that are painful and use a variety of safe and effective medications to make sure your pet is comfortable. Each plan is tailored to the individual situation, so please feel free to discuss your pet's pain management with us.
When surgery is necessary, we perform a variety of soft-tissue procedures using the safest anesthesic gas available today and monitoring every patient with a pulse oximeter (a sensitive device that detects the oxygen saturation of the blood - an important indicator of the depth of anesthesia) standard in human hospitals! Every animal also has a human monitor - a veterinary assistant - to assess its progress. Teamwork ensures that your pet is well cared for at each step of the way.
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Routine testing saves lives. Every animal needs an annual physical exam. Older animals--or those with chronic illness--can be seen more frequently. Aging can cause organ functions to decline. Medication and nutrition can give your pet quality of life. We recommend annual blood and urine testing for dogs over 7 years of age and cats over 10. Problems can often be identified before serious illness develops. Preventative medicine helps pets live longer, healthier lives.
We take our own Xrays, and we can arrange for a mobile
In our extensive pharmacy we fill 95% of the medications we prescribe - or we're happy to write you a prescription to take to a pharmacy of your choice. We can also have the medication compounded into a form which is easier-to-give (i.e., flavored liquids, different strength capsules than are commercially available). We know that giving pets medication is sometimes challenging, so talk to us about the options if you're anticipating difficulty.