Routine Services

our wellness and preventive care services

Roanoke Animal Hospital offers a wide range of veterinary services for our patients. Just a few of our wellness and preventive care services are listed below.

Keeping up with preventive care for your pet is the best way to keep your pet happy and healthy for life. For more information on these or other services, please call 540-343-8021.

Wellness Care

Preventive veterinary care is the cornerstone of keeping your pet their healthiest so that you and your pet can have more great years together. Since pets age more quickly than people do, it is critical to have regular physical examinations done to assess your pet’s health.

Changes in your pet’s health status can occur at any time and some symptoms may not be as obvious as others which is why we offer wellness testing called the ‘Early Detection Program‘.

The Early Detection Program is designed to help detect early or hidden diseases in your pet that may otherwise appear healthy through blood panels. In fact, most pets will innately hide signs of illness until the disease or condition becomes more severe as a part of their survival instinct. However, if a disease or condition can be identified before your pet begins to show symptoms, steps can be taken to help manage or correct the problem before permanent damage occurs.

When health problems are identified, a medical plan will be outlined to evaluate the problems in depth. If your pet appears to be healthy enough for routine preventive care, your veterinarian will discuss which immunizations are advised, as well as parasite prevention including heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, and ectoparasites (fleas, ticks, etc.).

Finally, your pet’s nutrition, diet, and exercise routines can be assessed and optimized to help your pet be in the best physical condition for its lifestyle and age.

During routine preventive exams, your veterinarian will assess:

  • Overall Body Condition
  • Eyes
  • Ears
  • Nose
  • Mouth
  • Throat
  • Heart and Lungs
  • Abdominal Organs
  • Musculoskeletal System
  • Neurologic System
  • Urogenital System
  • Lymph Nodes
  • Skin/Coat

Getting your new puppy or kitten off to a healthy start sets the stage for their lives as healthy adults. Regular physical examinations, core and elective vaccinations, fecal testing for parasites, and deworming are all important elements of ensuring good health for your puppy or kitten. Our knowledgeable staff can help your family learn about potty training your pup, performing nail trims on your puppy or kitten, dietary recommendations, and potential health hazards for your new pet.

Spaying and neutering are additional topics to consider; the appropriate age for the timing of sterilization surgery may vary upon the species and breed of your pet. You may also want to consider Pet Health Insurance – a great way to get your new little family member off to a good start. Last but not least, you’ll also want to get your new puppy or kitten started on preventives such as monthly heartworm prevention, and flea/tick preventives. We realize that adding a new family pet can come with lots of questions… but don’t forget, we’re here to help, so please don’t hesitate to call. Find out more about our puppy and kitten packages.

We love Senior Pets! Senior pets have special needs, and benefit from more regular veterinary visits compared to their younger counterparts. Age-associated conditions include:

Arthritis
Dental Disease
Heart Disease
Liver Disease
Kidney Disease
Endocrine Disorders

These conditions will start to become more prevalent as your pet gets older. For this reason, we recommend twice-yearly veterinary visits for senior pets. Your aging pet may be showing early signs of osteoarthritis such as stiffness after rest or play, difficulty going up or down stairs, and reduced activity. Early intervention with joint supplements and prescription arthritis medications when indicated, along with modified nutrition and exercise plans, can greatly improve your pet’s comfort and mobility. Likewise, performing annual screening lab work on your older pet can help identify early stages of medical problems that might go unrecognized, and progress significantly without treatment. Learn about our Early Detection Program which helps monitor your pet’s wellness and overall health to improve the likelihood of identifying disease early, often before any symptoms are present.

Some pets experience age-related behavioral changes that can be a sign of cognitive dysfunction, which is similar in some ways to dementia. Your veterinarian can recommend diet modification and supplements to help improve your older pet’s mental sharpness. Getting older doesn’t have to be fraught with troubles for your pet… see your vet regularly to help keep your senior pet healthy and comfortable.

Pets are a part of our families, and preventing parasite infestations is an important part of keeping them healthy. Both ectoparasites (external parasites) and endoparasites (internal parasites) can affect your pet at some point in their life. Ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks, are not only a nuisance to your pet, but can transmit vector-borne diseases to humans and pets such as Bartonella (cat scratch disease, transmitted by fleas); Lyme, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. Fleas can also cause a severe dermatologic condition for your pet resulting in very itchy, inflamed skin, due to flea allergy dermatitis.

Roundworms are the most prevalent endoparasite in pets. Others include hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Pets are typically infected with these parasites through accidental ingestion of parasite eggs (which are microscopic) from areas that have fecal contamination from other infected animals. Alternatively, some parasites are acquired through ingestion of intermediate hosts such as rodents (Taenia tapeworm species; Toxocara roundworm species) or fleas (Dipyllidium tapeworm species). These parasites are also a health risk to humans and are considered zoonotic – meaning they can be transmitted from animals to people. For example, if a person accidentally ingests roundworm eggs, the larvae can migrate in the body and cause organ damage and potentially blindness. Hookworm larvae in the soil and grass can infect bare skin and cause a condition in people known as cutaneous larval migrans.

Heartworm is another important endoparasite. Heartworm infections result from pets being bitten by infected mosquitos. The larval form of the heartworm travels through the bloodstream to the heart where it develops into an adult. The adult heartworms live in the right side of the heart and left untreated can result in progressive heart failure and death. In initial stages of heartworm disease, pets may be asymptomatic. As the condition progresses, symptoms may evolve including a cough and exercise intolerance in dogs, and vomiting/coughing in cats. Treatment of heartworm disease can be very risky for the pet, and very costly.

Because of the health risk to your family and pets, it is important to keep your pet on a year-round parasite prevention program. There are several preventives that when used properly, are very effective at greatly reducing the risk of your pet acquiring heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, and tick transmitted diseases. Additionally, you can help prevent the risk of zoonotic disease to your family by practicing good hygiene (frequent hand washing), avoiding eating unwashed raw vegetables or undercooked meats and cleaning up pet feces in your yard. For more information about pets and parasites, visit petsandparasites.org, and consult with one of our friendly staff!

Book an Appointment

If your pet is sick and needs to be seen within the next 48 hours, please call or text our hospital at 540-343-8021 to speak directly to a team member.