Your pet can benefit greatly from regular wellness examinations or checkups. Whether your pet is a youngster, a “senior citizen,” or any age in between, wellness examinations provide an excellent opportunity for us to conduct a thorough physical examination and develop a health profile for your pet. This information will help us identify medical problems and any other issues that can affect your pet’s health and quality of life.

A wellness examination includes an evaluation of all of your pet’s major organ systems. We’ll use the wellness visit to ask you questions about your pet’s behavior, appetite, exercise habits, and regular activities at home. This is also an excellent time for us to discuss any routine diagnostic testing that may benefit your pet or to recommend any vaccinations that may be due. If your pet seems healthy, a wellness examination is a good opportunity to note any changes, such as weight gain or loss or other subtle changes that may not be evident at home. Sometimes, information obtained during a wellness examination can help detect early signs of illness and address health issues before they progress.

A wellness examination is also your chance to have us address your questions or concerns about your pet. We welcome your questions. No question is too small or too silly, and it is our pleasure to address your concerns. We strive to help you understand your pet’s health considerations, and we encourage you to be involved in decisions regarding your pet’s health care.

Finally, wellness examinations help us establish a relationship with you and your pet. Through your pet’s physical examinations, other wellness procedures, and our consultations with you, we get to know your pet and learn about his or her lifestyle, personality, health risks, home environment, and other important information. We encourage you to use wellness examinations to take an active role in your pet’s health care.

Do you have a new puppy or kitten? Congratulations on this addition to your family! One of the first things you should do when you bring your new pet home is to introduce him or her to us – your veterinary care team. Puppy and kitten visits offer a unique opportunity to get you and your new pet off on the right foot!

Your puppy or kitten visit will include a full “nose-to-tail” physical examination. We will look for any signs of illness and make sure that your new pet is in good health.

Do you have questions about nutrition, training, vaccinations, grooming, parasite protection, or overall health? What about tips for introducing your new pet to other pets and family members? Even if you are a very experienced pet owner and have had puppies or kittens before, each pet is unique and offers an opportunity to learn something new! We welcome your questions and look forward to addressing any concerns you may have. The more educated you are about your pet, the better you will be able to care for him or her, so we strive to offer you all the support you need.

Puppy and kitten wellness visits also present an opportunity to discuss your new pet’s recommended vaccine schedule and the best plan for parasite testing, treatment, and prevention. Our doctors and other staff members are well-educated about veterinary vaccines and parasite control, and our goal is to give you the best advice for your puppy or kitten. We will review your pet’s vaccine and deworming schedule and discuss the best way to continue, so don’t forget to bring any records that you have received.

We will work hard to help you understand your pet’s health considerations, and we encourage you to be involved in decisions regarding your puppy’s or kitten’s health care. Puppy and kitten visits are an excellent way to get your new pet started on the road to a happy and healthy life. Let’s take these important first steps together.

Please call today to schedule an appointment for us to meet your new pet!

Did you know that pets age faster than people and can be considered “seniors” at around 7 years of age? Just as our health care needs change as we age, your pet’s health care needs also change. Nutritional needs, exercise habits, and many aspects of your pet’s daily routine can change as your pet ages. But how can you tell the difference between “normal” aging and a medical problem? As in humans, some health issues that affect older pets can begin with very subtle changes that may go unnoticed until the problem has become serious.

Regular wellness visits are important for every stage of your pet’s life, so don’t forget to keep your senior pet’s scheduled wellness appointments. The best way to help protect your pet as he or she ages is to understand the aging process in pets. We understand that process and can help you help your pet. Even if your senior pet is already being treated for a medical condition, treatment recommendations can change as a condition progresses. Sometimes medication dosages need to be adjusted, or medication may need to be changed. Routine wellness blood work and other routine diagnostic testing are important for senior pets because these tests allow us to evaluate how your pet’s health is either responding to current management strategies or changing with age.

Your senior pet’s wellness examination is also your chance to have us address any of your questions or concerns about your pet. We welcome your questions and encourage you to be involved in decisions regarding your pet’s health care.

Older pets make wonderful companions, and thanks to advances in veterinary medicine, pets are living longer than ever! You are an important ally in your senior pet’s health care. We are here to help ensure that your pet is safe and happy throughout the “golden years”.

Periodontal disease is the most common disease of dogs and cats, and the bacteria that grow under all that tartar showers down on your pet’s heart and kidneys.

Our dental services include teeth scaling and polishing, full-mouth intraoral radiographs (x-rays), surgical tooth extractions and minor oral surgery, as well as fluoride treatments. Daily brushing or other dental recommendations will help decrease periodontal disease, but once plaque has hardened into tartar, a professional cleaning is the only way to take care of it. Once the teeth are clean again, we send all patients home with a free dental product to encourage longer time periods between professional cleanings.

Full-mouth intraoral radiographs (x-rays) are a part of every patient’s comprehensive oral health assessment. Like an iceberg, most of the tooth lies below the gum line, and a complete assessment can not be done without radiology. Following is an example of a pet with a canine tooth that looks normal above the surface, but has an abscess at the root. Abscesses are painful infections, and many owners even report a change in their pet’s attitude after those teeth have been removed.

Grade 1 Gingival Index: Inflammation
Grade 1 Tartar Grade: 0-25% coverage
Grade 2 Gingival Index: Inflammation, edema, gingival bleeding upon probing
Grade 2 Tartar Grade: 25-50% coverage
Grade 3 Gingival Index: Inflammation, edema, gingival bleeding upon probing, pustular discharge — slight to moderate bone loss
Grade 3 Tartar Grade: 50-75% coverage
Grade 4 Gingival Index: Inflammation, edema, gingival bleeding upon probing, pustular discharge, mobility — severe bone loss
Grade 4 Tartar Grade: 75-100% Coverage

A new puppy or kitten requires a time investment in training. Puppies that have proper training are happier and cause less stress to you. Behavior is the number one reason pets are given up to shelters. Training is better when you are involved, because you need to know what to do as much as your puppy. Examinations and vaccinations are very important early on. Spaying and neutering is recommended between 4-6 months of age. Some breeds are exceptions.

DHPP is a combination vaccine that helps to prevent against Distemper virus, Hepatitis virus, Parainfluenza virus, and the Parvo virus. These diseases range from self-limiting to fatal, and puppies should be vaccinated as soon as 6 weeks of age.

Canine Influenza Vaccine (CIV) is a 2-booster series that will be yearly once the series boosters are completed 2-4 weeks apart. This protects against the dog flu, which is highly contagious and can easily be passed between pets.” “Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. The virus is secreted in saliva and is usually transmitted to people and animals by a bite from an infected animal. At Veterinary Medical Center of Spring an exam by a licensed veterinarian is required anytime the rabies vaccine is administered. This vaccine lasts 1-year, or if all booster requirements are met, it can last for 3 years.

Bordetella is an upper respiratory infection that is contagious. While it is commonly called “Kennel Cough,” it is not only for dogs who board, as all dogs can get Bordetella. The vaccine is given every 6 months.

Leptosporosis is a bacterial disease transmitted through the urine of wild animals, like squirrels, skunks, and raccoons. This disease, which can be transmitted to people, can cause fatal kidney and liver failure in pets.

Kitten/Cat Vaccinations

FVRCPC is a combination vaccine that helps prevent Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Chlamydia, Panleukopenia, and Calicivirus.

Feline leukemia is continued to be given to adult cats only if they are outside cats or are exposed to outside cats (i.e. if you foster cats). It is given annually, and like the feline Rabies vaccine that we use, it is not adjuvanted so it is very safe to use and is not the kind linked to vaccine-related cancer.

This tests for feline leukemia and feline AIDS, both of which are fatal diseases in kittens. All kittens and new cats should be tested for this prior to vaccination, and all kittens and new cats should be retested in 60 days to ensure that they are truly negative.

Year-round heartworm, flea, and intestinal parasite control is essential here in Houston. Heartworms are deadly to both dogs AND CATS, and are spread by mosquitoes. Mosquitoes that enter the home pose a threat even to indoor pets. Roundworms and hookworms are intestinal parasites that are zoonotic, or transmissible to humans. Approximately 15% of potting soil contains microscopic roundworm eggs, so again, indoor pets are not safe. Other than being unsightly and itchy, fleas carry tapeworms and some pets have severe allergic reactions to the saliva in even just one bite.

For your convenience, we offer Bravecto, a three month flea and tick preventative.

The heartworm preventatives we carry for dogs are: Trifexis, Heartgard Plus, and Proheart. And the heartworm preventative we carry for puppies, dogs under 5lbs, and cats is Revolution.

**Although the products we recommend do cover a broad spectrum, semi-annual intestinal parasite tests are still HIGHLY recommended, both by the Centers of Disease Control and our hospital. There are protozoal parasites that none of the prevention products can treat or prevent. Coccidiosis and Giardiasis are both common diseases found in pet fecal samples and both are transmissible to humans.

If your pet is even a mere 10% above his or her ideal weight, they are said to be considerably overweight. If you could use some advice to help your pet lose weight, call us to set up a nutritional consult. This can also be done with preventive care examinations.

We stock select diets at our clinic. If your pet needs something we don’t carry, we can easily special order it.

Permanent identification

We offer microchip identification that can be read internationally.

No additional registration or yearly monitoring fee.

One single price for a lifetime of tracking.

When considering options for purchasing medication, pet owners have many choices, including online pharmacies and mail-order catalogs. But where can you truly get the best value for your money? Who can offer you the most reliable and personalized service? Who has the most complete medical information on your pets, and the ability to anticipate drug interactions or other problems that can result from inappropriately administering medication? Before you purchase your next prescription or medication refill, ask us about our fully stocked pharmacy.

You and your pet will benefit from our well-stocked pharmacy. We maintain a large inventory of veterinary pharmaceutical products and medications, including flea, tick, and heartworm preventive products. You can rely on us whether your pet requires medication for a chronic medical condition or needs short-term medication while recovering from an illness, injury, or surgery. When you purchase medications from our pharmacy, you can rest assured that your pet’s medications were obtained from safe, reliable sources and stored under optimal conditions. Our trained staff will fill your prescriptions with care as well as attention to detail and your pet’s specific needs. You can count on us to provide you with accurate information about your pet’s medications, including proper dosing information, and to alert you to any potential drug side effects or interactions. We are also here if you experience any problems with your medication after you return home. Help is only a phone call away!

If you want to be sure to get the most value for your dollars, as well as convenience and the best customer service, call us for your next prescription or medication refill. We are pleased to provide our clients with a fully stocked pharmacy, and we stand behind every product that we dispense.

Diagnostics done right here at Veterinary Medical Center of Spring can help us arrive at a diagnosis quickly. Some of the tools and services we provide are:

• Hematology
• Blood chemistry
• Electrolytes
• Heartworm testing
• Feline Leukemia and FIV testing
• Urinalysis
• Eye pressure readings
• Blood pressure
• Radiographs (X-rays)
• Cytology
• Electrocardiograms

Reference Lab Diagnostics
By sending routine diagnostics out to the lab, we can get many more values for much less cost to you. We send routine fecal samples, heartworm tests, and blood or urine out to a reference lab where the experts can run the tests and consult with us about your pet if necessary.
We also have the capability to run many specialty tests, like Rabies titers, by using an outside lab.

Radiography is a valuable diagnostic tool in veterinary medicine. As we continually strive to offer the highest quality medicine and diagnostic testing, we are pleased to offer radiology services as a means of providing excellent care to our patients.

A radiograph (sometimes called an x-ray) is a type of photograph that can look inside the body and reveal information that may not be discernable from the outside. Radiography can be used to evaluate almost any organ in the body, including the heart, lungs, and abdominal organs, as well as the bones.

Radiography is painless, safe, and completely non-invasive, and it uses only very low doses of radiation. Because the level of radiation exposure needed to perform radiography is very low, even pregnant females and very young pets can undergo radiography. Radiographs can be used to evaluate bones as well as the size, shape, and position of many of the body’s organs. The size of organs is important because some medical conditions—such as kidney, heart, or liver disease—can alter the size of these organs. The shape and position of organs can be altered or distorted by certain medical conditions, including intestinal blockage or cancer. Tumors, depending on their size and location, can also sometimes be detected using radiography. Radiography can also be used to diagnose bladder stones, broken bones, chronic arthritis, certain spinal cord diseases, and a variety of other conditions.

Radiographs are an important tool that can help us make a correct diagnosis for your pet. Our radiology service is staffed by caring, skilled professionals who will provide state-of-the-art care with compassion and expertise.

What You Need to Know Before Your Pet’s Upcoming Surgery

Many people have questions about various aspects of their pet’s surgery, and we hope this information will help. It also explains the decisions you will need to make before your pet’s upcoming surgery.

Is the anesthetic safe?

Today’s modern anesthetic monitors have made surgery much safer than in the past. Here at Veterinary Medical Center of Spring, we do a thorough physical exam on your pet before administering anesthetics, to ensure that a fever or other illness won’t be a problem. The doctor will listen for heart murmurs or sounds in the lungs that would prevent us from going forth without calling you or adjusting the anesthetic plan for your pet. The handout on anesthesia explains this in greater detail.

Preanesthetic blood screening is important in reducing the risk of anesthesia. Every pet needs blood screening before surgery to ensure that the liver and kidneys can metabolize the medications. Even apparently healthy animals can have serious organ system problems that cannot be detected without blood screening. If there is a problem, it is much better to find it before it causes anesthetic or surgical complications. If serious problems are detected, surgery can be postponed until the problem is corrected.

All animals will have an IV catheter placed, and are maintained on IV fluids during surgery. The catheter provides the best way to administer emergency drugs if they’re required, and the fluids provide for a better anesthetic experience overall. Aside from keeping your pet hydrated and supporting the liver, fluids help to keep their blood pressure in a normal range to help prevent kidney damage and other problems.

For geriatric or ill pets, additional blood tests, electrocardiograms, or x-rays may be required before surgery as well. A preanesthetic ECG is offered as an optional service for all pets.

It is important that surgery be done on an empty stomach to reduce the risk of vomiting during and after anesthesia. You will need to withhold food for at least 8 to 10 hours before surgery. Water can be left down for the pet until the morning of surgery.

Will my pet have stitches?

For many surgeries, we use absorbable sutures underneath the skin. These will dissolve on their own, and do not need to be removed later. Some surgeries, especially tumor removals, do require skin stitches. With either type of suture, you will need to keep an eye on the incision for swelling or discharge. Most dogs and cats do not lick excessively or chew at the incision, but this is an occasional problem you will also need to watch for. If there are skin sutures, these will usually be removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. You will also need to limit your pet’s activity level for a time and no baths are allowed for the first 10 days after surgery.

Will my pet be in pain?

Anything that causes pain in people can be expected to cause pain in animals. Pets may not show the same symptoms of pain as people do, but they definitely feel it. Pain medications needed will depend on the surgery performed. Major procedures require more pain relief than minor surgeries, and the doctor will tailor the pain management plan to your pet.

Pets will be given pain medications before surgery is ever initiated, as it is easier to control pain when it doesn’t have a chance to flare in the first place. A long-acting anti-inflammatory is used for most pets, and an oral version will be sent home for those pets to continue therapy post-operatively. This helps alleviate discomfort and swelling.

Because cats do not tolerate standard pain medications, we stock the latest anti-inflammatory which is the first to be labeled for use in cats. There is also a liquid formula we send home, so that you don’t need to try and give kitty a bitter pill.

Injectable pain medications may also be used after surgery on both dogs and cats. Providing whatever pain relief is appropriate is a humane and caring thing to do for your pet.

What other decisions do I need to make?

While your pet is under anesthesia, it is the ideal time to perform other minor procedures, such as dentistry, ear cleaning, or implanting an identification microchip. If you would like an estimate for these extra services, please call ahead of time. This is especially important if the person dropping the pet off for surgery is not the primary decision maker for the pet’s care.

When you bring your pet in for surgery, please arrive early and plan to spend about 10 minutes to fill out paperwork and make decisions regarding your pet’s surgery. When you pick up your pet after surgery, again please allow 10 minutes for a doctor or technician to go over your pet’s medication and home care needs.

We will call you the afternoon before your scheduled surgery appointment, to confirm the time you will be dropping your pet off and to answer any questions you might have. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions about your pet’s health or surgery.

We firmly believe in pain management. Pain causes physical and mental problems in people and animals. Panting, restlessness, not eating and vocalizing are all signs of pain. It is easily preventable before painful procedures and it can be controlled in degenerative diseases. At Veterinary Medical Center of Spring we use multiple modality pain relief to block pain receptors.

Laser therapy can also be a great tool for pain management. This non-invasive treatment reduces inflammation, promotes wound healing, and decreases pain. Give us a call to speak with our veterinarian to see if laser therapy is a good choice for your pet.

In the event your pet requires urgent care, our professional staff will provide immediate and compassionate treatment in their time of need. Our hospital is equipped with the latest in-house laboratory technology for on-site diagnostics.

Walk-ins are always welcome and will be accommodated as soon as practicable. A trained technician will triage all incoming patients upon arrival, so that our doctors properly prioritize treatment schedules and owners receive immediate feedback as to severity of injury or ailment. Your pet’s health is our number one concern.

Are you having problems caring for a terminally ill pet at home? Does your pet have a medical condition that is painful or causing poor quality of life? Are you afraid that your sick or elderly pet is suffering?

Our staff of compassionate, caring professionals can help you through this painful experience. We offer hospice services and will work with you to ensure your pet’s comfort and dignity during his or her last days and final moments. Do you have special requests? Do you have questions about care of your pet’s remains? We can help you with these concerns and will make every effort to accommodate your wishes at this very difficult time.

Deciding when your pet may need hospice care or euthanasia is a very personal and private decision, but that doesn’t mean you have to make this difficult choice on your own. Our hospice and humane euthanasia services are conducted with respect, compassion, and care. Before you struggle through one more day with a sick, elderly, or terminally ill pet that is suffering, call us to learn how we can help.

Spa Bath available to all dogs, which includes full bath, nail trim, ear cleaning and anal gland expression. For all animals that board with us for more than nine days, we offer a basic bath at a discounted rate.

We provide pet boarding as a service to our clients. All boarders receive attention from our caring staff. Pets may be dropped off and picked up during regular business hours Monday through Saturday.

Canine Boarding Requirements:

• Current exam (within 6 months)
• Current vaccines: Rabies, DHPP, CIV (both H3N2/H3N8), Bordetella (within last 6 months), Leptospirosis
• Negative fecal test within last 6 months

Feline Boarding Requirements:

• Current exam (within 6 months)
• Current vaccines: Rabies, FVRCP
• Negative fecal test within 6 months

*All new clients that have pets that will be receiving vaccinations to meet the requirements for boarding must have a doctor exam to establish patient/client/doctor relationship.

Whether you have a puppy who needs to go out often, a pet with separation anxiety, or you just don’t want them to stay home alone all day, let us take care of your pet for you!

We offer daily day camp Monday-Friday, complete with outside play or TLC time.

*Please note all day boarders need to meet the same vaccine and health requirements as overnight boarders. Please look under the “Boarding” section for these requirements.

We welcome exotic and pocket pets to our clinic! These pets have different needs than traditional pets, and you want a veterinarian who can provide proper care to them. Please call us for details on these services.