MEDICAL SERVICES
Care for Senior Pets
Pets age faster than people. Your pet is considered a senior at ages seven and older. Older pets require regular preventive care, including wellness exams, blood tests, and diagnostic services (including x-rays, ultrasound and laboratory tests). You are an important ally in your senior pet’s health care. We encourage you to inform us of any changes in your older pet’s behavior or lifestyle so that we may take appropriate measures, before these changes affect your pet’s quality of life.
Internal Medicine
If your pet becomes ill or you suspect there may be something wrong with him or her, we cover all areas of internal medicine, including endocrinology (e.g. diabetes and related diseases), allergy consultations, gastrointestinal disease, arthritis and pain management, cardiology, dermatology, and renal and hepatic disease.
Our medical expertise is enhanced by access to advanced diagnostic equipment, and our in-house lab and pharmacy. We also maintain close relationships with area specialists in order to provide greater treatment options for advanced or complicated cases.
The result is that we are able to provide superior medical care in order to cure or manage a wide range of medical conditions in a low-stress setting. We also will take the time to fully explain your pet’s diagnosis, care options and referral to a specialist if necessary. It is our goal to ensure you are fully aware of your pet’s condition and treatment so that you can make the best and most informed decisions for his or her care.
Pain & Arthritis Management
Degenerative joint disease (arthritis) is the number one cause of chronic pain in dogs and cats. Arthritis is the result of long term stress on a joint, either from an old injury or from natural development of a poorly conformed joint. Surgery may be helpful for some situations; however, the majority of the time the degeneration of the joint cannot be reversed and treatment focuses on preventing the progression of the damage. There are a number of products available to medically manage arthritis, some can be combined with others and some cannot. It is known that arthritis pain is best managed by what is called a multi-modal approach, meaning that several approaches combined give better results than any single therapy. This may include medications, neutraceuticals and special diets. The approach we use to manage a pet’s arthritis is individualised for that pet, paying attention to other disease processes that may be ongoing.
Allergies and Dermatology
If left untreated, allergy-related and dermatological conditions can fester and become serious health concerns for your pet. Therefore it is important to be able to identify the first signs and symptoms of allergies and dermatological conditions.
These include:
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Inflamed ears
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Hotspots, especially those that recur
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Scratching or rubbing the eyes or mouth area
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Flaking
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Lesions on the skin
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Hair loss
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Red itchy bumps on the skin
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Asthma-like wheezing or respiratory issues
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Chewing/licking paws
Our Veterinary Pharmacy
Ensuring our clients have convenient and timely access to competitively-priced medications for their pets is an important aspect of our veterinary practice. More than ever before, medications play an important role in helping cure a sick animal, relieve pain after an injury or surgery and manage chronic conditions such as arthritis and diabetes. Without these medications we would see higher mortality/morbidity rates, shorter lifespan, and degraded quality of life in our companion animals.
Rochedale vet maintains a comprehensive pharmacy onsite and is able to quickly access any medication that is necessary for the care of your pet. Additionally, because we are the prescribing veterinarian, we are able to ensure there is a direct link between the exam room and our pharmacy. This means your pet will receive the right medication, at the right dose, in the right form as quickly as possible. We will also be able to easily guide you on the medication’s use as well as monitor its effectiveness.