Adding a cute new member to your family can bring joy and excitement. To support a lifetime of health and safety, be sure to schedule a veterinary appointment with us as soon as possible after adopting your new puppy.
If your new dog is from an animal shelter, they might not be used to a home environment. Even puppies living in home environments with a breeder or foster parent will still experience countless new sights and smells, and for a baby animal, this can be a little overwhelming. Remember to give them ample time to be alone in a safe space and to rest.
During their initial visits, your veterinarian will help you accomplish the following items:
Puppies will need their core vaccines during a series of visits to help bring their immune systems up to speed.
Before receiving their vaccinations, the puppy should not be socialized with other dogs for their safety and the safety of the other animals.
Before you bring your new kitten home, it is important to consider the environment they are entering. Will your other pets intimidate them? Do you have house plants that could be toxic if ingested? Where will they eat and sleep?
For kittens, who are less social by nature than puppies, we recommend keeping them in a special room or area of your house that is quiet and away from hustle and bustle for a day or so before giving them free-reign. This will help them acclimate to their new environment.
Kittens' core vaccines include Distemper, Calicivirus, Viral Rhinotracheitis, and Rabies.
Spay/neuter procedure is better for the overall health and wellness of both individual pets, and the pet population as a whole. Unplanned litters are one of the the leading causes of the pet homelessness crisis. In addition, unplanned litters are very expensive and time consuming to owners. In fact, the cost of a spay/neuter procedure is far less than the cost of caring for infant puppies or kittens.
The expected lifespan of spayed or neutered pets is longer. This is for several reasons, including decreased risk of contracting infections, cancers of the reproductive system, and breast cancer.
Because of their decreased sex drive, spayed or neutered animals are less distracted and therefore easier to train. They will be less inclined towards running away to seek a mate, and unwanted neighborhood animals looking for a good time will not darken your doorstep.
Our doctors have extensive experience performing safe and effective spay and neuter surgeries. The morning of the surgery, please drop your pet off at our clinic without feeding them breakfast. You will be able to pick them up later the same day or the following morning, after we are able to monitor them for a few hours to ensure they are recuperating as expected. As with all surgeries, spay/neuter procedures require anesthesia, and therefore carry the risks associated. Before operation, we will schedule an appointment to determine they are healthy enough for the surgery, and the sedation. This will minimize risks of a complication.
Every year, millions of dogs and cats are brought to animal shelters or veterinary offices after being separated from their families. Many of these pets will never make it home. If your pet is ever lost, they do not have to be a sad statistic. With a microchip embedded beneath the skin between the shoulder blades, your pet will have your contact information with them at all times.
If your pet ever becomes lost, and is brought to an animal shelter or veterinary office, an animal care professional will use a special scanner to check if they have a microchip. If they are microchipped, they will be informed of a special numbered code associated with the chip. Once the rescuer plugs this code into a national database, your contact information will come up as the pet’s owner and you will then be contacted, and you and your sweet pet can enjoy a happy reunion. For this reason, it’s essential that you register your pet’s microchip with your most current contact information once it has been inserted.
The microchip embedding procedure is short and relatively painless. It is no more strenuous than a routine vaccination, because your pet will not be sedated, and it will be over in seconds. Some happy-go-lucky pets who are distracted do not even notice the microchip being placed! And after the microchip is in place, you can enjoy the peace of mind that your pet will have your contact information with them for the rest of their lives.
Located directly outside of Buffalo Mountain Park and just off of University Parkway.
Phone: 423-928-7272
