In this week's blog, I'm going to talk about something near and dear to my heart (No, not my son or tacos, but both are good guesses). I'm excited to announce that Howard County Veterinary Service, P.C. (my clinic) is now offering more comprehensive preventative health care plans for pets! What are preventative healthcare plans, you ask? They are simply additional testing that we can submit during your pet’s annual vaccination and wellness exam that give us more information regarding your pet’s overall health. While a lot of information can be gathered when your pet is examined from head to tail, there are a lot of diseases that we cannot detect from a general exam. Samples from your pet are collected during their annual visit and submitted to a reference lab. I've wanted to offer more comprehensive testing in my clinic for a long time, but the road block I would constantly run into was keeping things affordable (which is important in a rural veterinary practice). Because of a new partnership with a reference lab, we can run a lot of tests and gather a lot of information for an affordable price. Once the samples are gathered and sent off, your test results will be reported to you by a phone call from your friendly veterinarian within 2-3 business days. If any abnormalities are detected with the tests, they can be discussed with your veterinarian at that time. So here's the breakdown of the plans we're now offering:
Now that you've seen what these plans test for, you might be wondering what the benefits are. Maybe your pet acts perfectly fine and healthy. Why do the extra testing? Firstly, the blood work in preventative plans helps us confirm that your pet’s organ systems are functioning properly and detect hidden illnesses that may put your pet’s health at risk. I have been doing these preventative plans at my clinic for a few months now, and I can say that I have diagnosed very early kidney disease using SDMA. I've found liver disease in a senior pet that acted perfectly healthy. I've diagnosed numerous pets with Ehrlichia, and young animals with intestinal parasites like hookworms (which can be passed to humans, by the way). Preventative plans detect disease in senior pets that are more at risk. Waiting to run tests when your pet is sick often leaves us with fewer options for treatment. Detecting disease earlier (like in the cases mentioned above) gives us more treatment options and more opportunities to give your pet a good quality of life for longer. Give us a call or ask about the preventative health care plans the next time you’re with your pet for a wellness exam. It’s another way for us to update the clinic while also taking better care of your pet for a longer, happier, healthier life.
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Jessica Stroupe, DVM
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August 2017
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