Wellness Care

Routine wellness care is important for the quality and longevity of your pet's life. Depending on the species, age and lifestyle of your pet, we will make recommendations to help detect, prevent, and treat illnesses before they can impact the quality of your pet's life. The following are examples of common topics that are addressed in a wellness plan. Remember that vaccines and spaying/neutering are also important and should be included as part of your pet's lifelong health plan.

Routine Physical Exams

Physical exams should be performed at least yearly on all pets to identify health problems early. Some species, such as cats, are "masters of disguise" and can hide outward signs of illness for long periods of time. Physical exams generally include: weight evaluation; dental/oral exam; listening to the heart and lungs for abnormal sounds; manual exam of the abdomen for any organ enlargements or masses; visual exam of the skin for any masses, infections or other abnormalities; and examination of the eyes, nose and ears.

Intestinal Parasites

Examples of intestinal parasites include hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, giardia and coccidia. Puppies and kittens can pick up intestinal parasites from their environment. They can also get roundworms and hookworms from their mother before birth. Humans, particularly children, can potentially develop serious problems if exposed to roundworms or hookworms. Therefore, we recommend that all puppies and kittens have a fecal exam performed to check for these parasites and have a deworming series performed for hookworms and roundworms.

Heartworm Disease

Heartworm disease is a serious, life-threatening condition commonly seen in dogs and cats. The parasite is transmitted through mosquito bites. Heartworms travel to the major blood vessels of the heart and lungs where they can grow up to a foot long and live for 5-7 years, all the while causing damage to the heart and lungs. Animals may not show any signs of heartworm disease until the condition is advanced. All dogs and cats are at risk for heartworm disease, no matter where they live or if they go outside or not. Once a dog is infected with heartworms, treatment can be difficult and expensive. There is no approved treatment for adult heartworm infection in cats other than surgical removal, which is very risky and costly. Heartworm disease is potentially fatal and highly preventable. Therefore, we recommend that puppies and kittens start heartworm prevention as early as 6 weeks of age and continue it throughout their lives. The product we most recommend for heartworm prevention is Heartgard. Heartgard also helps prevent roundworm and hookworm infection. Testing for heartworm disease is recommended for puppies at 7 months of age then yearly thereafter, even if they are on prevention.

External Parasites

The most common external parasites we encounter are fleas and ticks. Fleas and ticks can be a problem year round. Fleas can cause skin problems, anemia, tapeworm infection, flea allergies and other diseases. Ticks can spread serious, potentially life-threatening diseases, such as Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and others, to the pets and people on which they feed. Some dogs may have a reaction to tick saliva and develop tick paralysis. There are many different types of flea and tick preventives on the market, but we generally recommend veterinary products, as they have been proven safe and effective. If your pet has a flea or tick problem, we recommend that you bring them in and consult with our staff on the best treatment and prevention protocol.

FeLV / FIV Testing

Both Feline Leukemia Virus and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus are similar to HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in people. Neither FeLV nor FIV can infect humans and HIV cannot infect cats. Both viruses can be transmitted from mother cats to kittens or from cat to cat. Cats that spend time outdoors are most at risk for these diseases. While neither disease is curable, both may be manageable with early detection. We recommend that all cats be tested when first adopted, then retested 6 months later to ensure they are truly negative. Cats that spend time outdoors should be tested at least yearly. Cats that have been bitten by a stray or feral cat should be tested 3 months after the bite.

Senior Wellness

Just like people, your pet's health will change as he or she ages. Because pets age faster than humans, major health changes can occur quickly. The chart below illustrates how quickly pets age in comparison to people (use to determine the "true" age of your cat or dog in "human years"). Routine wellness exams and screening test are recommended for older animals to detect hidden disease early and ensure their lifelong well-being. We recommend that pets 8 years of age or older have a physical exam and blood work done at least once a year (every 6 months is ideal). 20% of pets 8 years of age and older that appear healthy actually have hidden diseases that may be detected on blood work. Detecting diseases early (before the animal appears ill) is the key for early intervention and a more favorable prognosis.

Age

(yrs)

Weight (pounds)

Feline

Canine

0-20

0-20

20-50

50-90

> 90

1

7

7

7

8

9

2

13

13

14

16

18

3

20

20

21

24

26

4

26

26

27

31

34

5

33

33

34

38

41

6

40

40

42

45

49

7

44

44

47

50

56

8

48

48

51

55

64

9

52

52

56

61

71

10

56

56

60

66

78

11

60

60

65

72

86

12

64

64

69

77

93

13

68

68

74

82

101

14

72

72

78

88

108

15

76

76

82

93

115

16

80

80

87

99

123

17

84

84

92

104

131

18

88

88

96

109

139

19

92

92

101

115

20

96

96

105

120

El Paso

Address

1851 Lee Trevino Dr,
El Paso, TX 79936

Office Hours

Monday  

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Tuesday  

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Wednesday  

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Thursday  

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Friday  

8:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Saturday  

8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Sunday  

Closed

Walk In Hours

in case of emergency or an urgent health need after posted walk in times, please call or consult with the front desk to check doctor availability

Monday  

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Tuesday  

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Wednesday  

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Thursday  

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Friday  

8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Saturday  

8:00 am - 10:00 am

Sunday  

Closed