Patient Introduction to Staff Member

Pet Wellness Care

Western Carolina Regional Animal Hospital & Veterinary Emergency Hospital provides complete veterinary care for dogs and cats from birth through the end of life.

Wellness Exams

We recommend that all pets undergo a complete wellness exam at least once a year. For older patients (dogs age 7 and older; cats age 9 and older), we recommend a wellness exam twice a year. Routine wellness exams, coupled with your at-home observations, help us identify and treat diseases quickly. As with human medicine, early detection is a critical part of successful treatment.

We use a prevention-focused wellness approach that combines the annual vaccinations and tests your pet requires. The wellness exam includes a complete “nose-to-tail” assessment, including temperature, teeth, eyes, heart, lungs, lumps and bumps. We believe that your pet is healthier when you know more about his or her health care plan. Exams are a great time to share information about your pet’s health. We may ask you questions about your pet’s diet and lifestyle and encourage you to ask any questions you may have about your pet’s health. During an exam, we discuss vaccinations, nutrition, behavior and other topics that are important for maintaining the health and well-being of your pet.

 

Getting to know a new patient.

Puppy and Kitten Care

We always allow time during our nose-to-tail wellness exam to assess the health of your new puppy or kitten and to discuss proper care, nutrition and wellness support to give you and your new pet a great start.

Puppy and kitten vaccinations are critical to protecting the health of your new family member. The core vaccinations are given over three visits between 8 weeks and 16 weeks. During at least two of the visits, we do fecal checks since puppies and kittens are prone to getting intestinal parasites. At 16 weeks, your puppy or kitten can also receive its rabies vaccination.

Getting a good checkup with Dr. Owen and Larissa.

Microchipping

We encourage microchip identification for your pets, allowing safe and sure recognition even when their collars and tags are missing. WCRAH uses the HomeAgain® microchip implant – the size of a grain of rice! – a uniquely identifying integrated circuit implanted under the skin of your pet with a single-use syringe. The chip’s small size makes the procedure virtually pain free. Registration of the microchip is provided at no additional charge.

Your pet’s microchip will contain a unique serial number that can be read using a radio frequency scanner, available at our hospital as well as most other veterinary clinics and animal shelters. Once your pet’s unique serial number has been detected, your pet can be traced and returned to you.

 

HomeAgain® Tag on Collar         Found and safely home again.                    

Spay/Neuter

Millions of unwanted animals end up in shelters each year and many must be euthanized. We encourage responsible dog and cat owners to spay or neuter their pets so they’re not contributing to those sad statistics.

As with all of our surgical procedures, we used the most advanced anesthesia and do pre-anesthesia blood testing to ensure the best outcome with the least discomfort for your pet.

 Cat over-popluation chart.          

 

Dental Care

Proper dental care is extremely important for dogs and cats. Plaque and tartar build-up on your pet’s teeth can lead to gingivitis. Signs of gingivitis include reddened or bleeding gums, difficulty chewing and bad breath.

Untreated gingivitis can progress to a more advanced form of periodontal disease, a bacterial infection that, if left untreated, can cause the loss of teeth. That same bacteria can be carried into the bloodstream and cause damage to your pet’s kidneys, heart, liver and other organs.

Regular dental cleanings remove plaque and tartar and prevent gingivitis and periodontal disease. We conduct a routine dental examination as part of our wellness exam for your pet. Based on exam findings, we can provide the following services in house:

• Dental prophylaxis (cleaning) with extractions as required
• Gingival and periodontal disease management
• Home dental care recommendations and education

Because anesthesia is required to keep your pet safe and still during dental cleaning, we perform a thorough physical exam and blood tests to ensure that your pet is healthy enough for this procedure. These tests also help to develop an individualized anesthetic protocol that is specific for your pet. All of our patients receive pre-anesthetic blood testing to identify potential complications so the anesthetic protocol can be modified if necessary. Throughout dental procedures, your pet will receive continual monitoring of vital signs.

 

Dog Dental Care: Before and After Cleaning

Dog dental procedure and treatment

Chronic Disease Management

Like people, dogs and cats can get chronic diseases such as diabetes, degenerative joint disease (arthritis) and chronic skin conditions. Left untreated, such chronic conditions can severely degrade a pet’s quality of life and, in some cases, lead to serious complications. Fortunately, most chronic conditions can be managed successfully.

In all cases of chronic conditions, we strive to identify and treat the underlying causes rather than treating the signs. For example, chronic itching could be due to allergies (bacterial or yeast), parasites, hormonal imbalances or immune-related disorders, or even be coincident with ear and other problems.

We can develop a chronic disease management approach that may include medication, diet, supplements and exercise. Periodic testing and consultation with our veterinarians will enable us to monitor progress and adjust the care plan as needed.

Dermatology

While steroids are often used for skin-related relief in veterinary medicine, really solving a dermatology problem requires identifying underlying causes. Those can include allergies (bacterial or yeast); parasites (fleas, ticks, mange); hormonal under- or over-production (such as thyroid or adrenal glands); or immune-related disorders, such as lupus. Dermatology is a special interest of Western Carolina Regional Animal Hospital Founding Partner Fred Rosen.

 

Looking for fleas.

Reptiles

Founding Partner Dr. Fred Rosen has a special interest in caring for reptiles and we welcome snakes and lizards as patients. 

Reptiles Welcome