Understanding Dog Blood Tests

A blood test or lab test allows us to learn information about your dog's health which can only be found from collecting a sample of blood and having it analyzed. This includes a CBC (complete blood count) and blood chemistries that analyze chemical components in the blood.

What is Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging?

How A Cat's Heart Works

A cat's heart has four chambers. The two upper chambers are called the atrium (plural atria), and the lower chambers are called the ventricles. Additionally, the heart has a right and left side, each containing one atrium and one ventricle. A cat's heart works as follows:

They are parasites that live in the gastrointestinal tract. The most common thing that people think of is worms. And they are parasites that we can sometimes find on a fecal flotation, or we can send them off to the lab for some enzyme or PCR testing. But they're just those nasty boogers that live in that gastrointestinal tract.

Dr. Casie Lew Advanced Animal Care

Dr. Casie Lew Advanced Animal Care

Cats are pretty stoic animals on the whole. Dogs may show pain a little easier. What cats will oftentimes do if they're in pain or if there are some abnormalities is they'll hide. If they're usually very social, that's a great way to assess whether or not something's up, along with vocalization, changes in urination, or not eating and drinking, etc.

Preventative care for your cat is about being preemptive about general health for your pet, and that ranges from their diet to enrichment and toys, bedding, and housing, and that spans here into the vet clinic for vaccines, and getting general checkups on your pet to make sure that everything looks okay. So dental care and even stuff like flea, tick preventatives, intestinal parasite deworming, all of that good stuff.

Yeah, the terminology can get a little confusing. We use the term spaying for when we're removing the female reproductive organs from a pet, and we use the term neutering for when we're removing the male reproductive organs from a pet. The boys would get neutered, and the girls would get spayed.

Dr. Casie Lew Advanced Animal Care

Dogs generally need quite a bit of activity. And many times, it's much more than some owners are willing to do, especially if we're working a lot and are overall tired ourselves. But generally, they need quite a bit of activity to help keep their weight off and go through those calories they are eating and help stimulate their minds.

More common than a lot of people realize. At least 60% of the dogs that we see come through our practice have some sort of allergy. There's a whole slew of different things that they can be allergic to. But we see quite a few come through. Mooky here has allergies himself.

Illness doesn't always have a physical cause, and the sad truth is that more dogs are put to sleep because of behavioral problems than because of disease or injury. Dog obedience training can ensure your canine is a safe and enjoyable member of your family. From training puppies to addressing unwanted behavior in an older dog, our veterinarians can help you achieve a better bond with your furry friend.

At Advanced Animal Care, we understand that your canine companion is not just a pet, but that he or she is a beloved, cherished family member. The mutual bond of love and loyalty between you can make a diagnosis of any form of dog cancer very difficult to hear. Our veterinarians and support staff are empathetic, compassionate and trained to focus on both the emotional and medical aspects of dog cancer.

Intestinal parasites, worms in the GI tract, can cause really serious systemic effects, maybe more immediately on the GI tract itself: vomiting, diarrhea, et cetera.

It depends on the age of your dog, the breed of your dog and if your dog is currently in shape or not, but we want your dog to be up and active on a daily basis. Usually several times a day will be best. Even just a small, short walk can be what some smaller dogs need, but more active dogs, especially those that are a bit larger and younger, can have more need for longer walks or more intense types of exercise.

Laser therapy is a non-invasive photobiomodulation therapy. So basically, what that means is we use a special light that penetrates the skin and tissue that helps open up blood flow to the area. And really, the bottom line is it helps to accelerate the body's natural healing process.

Microchipping is basically a permanent form of identification. You have your collar, you have your tags, but those can slip off, get worn, or they may not even have your updated information on them. And so with a microchip, it's something that we will implant right between the shoulder blades and under the skin. And it's a little metal chip that stays in them for their entire life.

At Advanced Animal Care, our veterinary team understands the commitment involved in helping to manage a dog pregnancy for your beloved canine companion. 

Our services include:

• Caesarean Sections
• Ultrasonography for Pregnancy Diagnosis 

Our services also include management of:

It's the foundation of everything. The first round of vaccines, proper nutrition—all that's discussed at the time of them being a puppy. So it's a good place to start and get a good foundation for health in the long term.

Just as with humans, vaccinations are substances that are injected into the patient to help build immunity against certain viruses, bacteria, and diseases in general.

While cats confined to an indoor environment generally live longer and are at less risk for contracting infectious diseases or injuries due to trauma, they are at greater risk for a variety of behavioral problems. These problems include urinating and defecating outside the litter box, anxiety, eating disorders, attention seeking, aggression, self-injury and compulsive disorders like excessive grooming and scratching.

What Is Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging For Felines?

At Advanced Animal Care, our highly experienced team of veterinarians and veterinary support staff have been helping educate our clients and win the fight against heartworms in cats since 2009. The importance of heartworm prevention for cats cannot be overstated, as heartworm disease in cats can lead to severe respiratory disease and even death. Therefore, preventive measures are absolutely necessary in order to keep your beloved feline friend healthy and safe.

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A crucial part of our emergency hospital is our Intensive Care Unit. After your pet has been examined and a plan developed for their care, they may need constant care and monitoring for a period of time. These pets are admitted into our ICU for specialized critical care and monitoring by our emergency doctors and critical care nurses. The amount of time spent in ICU depends upon the severity of the illness, their response to treatment, and amount of care required to get them through that illness.

Since 2009, the veterinarians and support staff at Advanced Animal Care have sought to achieve the highest standards of veterinary medicine. We feel that cats are part of the family, yours and ours. Our clients' response to the care we provide is the strongest testament to the quality of care we provide for their cats.

You can find our recent client feedback here.

When Will A Veterinarian Order Blood Tests For Cats?

Sometimes in the case of an eye or ear infection, your feline friend's medical condition affords a veterinarian the opportunity for a relatively straightforward diagnosis. However, other times the results in the need for further examination. In such a case, your veterinarian will order feline blood tests to aid in his or her investigation. The following situations can result in the need for blood tests for cats: