Medical Services
The Gentle Doctor Animal Hospital offers full-service medical care for your pet. Our services include well-visits, surgery, dentistry, radiology, endoscopy, ultrasound, orthopedic surgery as well as referral surgical procedures.
Well Pet Care
Prevention is certainly the best medicine. We would rather keep your pet well than have to treat it for illness. Annual physical exams and vaccinations play a critical role in our preventive philosophy.
The examination includes routine screening for heartworms and other parasites and can often detect early signs of disease and other problems that are easily treated in their early stages. In short, the annual exam is our most important means of fighting disease.
Diagnostic and Surgical Services
We are committed to providing total health care for your pet. To meet that challenge, we have equipped our hospitals to handle almost every veterinary procedure -- from routine lab tests to emergency surgery.
We process routine blood work, including heartworm tests, in house while you wait. Other tests are performed at an outside laboratory for the most comprehensive analysis and accurate results. Testing for parasites, feline immune virus (FIV), feline leukemia and bacterial cultures are all accomplished in our labs.
Surgery
Our veterinary staff provides a full range of surgical skill in the following areas:
Orthopedic
We are equipped to handle most bone-related injuries, addressing your pet's specific needs with techniques as simple as resetting and casting, to those as complex as bone-plating and joint replacement.
As your pet enters its senior years, you should know we have special expertise in treating arthritis and managing joint pain. We consider it one of our topmost priorities to maintain your aging pet's quality of life, and we therefore find arthritis-treating techniques, both phamacological and surgical, to be among our most important offerings.
Soft Tissue
Surgeries of the organs, skin and musculature are commonly referred to as "soft tissue" procedures. These can range from removal of a swallowed foreign object, to spaying and neutering, to more complicated tumor excision and cardiac treatments.
Cosmetic
While cosmetic surgery for pets might sound a bit unusual, it is in fact quite common for many breeds, and even medically necessary for others. We offer ear cropping for Dobermans and boxers, and recommend that pups be assessed for this surgery at 6 months of age. (Tail docking is done on many breeds during the first days of puppyhood and is accomplished nearly painlessly in just a few seconds.)
Addressing excess skin folds in Shar Peis and other loose-skined breeds can greatly reduce the occurence of skin infections, and surgery on breeds with protruding eyes, such as pugs, can reduce eye irritation and infection. Most of these procedures, along with declawing for cats, can be done with minimal hospital stays and a regimine of at-home care. If you have any questions regarding whether to pursue a cosmetic surgery for your pet, please feel free to call us.
Other Services
As a human patient, you might expect to see two or three specialists every year: your general practicioner, your dentist and perhaps your eye doctor too. Of course, veterinary medicine encompasses those specialities -- and so many more! At the Gentle Doctor Animal Hopsitals, we offer X-ray services, dental care, state-of-the-art gas anthesthesia and electrocardiograph testing. We assist with breeding procedures and can be at the ready when your pet is expecting. We have experts trained in pet nutrition to help with weight problems and those with special dietary needs. And we even have counseling available if your pet has behavioral problems.
We encourage you to ask your veterinarian questions about your pet's health and health care. He or she can help you with every stage of responsible pet ownership and care!
