Wellness Care

It is our belief that helping pets live longer, healthier lives begins with having regular wellness care visits so that we can determine what immunizations may be appropriate and develop an internal/external parasite prevention plan based on your pet’s lifestyle.  Regular visits also help us keep watch over your pet for any early signs of potential problems.  Early detection and management of medical issues such as dental disease, weight loss/gain, heart murmurs, and many others, helps improve the likelihood that you and your pet will have more time with better quality and less costs for more serious medical care.

Nutrition

Our doctors and staff highly qualified to help advise you on what food is best suited to your pet’s nutritional needs.  We carry a wide variety of Purina Prescription Diets and Science Diet products designed for everything from maintenance feeding to managing specific medical issues.

Vaccinations

Young animals are like kids–it’s a never-ending job to keep them safe and happy. Vaccinating your pet is a relatively inexpensive but very important way to protect his or her health. In addition to preventing many life-threatening illnesses, pet vaccines can prevent diseases prevalent in wildlife and those that can be passed to humans. It’s important to administer vaccinations when pets are puppies and kittens because their young immune systems are still developing and need protection to stay healthy. That’s why we make it easy to get puppy and kitten vaccination shots in Altoona, IA.

While any medical treatment involves some degree of risk, in the case of vaccinations, the benefits far outweigh any potential side effects. Adverse reactions are rare and usually mild and short-term when they do occur.

Which vaccines should your pet have?

“Core” vaccines are those recommended—and possibly mandated by law—for most pets. Core vaccines include:

• Rabies (dogs and cats)
• DA2PPV – Distemper, Hepatitis, Adenovirus 2, Parvo and Parainfluenza (dogs)
• Lepto- Leptospirosis Disease (dogs)
• FVRCP – Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus and Panleukopenia (cats)

Other non-core, but highly suggested vaccinations for cats include FeLV to protect against feline leukemia. For dogs bordetella and canine influenza shots are recommended if they frequent dog parks, boarding kennels, or any place where they’re socializing with other canines.

Microchipping

It has been reported that an estimated 10 million pets are lost each year and 90% of those who do not have identification will not be returned to their owner.  Microchipping provides a safe, reliable, and permanent way to connect you and your pet no matter where he/she may roam in Altoona, IA.