Insights from the Vet Clinic

What every pet owner needs to know: owning a pet is a rewarding experience, but it also comes with important responsibilities. After thousands of appointments, our vets keep giving the same handful of advice — so we wrote it down for you.

The Annual Check-up Is Not Optional

Pets age roughly seven times faster than we do, which makes a yearly exam the equivalent of you skipping the doctor for seven years. We routinely catch early kidney changes, heart murmurs, and lumps at these visits — when they're small, treatable, and far less expensive.

Senior pets over seven should come twice a year. Puppies and kittens follow their vaccination series, usually every three to four weeks until sixteen weeks old.

Vaccines: What Actually Matters

Core vaccines — distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, and rabies for dogs; panleukopenia, herpesvirus, calicivirus, and rabies for cats — protect against diseases that are still out there and still deadly. "Indoor-only" cats still need rabies protection in most regions, and boarding facilities will ask for bordetella and canine influenza.

If you're unsure what your rescue received, titer testing can check existing immunity before we re-vaccinate. Ask us — we do it in-house.

Teeth Tell the Truth

Bad breath in pets is rarely "just dog breath." By age three, most pets show signs of periodontal disease, and the bacteria involved don't stay in the mouth. Lift your pet's lip monthly: gums should be pink, not red or bleeding, and teeth shouldn't be caked in brown tartar.

Prevention Beats Cure (and Costs Less)

Year-round parasite prevention, weight management, and dental care prevent the three most common — and most expensive — problems we treat. Our puppy wellness program and dental service bundle exactly that. Questions? Ask us anything.