id you know that there is insurance available for your pet? This can really help trim down the cost of providing your pet with the best possible care throughout his entire life. If you are interested, ask us for more information.
“ The best tooth brush is the one often used.”
~Croation Proverb.
CONGRATS LAUREN!
Though we will miss her, we are proud to announce that Lauren has been accepted into the Vet Tech program at the Bel-Rae Institute.
Lauren is one of our valued assistants who has been a part of the AHCC family for many many years.
She began her journey with AHCC thru a mentorship program in high school. Afterwards, she stayed on working in the kennels thru the remainder of high school. Upon completion she attended & graduated from Virginia Tech in December with her degree in Animal Sciences. While attending college, Lauren continued to work with AHCC as an assistant thru her vacations & breaks. We will miss you Lauren!
QUICK TIP FOR FEBRUARY:
When was the last time you had your pet’s stool sample checked? Did you know that the CDC currently recommends checking your animal’s stools every 3 months & deworm monthly for potential parasites that may be harmful to your family as well as your pet? You are welcome to drop-off a fresh sample anytime without your pet or make an appointment for analysis
Want your pet featured in the newsletter?
Scan a picture & email it to us at: ahccnurses@ntelos.net.
Under Subject type:
AHCC Newsletter Attn: Alicia Midkiff
T’s time to remind ourselves of Dental Care for our pets. While this is something that we should be committed to year round, February is National Dental Month & a good time to really focus on this particular & important aspect of care for your pet.
This year for the first time we are promoting dental health by offering a discount on dental cleanings & polishing for your pet.
The discount is limited to established patients/clients. Availability is limited to the dental cleaning itself.
Our prices are based on the severity of the condition the teeth & gums are in along with the size of your pet.
Our prices include the day in the hospital, A complete physical exam, sedation, pain meds, injectable & gas anesthesia, state of the art monitoring equipment, scaling & polishing of the teeth, fluoride treatment, breath spray, a send home kit full of information about continuing to care for teeth at home as well as a personalized plan, also includes a free tooth brush & paste. Sometimes your pet requires IV fluids, extractions, pain meds &/or antibiotics to go home, these are at an additional fee.
We do require that your pet is up to date on some vaccines, distemper & Rabies, for both cats & dogs. Dogs also require an additional vaccine, Bordetella, to protect against kennel cough. There are other vaccines & testing that we highly recommend prior to any pet-undergoing anesthesia. They include a current fecal exam, an EKG screening of the heart, Preanesthetic blood profile to screen the internal organs. For dogs a heartworm exam; Cats a leukemia & aids test is highly recommended.
Ideally your pet should come in ahead of time for a physical to determine any anesthetic risks, or other areas in your pets health that may need to be addressed prior to or while in the hospital. If everything is ok, it is a good time to perform any of the prework-up such as blood work.
The procedure itself is the exact same cleaning that is performed on humans. The difference being that our pets do require general anesthesia. For this reason, your pet does need to be dropped off at the hospital to spend the day with us so we can monitor his/her recovery from anesthesia thru out the day. Your pet is able to go home that evening.
An appointment will need to be made ahead of time for these services.
Some pets require dental cleanings yearly; some can go several years between cleanings. Since there is a risk involved with general anesthesia, the longer we can stretch out between cleanings the better for your pet. One of the ways to do this is to continue care at home on a daily basis. There are several options available to help aid in this care. Daily tooth brushing is always gold standard, There is also prescription diets available to help aid in the slowing of tartar accumulation, Also we offer a new product that is applied weekly to create a seal to keep the bacteria & tartar from sticking to the tooth surface. With out follow up care the dental cleaning will not last long.
Caring for your pet’s teeth is one of the most important things that you can do for your pet to maintain his/her health thru their lives. Dental health affects various other organs such as the heart & kidneys.
We can help set your pet up on a maintenance plan that is right for you & your pet. Our staff can lead you in the right direction with tooth brushing tips for you to follow-up with at home.
Please call us today to schedule an appointment at (540) 943-2273.
This discount is limited to the month of February only.