Small Animal Services

Wellness and Preventative Care

Each age and stage of your pet’s life presents different needs that require attention and care. Our team develops an individualized health care plan for your pet that takes into consideration age, lifestyle, breed, and history. During your pet's wellness examination, Dr. Green performs a complete physical to assess your pet's overall health and to give you an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.  Examples of preventive care services offered during routine wellness exams include vaccinations, vaccine titers, dental care, parasite control (heartworms, intestinal parasites, fleas and ticks), microchipping, and general behavioral counseling).

Dentistry

Dental disease is the number one health issue affecting 80% of dogs and 70% of cats over the age of three, according to the American Veterinary Dental Society.  A professional dental cleaning is needed to remove tartar buildup and manage dental disease. Symptoms of dental disease include bad breath, a yellow to brown crust on teeth, red and swollen gums, loose or missing teeth, and/or difficulty eating. During a dental cleaning, your pet will be put under anesthesia so that we can remove the tartar from their teeth.  Full mouth x-rays are taken to look for hidden disease under the gum line. Once the cleaning (and any needed tooth extractions) are completed, your pet’s teeth are polished to help slow that daily plaque build-up.  

Radiology

Radiographs, or X-rays, are one of the most common and useful diagnostic tools because of their ability to penetrate tissues and form an image of your pet’s bones and organs for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. If we suspect your pet has a fractured bone, has swallowed a foreign object, or is suffering from a heart problem, X-rays will help tells us what we need to know.

Lewis and Clark Veterinary Clinic uses a state-of-the-art digital X-ray machine. The clear, detailed images are immediately available to be viewed, which means less wait time for you and your pet. It also allows for x-rays to be sent for second opinions.

Ultrasonography

Ultrasound is a painless, safe, non-invasive procedure that we use to evaluate your pet's internal organs. Using sound waves, ultrasound produces a real-time moving picture of your pet's organs that allows us to visualize details that cannot be detected by X-rays alone. With ultrasound, we can assess the shape, size, tissue density, internal structure, and position of your pet's abdominal organs, assess cardiac health (also called an echocardiogram), and diagnose pregnancy. Images taken during your pet’s ultrasound are sent to a board-certified veterinary radiologist. These images are reviewed and a report of his/her analysis is returned within a few hours of the ultrasound procedure.

Diet and Nutritional Counseling

When it comes to deciding what to feed your pet, one this is for sure, there is no shortage of choices! Since every animal is an individual and there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to pet food, we are here to provide guidance for your pet’s nutritional needs for each stage of life and various medical conditions.  We offer three AAFCO tested brands of therapeutic veterinary diets: Royal Canin, Hill’s Prescription Diets, and Purina Veterinary Diets.  For those pet parents who prefer to feed home cooked diets or raw diets, we can help make sure you are feeding your pet a balanced and nutritionally complete meal with the help of a veterinary nutritionist.

Chiropractic Care

Just like in humans, chiropractic therapy helps to maintain the optimal motion of all joints in the body, especially the spine. Reduced range of motion in the spine can lead to back pain, lameness, lack of performance, or a decrease in overall health. The treatment to restore normal joint motion is when a professional trained in animal chiropractic delivers a thrust to a specific joint. This is called an adjustment. Routine adjustments may help to restore the normal movement of joints, reduce pain, and improve nerve communication throughout the body.

Acupuncture Therapy

Acupuncture is a great modality to reduce pain and inflammation associated with several health conditions such as intervertebral disc disease, hip dysplasia, cancer, stomach problems, and many more. Acupuncture uses a small needle to stimulate areas of the body that have a high concentration of free nerve endings, lymph vessels, small blood vessels and immune cells. Stimulation of these areas, called points, results in a release of chemicals that affect the function of the brain and nervous system, to reduce pain and inflammation.

Hospice/Euthanasia

We are dedicated to maintaining the comfort and quality of life for your terminally ill or geriatric pet until a natural death occurs or humane euthanasia is elected.  Making the decision to euthanize your beloved pet is undoubtedly difficult. We are here to answer your questions and be there for you when you say goodbye to your family member. This service can be performed in the clinic or at home. Cremation services are available.

Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is a natural cell therapy to relieve the pain of joint disease and injuries and promote healing. PRP involves collecting a sample of your pet’s blood and running it through a filter to collect the platelet rich portion of blood. This platelet rich plasma is injected into joints, ligaments, tendons, or wounds. Platelets contain a remarkable array of growth factors that stimulate blood vessel formation and new tissue growth.  The entire process takes about 45 minutes. Patients can resume their normal activity a few days after the procedure (no forced runs for the first 1-2 week after PRP therapy).

Photobiomodulation (Laser) therapy

Therapeutic lasers emit a single wavelength of light in the near infrared spectrum which penetrates the skin, muscle, tendons, and ligaments to promote healing. Laser light stimulates healing by increasing circulation, reducing inflammation and pain, and promoting cell growth.  Laser therapy is non-invasive and can be used in variety of conditions such as ear infections, back pain, bladder inflammation, arthritis and many other conditions.  Owners generally notice pain relief within the first one to three treatments.