Healthy, happy pets start with excellent care.

Because your pet ages more quickly than humans, it is critically important to schedule an exam at least once a year, or more frequently as your pet ages or if there are health issues.

Here’s what you can expect during a Good Health exam:

• Check temperature, respiration rate, pulse, and weight.
• Check heart and lungs to detect any abnormalities.
• Check ears for yeast, bacteria, parasites, and foreign objects.
• Check eyes for abnormalities, injuries, or ulcers.
• Gums, teeth, tongue, and palate are checked for abnormalities, fractures, decay, infections, tarter, and loose teeth.
• Check the reproductive system for any swellings, discharges, or breast lumps.
• Examine skin condition as an indicator of overall nutritional health, as well as for allergies, infections, warts, cysts, tumors, and parasites.
• An abdominal exam will detect irregularities such as enlarged organs, masses, or areas that are painful.
• Lymph nodes and nose are checked.
• Skeletal exam including legs and feet for abnormalities or signs of arthritic onset.

We strive for a balanced vaccine schedule that provides the protection your pet needs from infectious disease without over-vaccinating. Vaccines are essential in preventing canine distemper, parvovirus, rabies, Lyme disease, and more found in dogs. For cats, vaccines prevent feline leukemia, panleukopenia, respiratory diseases, and rabies.

Each year, millions of pets go missing and, sadly, never make it back home. A simple microchip implant is a safe, effective way to avoid this tragedy. A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is easily implanted beneath the skin between the shoulder blades. It’s an easy procedure and is as painless as a vaccination, offering a lifetime of assurance.

Each microchip has a unique identification number which is registered, along with the pet’s and owner’s information, with a national pet registry. Most veterinary hospitals and animal shelters have electronic scanners for reading microchips. If your lost pet is found, the registry is called, and you will be contacted.

Ultrasound is a non-invasive procedure that uses soundwaves to provide moving pictures of your pet’s organs, including the abdomen and heart. It requires no anesthesia and is less stressful and more comfortable for your pet. A quick and accurate diagnosis can make all the difference in deciding the right course of treatment for your pet.

Advances in digital x-ray technology allow us to produce faster, more accurate x-rays than traditional film and plate radiographs while reducing your pet’s exposure to radiation and providing clearer high-resolution images for even better diagnosis. Monitors in each exam room enable us to view your pet’s digital images during your visit and help make important care decisions.

Blood, fluids, and tissue samples provide us essential information about your pet’s health that might not be detectable during a routine or emergency exam. It is critical to quickly obtain results during the exam process to provide an immediate diagnosis and treatment plan for your pet.

Our extensive, state-of-the-art in-house diagnostic laboratory conducts mandatory pre-surgical screening. This critical precautionary measure assures us that we have the necessary information about your pet’s specific condition before, during, and after any surgical or treatment procedure.

Your pet’s health is the most critical concern to us. As with our own health matters, there are times when specialists are consulted for second opinions or to improve the chances of a successful outcome for more unusual or complex cases. Mahoning Valley Veterinary Centre has an extensive network of laboratories and specialists to assure that your pet’s diagnosis and treatment plan has the best chance for its recovery and good health.