Maintaining your pet’s health is our top priority and huge part of overall health is a healthy mouth. Dental care starts at home with dental chews and brushing as soon as you bring them home for the first time. Just like people, even brushing isn’t enough and regular dental cleanings increase your pet’s lifespan!
Vaccination
We require a presurgical exam with Dr. Florez and require proof of current vaccination prior to surgery. This is done to ensure that your puppy is as healthy as possible prior to surgery.
Behavioral Counseling
It is important to spay and neuter your pets for many reasons. They seem to live much longer when they are spayed and neutered because they are less likely to roam, get hit by a car, and get into fights. They are also less likely to get certain types of cancers and diseases. Many animals seem to have less behavioral problems than their unneutered counterparts!
Nutritional Counseling
But the other 40 percent do get sick. It only takes one to three weeks from the inhalation of fungal spores before coughing starts. Fever, weight loss, and appetite loss accompany the cough, which can be dry or productive. If illness is limited to the lungs, prognosis is good with appropriate medication and the recovery rate approaches 90 percent.
Comprehensive Examination
Simply come for an annual wellness exam and any core vaccines your pet is due for will be administered at that time. You must come in for an annual exam within 30 days of the due date or your Free Vaccines for Life membership will lapse. This offer does not include puppies or kittens and is not transferrable to another pet or owner.
With our state-of-the-art in-house laboratory, Aztec Animal Hospital veterinarians are able to diagnose many diseases the day of your appointment and start treatment immediately. Some examples of common in-house testing include: fecal testing for parasites, urinalysis for possible UTI, chemistry panel to evaluate kidney and liver values, and thyroid levels.
Pain Management
This cosmetic procedure is done with the puppy under anesthesia for the comfort of the puppy and the best surgical outcome. We utilize a surgical laser which provides a cleaner, less painful, and faster healing incision than traditional scalpel or scissors. Your puppy will be given pain medication at the time of the surgery and will go home with additional medication and an E-collar to protect their ears. Depending on your puppy’s ears, they may be sent home with a cap to start standing the ears early. Two weeks after the surgery, taping and posting begin to get the ears to stand up best.
If you are looking for a veterinary hospital that services Tempe then Aztec Animal Hospital is your first choice. We treat animals in Arizona with the necessary rattlesnake vaccine, which is vital if you take your pets with you when you are hiking and camping. We also provide specialized treatment for parvovirus and pancreatitis as well as a range of conditions that are endemic to this area of Arizona. If you want the best for your pets, take them to a local expert who understands and cares.
Bacterial and Viral Infection Treatment
A general rule with any fungal infection is that it takes a long time to clear. Valley Fever is no different and a year of medication administration is fairly common. Treatment continues until the clinical signs have resolved, the radiographs look normal, and the antibody level has stabilized (note antibody levels may never fully drop to zero). Ketoconazole, itraconazole, and fluconazole are the usual drugs to treat this condition. Monitoring liver enzymes is important with all of these, particularly since long treatment courses are common.
In order to certify your dog’s hips, we will need to quickly anesthetize or sedate your pet for radiographs (x-rays). In addition to traditional hip-extended radiographs, we use a special device to hold your pet in position and retract the legs/hips in order to produce radiographs that will allow radiologists to measure the displacement of the femur in your pets’ hips (Compression and Distraction radiographs). These measurements (Distraction Index – or DI) provide a way to predict hip laxity, dysplasia, and osteoarthritis. The lower the DI, the tighter the hips. For more information, ask your pets’ veterinarian, or visit www.pennhip.org.
Hip Dysplasia Treatment
Responsible breeders are always trying to reduce the risk of hip dysplasia in their dogs blood lines. One way to achieving this goal is to have an accurate test for susceptibility to this disease. A recent study attempted to look at the differences in the two most common tests.
Diabetes Treatment
Thyroid Disease Treatment
Knee Problems Treatment
Heart Disease Treatment
The patient with a cough is likely to have x-rays taken of the chest. Findings will not be specific to Valley Fever; large lymph nodes and lung infiltration will likely be found. The point is to rule out other conditions that are more readily identifiable on radiographs such as heart disease, tracheal collapse, or more localized forms of pneumonia. When these more obvious conditions are ruled out, further diagnostics will be needed.
Kidney Disease Treatment
Dental disease is linked to kidney failure and heart disease in both dogs and cats! These life-threatening conditions are more likely in pets who don’t receive regular dental care.
At Aztec Animal Hospital, we understand how frightening it can be to have surgery and anesthesia on your pet. That’s why our skilled team uses state-of-the-art equipment and stays with your pet from start to finish. Before surgery, we will spend the time to answer all of your questions and address all of your concerns so you can feel confident leaving your pet in our care. You will be given an estimate before surgery and we request that you be available by phone if we need to reach you with any updates on surgery or changes to the estimate. The most common reason we need to reach you during surgery is to approve advanced dental care such as applying antibiotic gel to infected pockets or removing teeth that are painful or diseased.
Spaying and Neutering
We are also faced with an overpopulation of animals. Too many animals are euthanized every year because they can’t find good homes. You can help by spaying and neutering your own pets. This will cut back on quite a few pets!
It has been estimated that 60 percent of animals and people that become infected with this fungus never get sick. It is only when antibodies indicating past infection show up on a blood test that infection is discovered.
X-Ray
Dental Radiology
We also offer x-ray, dental x-ray, ultrasound in house or with a specialist, heartworm testing, FeLV/FIV testing, tick-borne disease testing, and much more!
We also provide Purina and Hill Science Prescription Diets, such as Purina UR/XO for struvite and calcium oxylate crystals in cats. Is your pet overweight try the Purina OM diet, perhaps your senior pet is experiencing renal failure maybe Purina NF or Hills K/D is the diet for your pet. Do you have a diabetic cat/dog try Purina DM for cats or EN Fiber Balance for dogs this is a very palatable diet and helps to regulate your pets diabetes.
Dr. Plunkett has over 25 years of emergency & critical care experience here in the Valley. She is the nationally recognized author of the textbook, Emergency Procedures for the Small Animal Veterinarian (3rd Edition) and has been published in several veterinary periodicals and journals. Born in Michigan, Dr. Plunkett moved and grew up in Phoenix, AZ. She graduated from Greenway High School, attended Glendale Community College and Arizona State University. She graduated from Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys membership with several veterinary associations including AVMA, AzVMA, VECCS, and Society of Critical Care Medicine. Her professional interests include general practice, geriatric care, critical care, toxicology, and transfusion medicine. We are pleased to have her expertise and experience added to our team.