Comprehensive veterinary services in Friendswood, TX
At Heritage Animal Hospital, we offer a variety of services to care for your pet. If you have any questions or would like more information on how we can care for your pet, please contact us today.
Comprehensive Exams
Comprehensive exams are a key component to maintaining your pet’s health. Here at Heritage, we pride ourselves on a thorough physical exam, evaluating every body system—whether the pet came in for an ear problem, limping, or even a behavior issue. The veterinarian can pick up potential problems on physical exams such as heart murmurs, skin growths, and dental disease that if caught early and treated, may prolong the length and quality of your pet’s life. Having a thorough discussion with the pet owner can also give can the veterinarian clues as to what other tests might be needed to diagnose a disease. We recommend that every pet be fully examined at least once a year even if they are not due for any vaccinations. Senior pets would also benefit from exams every six months.
During the physical exam, your veterinarian will:
- Check your pet’s ears, nose, throat, and teeth
- Check for enlarged lymph nodes
- Listen to the heart and lungs
- Palpate the abdomen to feel for any abnormalities
- Perform a short orthopedic exam to look for arthritis or joint pain
- Perform a rectal exam and check the anal glands
Your veterinarian will also look for any potential problems. Our goal is to catch any problems before they become major ones. The sooner that we are able to catch a problem, the easier it is to treat it and the more likely that your pet will make a full recovery!
Dentistry
The most effective way to protect your pet from dental disease is through professional cleanings. We perform thorough cleanings, including the area beneath the gums that you can’t see or access at home. If your pet has brown/yellow teeth, bad breath, or is having difficulty eating, these could all be signs of dental disease. Please call us today to learn more and schedule your pet’s dental cleaning.
Diagnostics
Our hospital provides a wide variety of in-house diagnostic testing with the most state-of-the-art technology available. It is our goal to provide your pet with the highest level of care possible, and our diagnostic tools help us do that.
Our diagnostic tools include the following:
- Bloodwork
- Urinalysis
- Fecal intestinal parasite testing
- Digital X-ray
- Dental digital X-ray
Digital Radiology
At Heritage Animal Hospital in Friendswood, TX, we are proud to be on the cutting edge of medical technology. Digital radiography is a diagnostic tool we use to look inside the body in a completely non-invasive way. X-rays allow us to create images of all the body’s organs. In other words, the use of radiology gives us a view of the internal organs in your pet’s body that we otherwise could not see. It’s an important diagnostic tool that helps veterinarians detect and prevent illnesses.
Digital radiography provides the best quality image available and is fast and efficient, allowing for quick adjustments if a film needs to be retaken. The image literally pops up on a computer screen within seconds of taking the X-ray. We can even e-mail images to veterinary radiologists for consultations if needed.
The images produced by digital radiography are of much better quality than film radiographs and can be manipulated digitally, giving us the best possible radiographic information to help us diagnose your pets.
The use of radiology is safe, and our entire staff is highly trained. It is our goal to provide your pets with the highest level of medical care possible, and this is just one of the many ways we achieve that.
Microchipping
Every year, thousands and thousands of pets go missing. Not knowing where your pet is or how to bring them back can be a helpless, hopeless feeling. It’s a tragedy that happens all too often. But there is a simple, safe, and effective way to ensure your pet’s safety and retrieval, should they ever become lost. Microchipping is a standard procedure that implants a tiny chip underneath your pet’s fur. It is a painless and relatively fast procedure and is completely safe. This microchip is registered with your pet’s vital information and can be scanned by any veterinarian or animal shelter so that they can return your pet directly to you.
Pharmacy
We offer a fully stocked pharmacy to fill your pet’s prescription needs. Having an on-site pharmacy provides you with a more convenient way to get your pet’s medication. We hope that this will save you time and ultimately enhance your experience with us.
Preventive Medicine
Regular checkups allow us to establish a baseline in your pet’s health and make us aware of any changes that may indicate future problems. We highly recommend bringing your pet in for regular exams. Oftentimes, health problems that go undetected can become more serious issues when left untreated, so check-ups are important even when your pet appears healthy.
Vaccinations
There are a variety of diseases that affect our pets and other animals. This makes proper vaccination vital in protecting them from the many types of illnesses they are susceptible to. It’s important to consult with us about the unique risks of living in our region. We will be happy to discuss the benefits of protecting your pet with vaccinations, as well as provide you with information on the required vaccinations for your pet.
Parasite Prevention
The idea of your pet being infested with parasites is a disturbing thought, but it’s also a medical issue that can have serious consequences if not properly dealt with or prevented. Parasites pose a variety of health issues for our pets, who can be very susceptible to certain parasites depending on age, region, and other factors.
At Heritage Animal Hospital, we emphasize the importance of preventing parasites. Through preventive measures, you can successfully protect your pet. But pets that are not protected often develop parasites, leading to serious problems for them and their owners.
The cost of prevention is minimal compared to the cost of treatment, which can be expensive and stressful on your pet. Parasites like heartworm can even be fatal, so preventing parasites is of the utmost importance.
Surgery & Anesthesia
We believe in utilizing the highest level of medical technology, and our doctors are experienced and highly trained. We also realize that it can be stressful to have your pet undergo surgery. We want to assure you that your pet is in good hands and that we will do everything to provide the best care possible. We will communicate with you about the things you need to know before, during, and after your pet’s surgery. It is our goal to make the entire process go smoothly and to eliminate the stress and worry of surgical procedures.
Common surgical and anesthetic procedures include:
- Ovariohysterectomy (spay)
- Castration (neuter)
- Growth removals
- Laceration repairs
- Biopsies
- Cystotomy (bladder stone removals)
- Dentals and tooth extractions
Emergency surgeries can also be performed and often include foreign body removals and splenectomies.
Every pet undergoing anesthesia has a pre-operative blood profile performed to check organ function and to determine if the patient is at increased risk for the procedure. A sedative is then given, and an IV catheter is placed for IV fluids or emergency drugs, if necessary. The pet is then intubated and hooked up to a variety of monitors that read the amount of oxygen present in the blood, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and EKG. There is a technician with the pet at all times, watching the monitors and alerting the doctor to any abnormalities. During the recovery process, the surgical technician stays with the patient until they are 100% awake from the procedure. They are then checked on frequently to make sure they are holding adequate body temperature and recovering normally.
Laboratory
Tests Recommended Annually
We have capabilities to send lab work out for wellness and/or specialized testing.
Heartworm testing: It is important to test your dog on a regular basis for heartworms even if you give the medicine monthly, because there are areas in Texas and other parts of the country where heartworms have been found resistant to many current preventions. These tests can be run in the clinic or sent to the lab.
Fecal exams: These look for internal parasites. Dogs and cats can carry some internal parasites that people may be susceptible to, so it is important to test them every year. We perform fecal centrifuge in the clinic, which is a more sensitive test than fecal flotation alone.
Tests Recommended for Sick or Senior Pets
We often recommend these tests yearly or every other year for pets over seven years of age in order to catch a disease early in the process. With treatment, we may increase the length and quality of your pet’s life.
Complete blood count: This test looks at the number of your pet’s red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This is an important test for diagnosing infection, anemia, clotting problems, and dehydration.
Blood chemistries: These tests look at organ function, fat level in the blood, blood sugar, protein level, and calcium and phosphorus. This test is very important in diagnosing liver and kidney disease and even some cancer and hormone problems.
Electrolytes: Evaluation of electrolytes is important to diagnose certain hormone abnormalities and when determining the proper type of fluid therapy.
Urinalysis: This test evaluates the urine for signs of infection, crystals, and kidney disease. This test can also aid in diagnosing hormonal diseases, such as diabetes and adrenal disease.
Laser Therapy
We are proud to offer laser therapy for our patients. Laser therapy reduces pain. It is helpful for arthritis, soft tissue injuries, to promote wound healing, and after surgical procedures.
We are dedicated to utilizing the highest standard of veterinary technology, and laser therapy is one of the ways in which we stay on the cutting edge of our field.
Nutritional Counseling
Obesity is a common problem among pets, as it can be easy to over-feed a pet that knows how to beg. But being overweight is a serious problem for animals, and it can cause real health problems as they get older. With proper diet and exercise, all pets should be able to meet their dietary needs and be within a healthy weight range.
Pet’s nutritional needs change as they enter different stages of their lives. The best way to make sure your pet’s needs are being met is to consult with us about a diet made specifically for his or her lifestyle.
Telephone Consults
We are offering phone consults at this time to offer those who may be ill or can’t come into the hospital the opportunity to still receive excellent veterinary information, advice, and care for their pet.
The consults are $51 for a 25-minute appointment.
Please call, email, or complete this form to book a telephone consult with one of our veterinarians.