The Best Wellness Care for Your Pet
At Divine Animal Hospital in Vero Beach, the hospital’s medical staff recommends regular wellness examinations for the same reason that your personal physician or dentist recommends them─if a health problem or issue can be detected in its early stages, there is a greater likelihood that it can be resolved and treated with less difficulty, less expense and greater success. We strongly encourage that your pet receive regular wellness examinations, vaccinations, regular laboratory work, deworming and fecal checks, as well as medications to prevent heartworm, fleas and ticks.
Wellness exams at Divine Animal Hospital are extremely comprehensive and include:
- Examining your pet's teeth, throat and oral cavity
- Checking your pet's vision and eyes
- Examining ears for infection, ear mites, allergic reaction and other related health issues
- Assessing your pet's heart and cardiac function
- ECG and blood pressure
- Examining the skin
- Palpating lymph nodes and abdomen
- Examining the respiratory system
- Evaluating internal organ function and other systems
- Monitoring your pet's blood count and serum chemistry
- Performing laboratory tests to determine the presence of specific diseases
- Assessing changes in your pet's health since the last wellness visit
- Urinalysis
- Fecal check for the presence of intestinal parasites
Your Vero Beach Pet's Vaccinations
The veterinarians and staff at Divine Animal Hospital are strong advocates of preventive care. To offer your pet optimal care and a long, healthy life, we believe it is important to identify problems before they become serious medical issues.
Vaccines are the best way to protect your pet against serious diseases and bacteria. While some vaccines prevent common infectious diseases, others protect against dangers present in a pet’s lifestyle. Divine Animal Hospital follows the vaccination protocols recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), thus ensuring that your pet receives the very best possible protection. Annual vaccinations are recommended, and Canine Bordetella is recommended every 6 months.
The suggested vaccine schedule for puppies and kittens is as follows:
Canine:
- 6-8 weeks: Bordetella, Coronavirus, Distemper Parvo Parainfluenza Adenovirus Combo (DA2PP)
- 8-12 weeks: Coronavirus, Da2pp, Influenza, Lyme Disease
- 12-14 weeks: Da2pp, Influenza, Lyme Disease, Rabies
- 14-16 weeks: Leptospirosis
- 16-18 weeks: Leptospirosis
Feline:
- 6-8 weeks: Bordetella
- 8-12 weeks: FVRCPC, Feline Leukemia (FELV) , FIV
- 12-16 weeks: FVRCPC, FELV, FIV, Rabies
Parasite Prevention and Control
Parasites can be real pests. Both external (fleas, ticks) and internal (heartworm, hookworm, roundworm) parasites can cause problems for both your pet and your family. Prevention is the best approach to eliminating these pests. Please ask a staff member at Divine Animal Hospital for the best way to prevent parasite problems in your pet.
Heartworm Disease
Spread by mosquitoes, heartworm disease is serious disease. Fortunately, preventive medications exist to prevent heartworm disease in your beloved companion. The veterinarians at Divine Animal Hospital recommend administering preventive medication once-a-month, all-year long.
Comprehensive Senior Pet Care
At Divine Animal Hospital, we take pride in providing compassionate senior pet care, including pain management services like laser therapy and stem cell therapy.
As with humans, pets in their senior years—those of about seven years of age and older—begin to go through a gradual reduction of their physical capabilities. With your veterinarian's help, you can manage these factors in order to prolong your pet's good health, vitality and increase his or her well-being, even as his or her pace slows a bit.
Senior Pet Wellness Exams
During your senior pet's routine physical examination, you'll be given an opportunity to discuss concerns regarding your pet's aging in detail. Your veterinarian may include specialized lab work to detect the early signs of disease. Because a mature pet's condition can change significantly in a short period of time, we recommend that families bring in their senior pets approximately every six months.
Great Home Care for Your Senior Pet
During your pet's senior exams, your veterinarian will discuss ways you can help maintain your older pet's health at home, such as:
- Avoid excessive weight gain. Your veterinarian may recommend an exercise program as well as a special senior pet food.
- Keep your pet's living area clean, dry and warm at all times.
- If possible, regularly check your pet's mouth for reddened gums, loose teeth or unusual swellings. Check eyes for redness, unusual cloudiness, discomfort and discharge. Check ears for wax build-up, discharge or unusual odors.
- Thoroughly groom and inspect your older pet's skin regularly. Look for lumps, bumps and wounds.
- If your older pet's eyesight is impaired, avoid relocating furniture and changing his or her surroundings. Also, try not to drastically change your pet's daily routine.
- Any changes associated with eating, drinking or elimination should be noted and discussed with your veterinarian, as these may be manifestations of disease.
Vero Beach Exotic Animal Care
We offer optimum wellness care programs for pocket pets such as hamsters or gerbils. Since it is often difficult to determine if an exotic pet is ill, we strongly recommend physical examinations twice a year to check for health problems plus annual monitoring to check for nutritional and husbandry-related conditions.
If your exotic pet needs intensive care or hospitalization, you want to be sure that your veterinary hospital is specifically equipped to care for exotic species. Divine Animal Hospital has the technology, training and know-how necessary to treat your exotic pet.
Spays and Neuters
Of the many surgical procedures we perform at Divine Animal Hospital, spays and neuters are perhaps the most common—and the most important. Our skilled, experienced veterinarians perform these routine procedures with the focus on your pet’s comfort. We want these procedures to be done with as little pain as possible for your pet. That’s why we offer full anesthesia services, as well as comprehensive veterinary pain medicine.
When your puppy or kitten is ready for their spay or neuter, your veterinarian will discuss the procedure with you and answer any questions you may have. When you bring your pet to Divine Animal Hospital, you can be sure that your pet’s procedure will be as comfortable and pain-free as possible.