Frequently Asked Questions
We do not offer payment plans for general procedures or emergencies through our clinic. However, we do accept Care Credit and Scratch Pay which is a form of an official payment plan.
We do offer wellness plans, which are monthly payments for yearly vaccines and heartworm prevention.
If your pet is having an emergency during our hospital hours, please call us at (540) 586-4290.
If your pet has an emergency after hours, please contact one of the following emergency facilities in our area:
Never give your pet medication intended for people unless your veterinarian has prescribed it. Most over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), can have serious, potentially life-threatening side effects including liver damage and GI ulceration. Always consult with your veterinarian before giving any medication. Please know that veterinarians and veterinary clinics cannot give dosing and other information over the phone if they have not seen your pet, or if an exam is needed for the condition you are describing.
We recommend annual blood work to establish a baseline for your specific pet and to detect infections and diseases. Even in seemingly healthy pets, these may be lurking underneath. In many situations, early detection is essential for more effective treatment. The type of blood work will be determined specifically for each pet depending on his or her individual needs. This annual blood test is convenient to do at the time of your pet’s annual heartworm test, but it can be done at any time of year.
Spaying and neutering is generally done between 6–8 months of age. However, there is some new research to show that certain type of breeds like the Golden Retriever, Boxer, German Shepherd and others that may benefit from postponing the operation. We will discuss your pet’s individual recommendations.
Learn more here:
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/when-should-you-neuter-your-dog-avoid-health-risks
For puppies and kittens, we generally start vaccines between 6–9 weeks. Please bring a stool sample with you to this visit as many puppies and kittens (even in the best of conditions) can harbor parasites. After the initial vaccine, they will receive updates or booster vaccines every 3–4 weeks until they are over 16 weeks. This is the time their antibodies start forming and the antibodies they received from their mother start going away. We will discuss particular vaccines with you at your visit.
We are seeing an increase of heartworm cases in this area of Virginia. Because heartworm treatment can be dangerous and life-threatening, the most safe and effective thing to do is prevent it. While your pet may be at low-risk, we cannot predict when and where we will encounter mosquitos, the vector that spreads heartworm disease. These can and will come into your house.
Even if heartworm prevention is not your major concern, these preventatives also prevent hookworms, roundworms, and sometimes tapeworms and whipworms. Some of these parasites can not only be dangerous to your pets, but can be spread to humans! We see QUITE a bit of these parasites in our area!
You don’t need an exam for every flea and tick medication.
However, there are some medications that are required to have an updated exam (or valid client-patient relationship) for the veterinarian to prescribe to you. These do include the flea and tick prevention by mouth such as Nexgard and Simparica.
We highly recommend the lyme vaccine even if your pet is on flea and tick prevention. This vaccine not only protects your pet, but can actually PREVENT the tick from transmitting lyme to other animals or even you! The newest version of the lyme vaccine is highly effective, and they are actually using veterinary technology to develop a lyme vaccine for people! The most common side-effects are the same for other vaccines and include lethargy, pain at the injection site, low-grade fever, and overall soreness. More severe reactions are not common.
Whenever your pet stays with us, we will discuss what to do in case of an emergency. This does not mean that we are expecting something to occur. Much like every flight attendant must go over what could happen in case of an emergency, we just wish to be prepared and know your wishes.