Care For Your Senior Pet

For our senior companions, who are seven years old and older, we provide a comprehensive physical exam along with annual vaccinations. The exam is specifically targeted toward the needs of an aging pet because we believe early detection and prevention of diseases for pets of all ages is essential.

By taking the time to learn more about the special needs of your senior pet, you've taken the first step toward ensuring your pet leads a healthy and happy life for many years to come.

Pets in their senior years begin to go through a gradual reduction of their physical capabilities. This process can be slowed and managed through proper veterinary care, which offers your beloved companion an extended period of vitality and good health.

Additionally, preventive care tailored to your pet's age, lifestyle, risk factors and other elements can help prevent common diseases or detect them at early and easily treatable stages.

There is also an important role for you to play as your pet's primary caregiver. While you cannot control age-related decline, you definitely can influence your pet's activity level, living conditions, access to quality senior veterinary care, and daily nutrition. With our support, you can manage these factors in order to prolong your pet's good health, vitality, even as his or her pace slows a bit.

At Warrenton and Wright City Veterinary Clinics, we offer an Early Disease Detection package that can be personalized to address the specific needs of your older dog and cat. This plan provides a history of your pet's health that allows us to monitor your companion at a time when small changes can be detected. We want to identify health problems before they become serious concerns or even life threatening.

Our senior plan includes:

• Complete blood count
• Full chemistry blood panel
• Complete urinalysis
• Blood pressure monitoring
• Thyroid test

These tests are not time intensive or difficult to do and can be performed during routine wellness exams.

Pharmacy

We have a fully stocked pharmacy to accomodate almost all medications for your convenience and the prompt recovery of your pet. In most cases, refilling your pet's prescription is effortless and his or her prescription can usually be filled by the end of your visit.

We are pleased to be able to offer home delivery on any of your pet's prescriptions. You can purchase your pet's products over the phone or in person and it will be delivered to you within 2-3 business days.

The leading veterinary compounding pharmacy that we partner with is as committed as we are to providing the highest quality medications at reasonable prices. By combining our resources, we are able to have most medications formulated in enticing flavors, and in either liquid or transdermal form for easier and more precise dosing for those pets that are hard to medicate.

If there are any products that we do not normally keep on hand that you are interested in, please let us know and we'll be happy to help you find them and place a special order at no additional charge.

Microchipping

We use the Avid Microchip identification system to help ensure your pet has a permanent ID that can't be lost like tags and collars.

There are millions of lost pets every year and unfortunately many never make it back home because of lack of identification. Implanting a microchip into your pet increases their chances of returning home to your family safely. The process of implanting the chip takes only seconds and can be placed during any office visit. Microchips are also relatively inexpensive but if they ensure the safe return of your pet, they're priceless.

Shelters and veterinary clinics all over the world have scanners that can read the Avid microchip.

Nutrition Counseling

We offer prescription diets and nutrition counseling as needed during office visits.

Why is this important? Pets are living longer, healthier lives than ever before and a big part of that is due to our expanded knowledge of the importance of proper nutrition to overall health. In fact, nutrition is the biggest health variable controlled by the pet owner.

During your pet's comprehensive physical examination, we can evaluate his or her body condition and give nutrition recommendations based on what we see.

For most pets, our recommendations will include information on proper serving size and other feeding strategies to maintain optimal body weight and nutritional health. We will also help you wade through the claims made by pet food manufacturers so you can make the most informed choice.

Prescription Diets

Some pets have more serious nutritional challenges or chronic conditions that can improve by eating a special diet. If we identify such an issue with your pet, we offer advice and provide information about diets that aid in the treatment of such specific medical conditions such as liver disease, bladder and kidney stones, renal failure, food allergies, diabetes and other conditions.

We carry a diverse inventory of prescription foods. If your pet requires a prescription diet we do not carry, please ask if we can order it for you.