Fishers Veterinary Hospital is proud to offer our clients a wide array of services for their pets, ranging from Oncology to Primary Care. If you would like to learn more about any of our listed services, please call 317-842-5865.
Wellness Care
Regular visits to the veterinarian are the cornerstone of your pet’s health. Pets age faster than people and regular visits allow us to diagnose health issues early, often when they are more easily addressed.
During your pet’s wellness exam, we will perform a physical assessment. We will also make sure your pet receives appropriate vaccinations and preventives. We may perform a diagnostic workup, which could include blood and urine tests to check for underlying diseases.
What are your recommendations?
If you have any questions about your pet’s weight, oral health, new lumps you may have noticed, or any other concerns please give us a call at 317-842-5865 or email us at customerservice@fishersvet.com.
Senior Pet Care
We love Senior Pets! Senior pets have special needs, and benefit from more regular veterinary visits compared to their younger counterparts. Age-associated conditions include:
- Arthritis
- Dental Disease
- Heart Disease
- Liver Disease
- Kidney Disease
- Endocrine Disorders
These conditions will start to become more prevalent as your pet gets older. For this reason, we recommend twice-yearly veterinary visits for pets over 7 years of age. Your aging pet may be showing early signs of osteoarthritis such as stiffness after rest or play, difficulty going up or down stairs and reduced activity. Early intervention with joint supplements and prescription arthritis medications when indicated, along with modified nutrition and exercise plans, can greatly improve your pet’s comfort and mobility. Likewise, performing annual screening lab work on your older pet can help identify early stages of medical problems that might go unrecognized, and progress significantly without treatment.
Some pets experience age-related behavioral changes that can be a sign of cognitive dysfunction, which is similar in some ways to dementia. Your veterinarian can recommend diet modification and supplements to help improve your older pet’s mental sharpness. Getting older doesn’t have to be fraught with troubles for your pet… see your vet regularly to help keep your senior pet healthy and comfortable.
Puppy & Kitten Care
Congratulations on your new family member! Getting off to a great start with your new puppy or kitten is an important step to maintaining lifelong wellness.
Schedule your puppy or kitten for his or her first exam as soon as possible. Until your new pet has received a series of vaccines, he or she is susceptible to many serious but preventable diseases.
Typically, we see our puppies and kittens around 8, 12, & 16 weeks. At these visits various vaccines and deworming are performed.
- Here you will find our vaccine and worming protocol for puppies
- Here you will find out vaccine and worming protocol for kittens
If you are planning to bring a new puppy or kitten home, please give us a call at 317-842-5865 or email us at customerservice@fishersvet.com.
Behavioral Medicine
- Anxiety
- Aggression Issues
- Indoor Potty Behavior
Internal Medicine
- Cardiology
- Urology
- Gastroenterology
Surgery & Related Services
At some point in your pet’s life, they may need a surgical procedure. Whether your pet is having an elective surgery such as spay or neuter, or an emergency surgery for intestinal obstruction, you can rest assured that our staff will provide the very best care possible for your pet.
Our facility offers the following surgical services for companion animals:
- Routine spay and neuter
- Non-elective surgeries
- Dentistry
- Abdominal and soft tissue procedures
- Orthopedic surgery
In the best interests of our pet, we require a physical examination appointment with one of our doctors prior to scheduling procedures. Before the procedure is scheduled, our staff will explain the process including:
- Any pre-surgical testing that is recommended – baseline laboratory testing is beneficial so that there are no surprises on surgery day. Knowing that your pet has normal blood test results can help prevent anesthetic complications or surgical complications such as excessive bleeding, which can occur when patients have low platelet counts or abnormal clotting. When there is liver or kidney disease, this may affect the choices of anesthetic drugs recommended by your veterinarian, to prevent anesthetic complications and promote a smooth anesthetic recovery.
- Food and water intake restrictions prior to surgery – a period of fasting may be necessary prior to your pet’s procedure. Our staff will let you know what is advised.
- What procedures are to be done on the day of surgery – from initial intake to sedation and general anesthesia, anesthesia monitoring, the procedure and recovery, the staff will walk you through what will happen with your pet once you leave the hospital.
- Discharge and aftercare for your pet – some patients may be able to go home the same day as their procedure, whereas others may need an overnight stay or referral to a 24-hour care facility. The veterinary team will advise you as to what is best for your pet, and also discuss aftercare for your companion and any rechecks needed.
Diagnostic Care
When your pet is sick or injured, they can’t tell us what’s wrong. A thorough physical exam and history (symptoms you’ve noted at home) are the first important step. If the diagnosis is not immediately evident upon initial assessment, your veterinarian will recommend specific diagnostic tests. These may include:
- Laboratory testing for baseline blood counts and organ function tests, or infectious disease. Blood and/or urine samples may be collected from your pet, for point-of-care testing, or reference lab tests. Point-of-care tests are those tests that are done on-site in our hospital so as to be able to determine results and make treatment recommendations in the most timely fashion possible. In other cases, lab samples may need to be sent off to off-site laboratories (reference laboratories) – when the test cannot be performed with in-hospital lab equipment, or when the test results are not needed urgently.
- Imaging such as x-rays or ultrasound, which allows diagnosis of conditions of the heart and lungs, gastrointestinal obstruction, tumors of the internal organs or bones, fluid in the chest or abdominal cavity, urinary stones or gallstones, reproductive diseases, and bone/joint disorders. For most patients, gentle restraint can be used for these procedures, however, in some cases, sedation may be necessary.
- Microscopy is quite useful in the evaluation of lab samples such as ear swabs, skin impressions and scrapes, and needle biopsies of tumors. These tests are helpful in diagnosis of dermatologic and otic (ear) conditions.
- Ocular conditions may warrant evaluation for tear production (Schirmer Tear Test), corneal injuries (fluorescein stain), or abnormal intra-ocular pressures (Tonometry).
Diagnostic testing is an important step in the development of a treatment plan for your pet, allowing your veterinarian to most effectively target the underlying problem(s) and assess the probability of successful treatment. Your veterinarian can explain the purpose of each diagnostic test for your pet, and help prioritize which tests may be most helpful in determining the cause of your pet’s illness.
In-House Laboratory
When your pet becomes suddenly ill or in event of an emergency, timely diagnostic test results are extremely important to help your veterinarian determine the best treatment plan. We have state-of-the-art in-hospital laboratory equipment capable of yielding lab results within minutes. Baseline laboratory testing for your sick pet may include:
- Determination of blood cell counts: changes in white blood cell counts, red blood cell counts, and platelet counts can indicate problems such as anemia, dehydration, infection, auto-immune disease, and certain types of cancerous conditions
- Blood chemistry tests: these tests assess liver function, kidney function, blood sugar, blood proteins, calcium and phosphorus levels, and pancreatic function.
- Electrolyte tests: Sodium, potassium and chloride levels may be abnormal when your pet is dehydrated or having fluid losses through vomiting or diarrhea. Intravenous fluids and/or supplementation may be indicated when electrolytes are severely deranged.
- SNAP tests: point-of-care “snap” tests are available for certain infectious diseases such as Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, Canine Parvovirus, Giardia, and Leptospirosis.
- Coagulation tests: these tests detect deficiency in clotting disorders, which can be present in cases of certain kinds of rodenticide poisoning and in severe liver disease/failure
- Microscopy: microscopic evaluation of bodily fluids including blood, urine; samples of skin and ear secretions, and needle biopsies of swellings or tumors can be performed in-clinic to assist in the diagnosis of systemic diseases, urinary disorders, skin and ear diseases, and differentiation of benign vs. cancerous tumors.
Our veterinary team will help explain which tests are most important for your pet. It is very important to us to include you in the decision-making process for your pet, so please don’t hesitate to ask a question if you need clarification.
Parasite Control
Pets are a part of our families, and preventing parasite infestations is an important part of keeping them healthy. Both ectoparasites (external parasites) and endoparasites (internal parasites) can affect your pet at some point in their life. Ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks, are not only a nuisance to your pet, but can transmit vector-borne diseases to humans and pets such as Bartonella (cat scratch disease, transmitted by fleas); Lyme, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. Fleas can also cause a severe dermatologic condition for your pet resulting in very itchy, inflamed skin, due to flea allergy dermatitis.
Roundworms are the most prevalent endoparasite in pets. Others include hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Pets are typically infected with these parasites through accidental ingestion of parasite eggs (which are microscopic) from areas that have fecal contamination from other infected animals. Alternatively, some parasites are acquired through ingestion of intermediate hosts such as rodents (Taenia tapeworm species; Toxocara roundworm species) or fleas (Dipyllidium tapeworm species). These parasites are also a health risk to humans and are considered zoonotic – meaning they can be transmitted from animals to people. For example, if a person accidentally ingests roundworm eggs, the larvae can migrate in the body and cause organ damage and potentially blindness. Hookworm larvae in the soil and grass can infect bare skin and cause a condition in people known as cutaneous larval migrans.
Heartworm is another important endoparasite, but one which is not zoonotic. Heartworm infections result from pets being bitten by infected mosquitos. The larval form of the heartworm travels through the bloodstream to the heart where it develops into an adult. The adult heartworms live in the right side of the heart and left untreated, result in progressive heart failure and death. In initial stages of heartworm disease, pets may be asymptomatic. As the condition progresses, symptoms may evolve including a cough and exercise intolerance in dogs, and vomiting/coughing in cats. Treatment of heartworm disease can be very risky for the pet, and very costly.
Because of the health risk to your family and pets, it is important to keep your pet on a year-round parasite prevention program. There are several preventives that when used properly, are very effective at greatly reducing the risk of your pet acquiring heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, and tick transmitted diseases. Additionally, you can help prevent the risk of zoonotic disease to your family by practicing good hygiene (frequent hand washing), avoiding eating unwashed raw vegetables or undercooked meats and cleaning up pet feces in your yard. For more information about pets and parasites, visit petsandparasites.org, and consult with one of our friendly staff!
Nutritional Care
- Nutritional Counseling
- Prescription Diets
Cancer Treatment
- Onology
- Medication
- Chemotherapy
Alternative Medicine
- Acupuncture
- Laser
Happy Visits
Chances are you have been the owner or witnessed a pet that hates coming to the vet. This may be the dog who must be dragged in through the door of the clinic, the pooch the spends the whole exam shaking in the corner, or the cat that hides in the carrier.
Some of these animals become so fearful it turns into aggression – growling, biting or lunging when at the clinic. This stresses everyone out- pet, owners, and staff!
Thankfully, this is one problem that is extremely easy to prevent- all we have to do is create positive experiences instead of negative ones.
How do I create a positive experience for my pet at the vet?
As an owner, you can do your part by bringing your dog in for lots of Happy Visits.
Even though we do our best to make your dog’s routine and medical visits as painless and happy as possible, nothing beats a visit that is 100% fun – with no exam, vaccines or treatments at all! If we provide our dogs with as many completely fun visits as possible, their positive experiences at the clinic will outnumber the negative ones, and they will come to view the clinic as a fun place to be.
Happy visits are beneficial for dogs of all ages!
If you have an adolescent or adult dog who is fearful or stressed when she is at the hospital, happy visits can be a fantastic way to turn the process around! With very proactive and frequent happy visits, a dog that is nervous at the hospital can easily be turned into a dog who adores coming in! For puppies this process is especially helpful as regular happy visits will set your puppy up a lifetime of good feelings about the veterinarian. Puppies that are proactively handled this way grow up to be a joy to examine! These are the dogs that lie relaxed on the floor for their nail trims and snooze through their blood draws. No stress involved for owners, dogs or the veterinary team!
Happy visits are so easy to do!
Simply stop by with your dog and let your dog get lots of free attention and treats. We always have a wide variety of treats on hand ready for spoiling your dog! Your dog gets to come to the clinic and experience nothing but cuddles and treats – how great is that?
Happy visits can be a quick pop-in for a dog cookie in the waiting room, or a longer relaxed session in the exam room with a peanut butter stuffed Kong! Yum!
If you are interested in scheduling a happy visit, please give us a call at 317-842-5865 or email us at customerservice@fishersvet.com.