Adult Dog and Cat Care in Chillicothe, OH
Keeping your pets healthy and living longer, happier lives
Prevention is the Best Medicine
Routine Health Care Exams Reduce Overall Cost of Care
As medical professionals we understand that maintaining the health and well-being of your pet while also reducing the overall cost of care, requires a focus on preventative care. This is why Tharp Animal Health Care Center recommends routine health exams that include vaccinations and screenings for a number of common diseases. As medical professionals and pet owners ourselves, we truly understand how important animal companions are to each and every one of our clients. Your pet is a special, unique and important member of your family.
Preventative Care Recommended Yearly
- Nose-to-tail wellness checkups
- Proper dental care
- Appropriate vaccinations
- Proper screenings for a number of common diseases
- Microchip Identification Checked
Your Pet's Health Care Checkup Includes:
Routine Examination – Provides an opportunity to develop a picture of your pet’s overall health and to spot potential medical issues before they become serious health concerns.
Listening to your pet’s heart – Early signs of cardiac disease such as heart murmurs and abnormal heart beat patterns known as arrhythmias can be heard through a stethoscope. Discovering these initial indicators of an underlying condition will lead to treatment before it becomes a more serious health threat.
Listening to your pet’s lungs – Health issues such as infections, obstructive diseases and other problems can be detected by listening to your pet’s lungs through a stethoscope. The doctor can also assess the overall pulmonary health of your pet.
Checking your pet’s teeth and oral cavity – Infections and other forms of dental disease can lead to very serious systemic health issues. We will also take the time to discuss proper home dental care with you.
Evaluating your pet’s vision – Ocular conditions—such as glaucoma, corneal ulcers and dry eye—can be prevented or better treated through regular care and screenings.
Looking into your pet’s ears – Ear disease is relatively common in many types of pets. Regular examinations can prevent most forms of ear disease from developing or stop its progression.
Palpating the lymph nodes, abdomen and skin – By feeling these areas, we are looking for unusual lumps or swellings as well as evaluating the skin for discolorations, lesions or patterns of hair loss or thinning, which could be signs of serious health issues.
Palpating joints and muscles – By examining the joints, legs and other areas of the body, we are able to evaluate for swollen joints, decreased muscle tone and variations in muscle size between the limbs that may indicate developing orthopedic or neurological issues. In older pets, we look for signs of arthritis, which can be treated.
Lab work – A complete physical includes a heartworm test and should include a full blood workup. A full chemistry panel and complete blood count can screen for the presence of underlying disease processes and create a baseline should your pet become ill between routine examinations.
Parasite Testing – Checking your pet for intestinal parasites is an important component of any preventative care plan for your pet and your family. For example, parasites such as hookworms are considered zoonotic, which means they can affect you and your children.
Flea, Tick and Heartworm Prevention
Parasites aren’t just a pain for your pet—they can affect you and your family as well. That’s why prevention is key. Tharp Animal Health Care Center offers a parasite prevention product that is specific for your pet.
Fleas and ticks are tiny parasites that can have a big impact on your pet's health. Flea infestations can lead to more serious skin diseases and even allergic reactions in your pet. Ticks are a leading carrier of Lyme disease and untreated pets run an increased risk of contracting this disease.
Heartworm is a serious, life-threatening disease that affects both dogs and cats. Left untreated, heartworms can lead to damage to the heart, lungs and, in some cases, death. Infected mosquitoes are the primary carriers of heartworms. Symptoms are slow to appear, but include coughing, difficulty breathing, and lack of energy in dogs, and convulsions, diarrhea, fainting, rapid heart rate and lethargy in cats.
Vaccines: Safe and Effective
Vaccinations are not only safe and effective, they are an important and fundamental piece of your pet’s preventative healthcare plan.
Tharp Animal Health Care Center’s vaccination protocol follows American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines and is carefully tailored to the lifestyle and particular health needs of your pet. We are also able to offer the relatively new transdermal Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) vaccine, which deposits the vaccine directly into the immune-rich layers of tissue just under the top layer of skin. This method does not use a needle and requires a lower volume of vaccine, which decreases the pain and discomfort of the injection as well as possible negative reactions.
Our veterinarians truly believe that our carefully balanced approach is the best means to prevent infectious disease and the possibility of your pet having an adverse reaction to a vaccine.
Microchips: Reliable, Permanent Identification for Your Pet
Does your pet have a microchip? Each year, millions of pets go missing and many don’t make it back home. Microchipping your pet is a safe, simple and effective way to prevent this tragedy. About the size of a grain of rice, identification microchips are encoded with your pet’s vital information and implanted beneath your pet’s skin, usually between the shoulder blades. Veterinary hospitals and animal shelters across the country and around the world are equipped with special scanners capable of reading these microchips. The information in the chip is used to reunite you with your pet.
Tharp Animal Health Care Center uses the HomeAgain microchip system. HomeAgain provides a number of very useful services to pet owners such as their National Pet Recovery Database, Lost Pet Specialists, Rapid Lost Pet Alerts, Lost Pet Medical Insurance, Travel Assistance for Found Pets, and more.
Specialized Health Care Exams
In addition to our overall wellness exams, Tharp Animal Health Care Center offers a wide range of specialized wellness exams designed to take a closer look at specific areas of the body to evaluate their health and diagnose disease. These services include:
Geriatric – Generally speaking, when a pet reaches 7 years old it is considered to be in its senior years. Our senior wellness program includes diagnostic tests designed to catch problems associated with aging before they become difficult and expensive to treat. Your veterinarian will talk with you about how we can ensure your pet’s senior years are the best of his or her life.
Ocular – The eyes are a very important and complex area of the body. Their function is something of a miracle and one that is critical to the well-being of your animal. Unfortunately, there are a number of diseases and conditions that can affect the healthy function of your pet’s eyes. Fortunately, we are able to screen for and treat many of these diseases. Of these conditions glaucoma is the most common cause of blindness in pets. Regular tonometry (intraocular eye pressure) exams can detect glaucoma in its earliest stages when it is easiest to treat.
Orthopedic – Conditions of the bones and joints, such as arthritis and hip dysplasia, can affect pets at any stage of life, but most particularly in their senior years. They also tend to be quite painful and difficult to treat without surgery in their later stages. Evaluations of the joints and bones can lead to early diagnosis and treatment before more serious conditions occur.
Neurologic – It is not uncommon for dogs and cats to develop disorders and illnesses or suffer injuries to the brain and spinal cord that affect the central and peripheral nervous system. These can include seizure disorders, neuropathies (numbness in the extremities), herniated disks, and more. As with all disease and injuries, early diagnosis and treatment are very important.
State and International Certificates – Animals and certain animal products that cross state or international borders often, if not always, require certification stating the animal or product is healthy and free of infection or signs of infection of contagious disease. Only licensed and accredited veterinarians are authorized to complete these certificates.
Beyond the above, Tharp Animal Health Care Center is able to offer an even greater range of specialized examinations to ensure the health and well-being of your pet.
Additional Health Care Services
Dermatology and Allergy Testing – Itching, scratching, and hot spots are all signs of allergies and skin conditions in pets. Allergies to pollen, dust and fleas are all very common and treatable, but if left untreated they can fester and become serious health concerns. No matter what your pet’s skin condition, veterinarians at Tharp Animal Health Care Center can provide the necessary dermatological care. Special tests are used to identify the cause of your pet’s skin condition and establish a treatment plan. We will also take the time to explain your pet's condition, how to prevent future occurrences and the proper method of home treatment.
Nutritional Counseling – Tharp Animal Health Care Center understands how important a quality diet is to your pet’s overall health. The veterinarians on staff can help develop a nutritional plan specifically for your pet, whether he or she is overweight or requires a specialty diet for medical reasons. During your pet’s comprehensive physical examination we evaluate his or her body condition and give recommendations. We can also offer advice and provide information about diets that benefit specific medical conditions such as liver disease, bladder and kidney stones, renal failure, food allergies and other conditions. The doctors will direct you to the correct prescription diet food that is best for the health of your dog or cat.
Behavioral Counseling – Behavior problems are the number one reason that owners give up a pet. Tharp Animal Health Care Center offers behavior counseling for many of your pet's problems including inappropriate urination or defecation, aggression, separation anxiety, inappropriate chewing and barking, introduction of new pets into the household and household pets that are in conflict with one another. Oftentimes a behavior problem, such as inappropriate voiding, can be linked to a medical issue (cystitis, bladder stones, and kidney disease). We can also refer the owner of a pet with a behavior problem to those more specifically trained in behavior categorizing and behavior modification. There is great success with pets with behavior problems when linked with the right animal behaviorist. See Referrals page under Services.
Senior Care Program for dogs and cats – This is perhaps one of the most important services we provide our pets. Seniors are far more susceptible to a range of diseases than younger pets, but fortunately many of these diseases, if caught early can be cured or managed. This is why regular twice yearly examinations and screenings for your senior pets are a critical piece of the care we provide. See our subtab Senior Pet Care.