 Veterinary medicine has advanced leaps and bounds over the past few decades. Laser therapy is one of the most recent additions, allowing us another method to safely treat a wide range of conditions in dogs and cats.
We use our Companion Therapy Laser every day to enhance healing for surgical patients, decrease pain and inflammation from infections and injuries, and improve mobility for arthritic pets. Many clients ask about how laser therapy works, and how it affects their pets. Here are answers to our most common questions:  Your pet's oral health is about more than fresh breath! Advanced dental disease can cause illness elsewhere in the body as bacteria enters the bloodstream through inflamed gums. This can cause infection in the kidneys, liver - even the heart! Dental disease is also painful. As tartar builds up, the gums become red and irritated. Tartar buildup creeps below the gumline, eventually eating away at the structures that secure the teeth. A loose tooth is a painful tooth! What is a dental prophylaxis? A dental prophylaxis (or dental cleaning) is the only way to thoroughly remove tartar buildup from all of your pet's teeth and allow for a "clean slate" to provide at-home oral care & maintenance (and hopefully prevent the need for future anesthetic procedures)  For your pet's safety and to ensure a thorough cleaning, this procedure must be performed under general anesthesia. Precautions are taken to optimize safety, such as pre-anesthetic bloodwork, EKG & radiographs of the chest to detect abnormalities that may affect your pet's ability to handle anesthesia. All pets are monitored both manually and with electronic biometric equipment throughout anesthesia. Once under sedation, we use an ultrasonic cleaner to remove all traces of tartar that has accumulated on the surfaces of the teeth, as well as the calculus that we cannot see below the gumline. We use a special probing instrument to measure the gingival depth surrounding each tooth. This helps us locate pockets of bone loss that may identify a diseased tooth that otherwise appears healthy to the naked eye.  In addition to physical measurement, we use dental radiography to locate signs of disease. Look at tooth #105 in this photo. To view it from the outside, it looks perfectly normal - but the dark shadows around the root in the dental x-ray reveal bone loss all around. This is a diseased tooth that will cause pain and discomfort very soon if not extracted. We ask for pre-authorization for extractions when you drop your pet off for his procedure. Our goal is to minimize anesthetic time, and don't want to extend it if we're unable to reach you by phone. Know that we only perform extractions if absolutely necessary (i.e. the tooth is or will soon be causing pain to your pet). The veterinarian will use local anesthetic injections prior to extracting diseased teeth, and post-operative laser therapy is performed afterwards to minimize inflammation and jump-start the healing process. Can't I just brush my pet's teeth? YES, we strongly encourage everyone to include daily toothbrushing in their pet's routine. However, brushing alone is not enough to remove tartar that has already hardened on the teeth. It's as tough as cement, and adheres so strongly to the surface of the tooth that it must be removed manually with an ultrasonic cleaner. After we've removed all the calculus, we polish your pet's teeth with a fluoride toothpaste (using a prophy cup just like at your dentist). This smooths out any microscopic scratches from the cleaning and provides a clean surface for you to start at-home oral maintenance. How much does it cost?Because every case is unique, we will provide a written treatment plan with an estimated range at the time of recommendation. The size of your pet and the severity of dental disease are the primary reasons for variation.
February is National Dental Health Month - check out our special offers here!
Protecting pets and people is the top priority here, and that's why vaccination is required by PA State Law. Recent amendments to the law may affect you as a pet owner, so we're sharing some key points:
Vaccine reactions are uncommon, but can be very serious, and in some cases, life-threatening. Know what's normal, and when to be concerned about your pet following a vaccination. Of course, if you're ever concerned about your pet's health, we encourage you to call us! Better to be safe than sorry. :) 
Is your pet microchipped? Great! This permanent ID has proven time and time again to be an effective backup for lost collars and tags. But it doesn't stop at just having a microchip implanted!
The #1 reason for microchipped pets NOT reuniting with their owners is that the contact information in the database is incomplete or incorrect. August 15 is "Check the Chip" Day, so take a few minutes to log in and make sure the info linked to your pet's microchip is up-to-date. Not sure where to go? Visit www.petmicrochiplookup.org and enter your pet's microchip number to find out where the chip is registered. If you're having trouble finding your pet's microchip number, call us - we can help! 
 Summer vacation is here! Time for festivals, BBQs, and - of course - family trips.
As a pet owner, booking your airline tickets and hotel room are only part of the preparation. Who will care for your pets while you're gone? There are a few options:
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