Services Provided by Lesslie Animal Hospital

Rabies	Rabies virus attacks the brain and is fatal.  Most pets are expposed to rabies by bites from wild animals such as skunks, raccoons, bats, or foxes.  The disease can be transmitted to humans through the bite or scratch of an infected pet.  Vaccination of all dogs and cats is the best means of control and is required by law.
Distemper	Distemper is a very contagious viral disease that causes nervous system and respiratory distress and is often fatal.  Vaccinating for this should begin at six weeks of age as it is common for young, unvaccinated puppies to contract this virus.
Adenovirus types 1 and 2	Type one is also known as hepatitis and leads to severe kidney damage.  Type two can be a complicating factor in kennel cough.  Vaccines agains these should begin at six weeks of age.
Parainfluenza	This is a respiratory disease which can cause "kennel cough".  Infections can be very severe and vaccinations should begin as early as 6 weeks of age.
Parvovirus	Parvo causes severe vomiting and diarrhea in pets of any age, but is most common in puppies.  This is extremely contagious and can live in the soil for quite some time after an infected pet has been in the environment.  Vaccinations for this begin at six weeks of age and are boostered in three week intervals as a puppy and then yearly as an adult.
Coronavirus	This, also, is highly contagious and can weaken dogs by causing diarrhea and vomiting.  This can be confused with Parvo and in some cases infects dogs at the same time as Parvo
Bordetella	This bacterial infection can occur at the same time as distemper, adenovirus typ 2, parainfluenza, and other respiratory infections.  This is easily transmitted from pet to pet even without physical contact.  Bordetella is an airborn virus.  Any pet that comes into contact with pets outside of the home should be vaccinated against this.  Those pets include dogs that are boarded, groomed, go to pet stores, go to parks, etc.

Lesslie Animal Hospital's surgical area is equipt with water circulating heating units to regulate pets' body temperatures while under anesthesia. Surgical patients are monitored closely while under anesthesia. There is a blood pressure monitor used to ensure their blood pressure stays within normal limits and a technician is by the pet's side at all times while under anesthesia to monitor pet's color, breathing, and blood pressure and also to monitor the gas anesthetic. Patients undergoing lengthy procedures have an IV catheter placed in their leg to enable the pet to get IV fluids throughout the procedure. The fluid therapy helps to regulate their blood pressure, and the IV cathether gives the staff a port to give injections quickly and effectively during surgery should the need arise.

Pets do feel pain just as people do, and for that reason we feel pain management is an important part of the care your pets receive when they come in for surgery.  Patients who have surgery are given an injection of pain medication as they wake up and are sent home with medication to alleviate pain for several days following their procedure.

Why is dental care important?

• Food residue, bacteria, and saliva accumulate on teeth.
• Gums become irritated and painful to your pet.
• Teeth decay and can become infected making it very difficult for your pet to eat.
• Bacteria can get into the blood stream traveling to the kidneys and even to the heart.  This can cause very serious health problems for your pet including eventual heart failure.

What can you do at home to aid in your pet's dental health?  Below is a list of products that help prevent tartar and plaque accumulation:

• Aquadent is a water additive that can be poured into your pet's water bowl.  This product helps fight plaque and freshen breath.
• CET Toothpaste is a pet-fruendly paste that can be used daily or as often as desired.  This will brush away soft plaque before it hardens onto teeth.
• Purina DH or Science Diet T/D can be used as treats or as a steady diet.  Unlike milk bones and regular dog food that crumble when your pet bites them, these are specifically designed to allow the tooth to penetrate them.  This will help "scrub" the teeth as your pet eats.
• Oravet Plaque Prevention Gel is a once weekly, easy alternative to brushing.  It takes as little as 60 seconds to apply and acts as a barrier keeping plaque from attaching to the teeth.

What is involved in a dental cleaning?

• Blood work is done to check the kidney and liver, organs that process the anesthesia through your pet's body.  This blood work also checks to make sure their red blood cells are adequate (important for carrying oxygen while under anesthesia) and that there is no underlying infection in the body.
• Antibiotics are given orally several days before and after the dental cleaning.  This is a preventative measure, because dentals stir up a lot of bacteria in the mouth.
• IV Fluid Therapy helps to regulate your pet's blood pressure during anesthesia, pushes the anesthetic through the body, and keeps your pet well hydrated throughout the procedure.
• The dental cleaning itself has four steps:       1.  Scaling.  This removes tartar from both above and below the gum line.       2.  Polishing smoothes the surface of the pet's teeth and helps to reduce future buildup.       3.  Flushing will remove the dislodged tartar and bacteria from the teeth.       4.  Oravet Barrier Sealant (similar to the Oravet Plaque Prevention Gel for home use) creates an invisible barrier that prevents plaque and tartar forming bacteria from attaching to the teeth.

For canine patients a heartworm test is done annually to ensure that pet's have not acquired heartworm disease.  Heartworm disease is easily spread by mosquitos and is best prevented by giving your pet a monthly heartworm prevention.  Even those pets that never miss a dose of prevention should be tested yearly as there is a slight chance that if a prevention is missed, if the pet vomits before an oral prevention is fully digested, or if an online prevention has been used that is ineffective the pet could still contract heartworm disease.  This test can be done in our office and only requires taking a very small amount of blood.  In most cases results are available within 10 minutes.

Our feline friends should be tested at some point for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids.  These are two viruses that can be spread from cat to cat during mating, fighting, birth, and in some cases even during casual contact.  This test can be done in our office and only requires taking a very small amount of blood.  In most cases results are available withing 10 minutes.

As pets age their bodies may not function as well as they once did.  For this reason Dr. Setzer encourages annual labwork for senior patients. 

Chemistries performed evaluate the function and health of the kidneys, liver, and pancreas.  Labwork also checks calcium and phosphorus which are helpful in determining the health of bone metabolism.  Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, and phosphorus) are important in monitoring the electrical, water balance, and cellular health of the body.  Deficiencies or excesses of these are harmful to an animal’s physical and mental well being.  A T-4, or Thyroid Function Test, is useful in diagnosing increased (hyper) or decreased (hypo) functions of the thyroid gland.

Labwork performed may also includes a CBC and urinalysis.  A Complete Blood Count, or CBC, tests for anemia, infection, inflammation, and the healthiness of the blood cells.  The urinalysis assesses the health and function of the urinary system.  This is especially important in older animals to help with early detection of kidney disease.

Bloodwork is also very important prior to anesthetizing pets for any type of surgical procedure or dental cleaning.  Whether a pet is young or old, bloodwork is done prior to anesthesia to check kidney and liver function as these are the organs that process the anesthesia through the body.  A blood glucose check is included as well as a CBC, described previously.  Infection, anemia, or inflammation can cause complications with anesthesia or with the procedure itself.  For the reasons listed above bloodwork is highly recommended any time a pet is anesthetized for any procedure.

Therapeutic bloodwork is necessary for pets on long-term medication.  This labwork can serve many different purposes.  Some long term medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, over time can adversely affect the kidney and liver.  For this reason those functions are monitored a minimum of every six months to catch problems early on should any arise.  Patients on medications for seizure control need Phenobarbital levels checked periodically to monitor the level of medication in the blood stream.  This is important for two reasons:

1.        If a pet does not have enough medication in the blood stream to be considered in “therapeutic range” the frequency and severity of seizures may increase.  In this case the medication’s dose may need to be increased.

2.        If the level shows too much of the medication in the blood the quantity given to the patient may need to be decreased.  We never want to give a pet more medication than is necessary to treat any condition.

When pets have an under-active or over-active thyroid gland medication is needed to regulate the gland and allow it to function properly.  A T-4 is done twice yearly as a minimum to ensure that the pet’s thyroid gland is functioning properly and that the medication’s dose does not need to be adjusted.

There are many important reasons to do bloodwork on patients.  Above only lists the most common reasons.  We describe these to you in an effort to allow you to better understand why these things are so important in providing your pets with long and healthy lives. 

Multipet discounts may apply.

Bath prices start at $10

Groom prices start at $25

Cat prices start at $40

Kat, the groomer, has over 10 years professional experience and provides haircuts to fit your pet's personality!

Call anytime during normal business hours to schedule an appointment. (803) 324-8890

Below is a price list for common breeds and some common grooming terms.

Groom:  all of the above plus a full body haircut

Hand Scissoring:  hand scissoring is an all over body cut using just scissors

Low-Shed:  a bath with a deep coat conditioner that bonds to the hair and then is removed by force dryer.  This removes over 80% of dead hair.

Puppy Groom:  bath and brush; plus trimming face, feet and tail