Lifetime Wellness for Dogs and Cats
Wellness Exam
University Place Veterinary Hospital is committed to providing comprehensive and personalized veterinary care to your pet in order to enhance their quality of life. The foundation of your pet's health is through the practice of preventative care, which includes a complete physical examination at least once a year. It is also our responsibility to empower you with the information necessary to provide the best and most compassionate home-based care for your pet.
Perhaps the most important piece of your pet’s care is strong client/doctor communication. It is important that you tell us how your pet is doing and any concerns you may have in order to continuously adjust and optimize your pet’s care in a timely manner.
New Puppy or Kitten
Congratulations! We are very excited that you have a new member in your family! Puppies and Kittens are a lot of fun to have in the home, but they require some special attention in order to assure they are happy and healthy companions for years to come. Comprehensive physical exams at key developmental stages are important. This is also the time to screen for and treat damaging parasitic infections such as worms or giardia (a common intestinal parasite).
We offer puppy and kitten well-care packages for the first six months of life to make sure all the important things are taken care of, and to give you plenty of visits to provide you with opportunities to ask all the questions that come to mind regarding your pet's care
During your visits with us, we will work with you throughout your pet's life to make recommendations and discuss preventative care with you. We believe in addressing all the life stages of your pet and more importantly have age appropriate discussions with you. From the "baby" stage through the terrible twos, from adolescence to adulthood continuing right through the senior years, we will be here for you each step of the way.
Microchip
If your pet goes missing, you want them returned home as soon as possible. A microchip is a simple, effective way to ensure your pet returns home safely. Microchips are about the size and shape of a grain of rice. Microchips are implanted beneath your pet's skin, usually between the shoulder blades, in a procedure similar to a vaccination. Each microchip is encoded with unique information about your pet; this information is stored in a national database. Veterinary hospitals and animal shelters across the country are equipped with special scanners capable of reading these microchips. If your pet is lost, the microchip is scanned and the information is used to reunite you and your pet.
University Place Veterinary Hospital uses the Home Again microchip system. The cost is $41.58 and we will register your information for you online. Home Again 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.
Pharmacy
For your convenience, University Place Veterinary Hospital maintains a fully-stocked pharmacy. We provide a wide range of medications for your pet. Our friendly, highly trained staff is available to answer any questions you may have about your pet's medication.
Not only does our pharmacy mean you don’t have to wait for important medicines for your pet, but there is a direct line of communication between the examination room and the pharmacy window. Each medication becomes part of your pet's medical record, which reduces the chance for errors and enhances our ability to monitor its use and the outcome for your pet.
Refills are easy too. Simply give us a call or e-mail us online and we can have them ready when you request it.
Nutritional Counseling
One of the key factors contributing to the improved health and longevity of companion animals is our expanded knowledge on the important role that proper nutrition plays in overall health. During your pet’s comprehensive physical examination we evaluate his or her body condition and give recommendations based on what we see. However, some pets with nutritional issues or chronic conditions such as diabetes require a little bit more intervention, which may include specialized foods, feeding strategies and even prescription diets.
University Place Veterinary Hospital has trained staff available to help you with your pet’s nutritional challenges. 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, diabetes and other conditions.
If we believe a prescription diet is in your pet’s best interests, we carry a diverse inventory of these foods and can also order a wide range of prescription diets and nutritional supplements for you.
Senior Wellness Program
Dogs and cats in their senior years may have slowed down a bit, but they are no less important members of our families. However, changes to their bodies occur rapidly and they become more susceptible to diseases such as cancer, arthritis, dental disease, diabetes, and heart disease.
This is why we recommend a geriatric exam tailored to your pet’s age and condition. Our senior wellness program includes a range of diagnostics designed to catch problems associated with aging before they become difficult and expensive to treat. Our packages provide increased levels of care and are recommended based on the age and care needs of your pet.
After your pet reaches age seven, your veterinarian will talk to you about how we can help ensure your pet’s senior years are the best years of their life.
Internal Medicine
Your pet has access to a full complement of veterinary medical care at University Place Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Luttinen and his associates are experienced in treating a variety of veterinary medical cases, with a focus on:
- Cardiology
- Ophthalmology
- Neurology
- Dermatology
- Gastroenterology
- Oncology
- Endocrinology
We also believe that it is important to educate you regarding your pet’s condition and treatment options. We are more than willing to take the time to provide you with a full understanding of the tests being performed, your pet’s condition and recommendations for treatment
Veterinary Referrals
We are lucky to have a Board Certified Veterinarian on our team. The American Board of Veterinary Practitioners advances the quality of veterinary medicine through certification of veterinarians who demonstrate excellence in species-oriented clinical practice. ABVP Diplomates have a common desire and willingness to deliver superior, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary veterinary service to the public.
If your pet’s best interest is served by referral to a particular specialist for care, your veterinarian will make that recommendation. After a determination is made, we will work with you to find a specialist that meets your pet’s unique needs and then coordinate communication between our facility and the specialist. Not only is it important that they receive necessary medical information from us before your pet is treated, but we must receive test results, diagnoses, and recommendations from the specialist in order to ensure continuity of care.
