This is our new MedRX videootoscope.  We use it primarily for ear examinations, because it allow us to see much more clearly what the ear canal and eardrum looks like.  Ear disease is very common in pets, and this machine helps us greatly in our diagnostic efforts.  We can also flush and suction ears with a lot of ear wax and even remove hard wax balls and foreign objects quite easily with the videootoscope.

Look closely at the monitor screen of the videootoscope in this picture and you will see what the ear canal and eardrum of a dog's ear looks like.

Heska's new Urine E.R.D. test is a test for small but significant amounts of a protein in the urine called albumin.  This is the first thing that will show up in chronic kidney failure, long before your pet shows any symptoms of being ill.

Chronic kidney failure is the leading cause of death in both dogs and cats.  I often say that kidney failure is to older pets, as heart disease is to older people, in that they are both very common.  If we can detect chronic kidney failure in its early stages, we can do a lot to manage the disease and slow the progression down.  If we don't detect it until your pet starts to show illness, we can't do as much to help your pet.

A Urine E.R.D. screen is needed annually in pets five years of age and older.

This is a new product, Genesis Spray.  It is a topical formulation of a corticosteroid called triamcinolone which has very potent actions against the itching caused by allergies.  It also is not absorbed into the inside of the body, so it doesn't produce the side effects, such as excessive thirst, excessive urination, and excessive appetite that oral forms of corticosteroids can produce.  Another advantage is that you don't have to give your pet a pill to manage the allergy.    

When leaving your veterinary clinic, have you ever thought, "I sure wish they had insurance for pets!"?  Well now they do!  Veterinary Pet Insurance now offers very affordable health insurance for both health maintenance and to help you provide medical care to your pet during an illness or following an accident.  Veterinary medical technology is advancing, just as it is in human medicine.  While this means we can do a lot more to help our ill or injured pets, it also means that veterinary care can be quite expensive.

With Veterinary Pet Health Insurance, you can affordably provide your pet with the best in veterinary care.

This is Metacam, a new potent pain reliever for dogs suffering from arthritis.  It is a nonsteroidal antiinfammatory (NSAID) drug, similar to Celebrex in human medicine.  Unlike some NSAID's, Metacam has far less likelihood of side effects and therefore is safer than most other arthritis pain releivers.

How do you know if your dog has arthritis pain?  Early in the course of the disease you will only notice stiffness in the legs after resting.  (Yes, stiffness means pain. Pain is why the dog acts stiff.)  You may also see difficulty jumping up, or going up and down stairs.  As the athritis progresses your pet will become less and less active and will sleep a lot.  Your dog may also start to act more grouchy, because of the pain it is feeling.  Many people think this is just how an older dog acts, but the truth is that many times inactivity and aggressiveness in older dogs are due to arhtritis pain.

To see if your dog is suffering from the pain of arthritis, ask us about putting your dog on a therapeutic trial prescription of Metacam.