Through the life of our pets there are distinct stages requiring individualized preventive care for each stage. Our team typically develops your pet’s wellness plan centered around their age, lifestyle, breed, and history. During your pet's wellness examine the DVM performs a complete physical to assess your pet's overall health. Preventive care services offered during wellness exams can include vaccinations, dental care options, parasite control (heartworms, intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks), microchipping, and general behavioral counseling).

Important Note: We recommend all puppies to have intestinal parasite testing such as fecal float and giardia testing.

Dental disease is the number one health issue affecting 80% of dogs and 70% of cats over the age of three, according to the American Veterinary Dental Society. A professional dental cleaning is needed to remove tartar buildup and manage dental disease. Symptoms of dental disease include bad breath, a yellow to brown crust on teeth (plaque/tarter), red and swollen gums, loose tooth, or missing teeth, and/or difficulty eating. During a dental cleaning, your pet will be put under anesthesia so that we can remove the tartar from their teeth.  Full mouth x‐rays are taken to look for hidden disease under the gum line.  Once the cleaning, and any needed tooth extractions are completed, your pet’s teeth are polished to help slow daily plaque build‐up.

Our Intra‐oral radiographs are made using small digital sensors placed inside the patient’s mouth.  The sensors provide the images for the DVM to examine, the radiographs will either be individual teeth or the upper or lower jaw. They are organized in the same manner as when human dentists take annual radiographs. Because veterinary patients will not cooperate when the sensor is placed in their mouth, taking dental radiographs requires the patient be under anesthesia.

Radiographs, or X‐rays, are one of the most common and useful diagnostic tools because of their ability to penetrate tissues and form an image of your pet’s bones and organs for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. If we suspect your pet has a fractured bone, a foreign object in the GI tract, or is suffering from a heart problem, X‐rays will aid in the diagnostics. Typically for obvious ailments such broken limbs the diagnostic evaluation will end with radiographs; however, if a foreign object is suspected then your DVM may recommend a barium study to show more accurately where the object is located and possibly the size of the object. This is typically done when the object is not visible without a coating. The barium coats the foreign object, giving it a contrast when the next x‐ray is taken.

Ultrasound produces a real‐time moving picture of your pet's organs that allows us to visualize details that cannot be detected by X‐rays alone. Ultrasound is a non‐invasive and painless procedure. Ultrasonography is used to evaluate specific organs. With ultrasound, we can assess the shape, size, tissue density, internal structure, and position of your pet's abdominal organs, and assess cardiac health (also called an echocardiogram). Images taken during your pet’s ultrasound are sent to a board‐certified veterinary radiologist Idexx Laboratories. These images are reviewed, and a report of their analysis is returned in a timely manner of the ultrasound procedure.

Protecting your pet's health is why we are here. We have an in‐house diagnostic laboratory allowing us to go over the results of the bloodwork the same day often before the appointment is over.  More comprehensive testing of blood samples or biopsied tissues are sent to offsite laboratories such as NDSU, Texas A&M, or a specific laboratory meeting specific needs to your pet’s test.

Routine surgical procedures include spaying, neutering, mass removals, gastrointestinal surgery (exploratory of foreign bodies), cystotomy (bladder stone removal), and many more. Whether it is a routine spay, or a gastrostomy, your pet will be carefully monitored by our veterinary technicians. We use advanced monitoring equipment including ECG, pulse oximetry, and blood pressure to help ensure your pets’ safety during anesthesia. When your pet is ready to go home, we will review their postoperative care and new medications. If any questions arise after your pet returns home or at any other time during the postoperative period, call us. We welcome your questions and will do all we can to help your pet recover fully.

When it comes to deciding what to feed your pet, one thing is for sure, there is no shortage of choices. Every animal is an individual therefore the adage of “one size fits all” does not apply when it comes to pet food.  Your DVM will provide guidance for your pet’s nutritional needs for each stage of life and various medical conditions.  We offer three AAFCO tested brands of therapeutic veterinary diets: Royal Canin, Hill’s Prescription Diets, and Purina Veterinary Diets.  For those pet parents who prefer to feed home cooked diets or raw diets, we can help make sure you are feeding your pet a balanced and nutritionally complete meal.

We co‐op emergencies with Bismarck Animal Hospital so our staff and their staff are not on call for more than 2 weeks at a time. If you call after 4pm with the emergency, you will be asked to call Bismarck Animal Hospital if they are on call. It is our recommendation you call right away. Primarily so the clinic with knowledge of your pet can care for your pet. We are here to help; it is often difficult to tell when your pet needs emergency or urgent care.  Knowing the answer to a few questions like bowl movements, drinking and eating, and/or vomiting.  These are important factors in determining the best protocol for your pet. Albeit, listening to your own gut is the best pet parent thing you can do. We recommend booking and appointment, typically we can see your pet the same day or as late as the next. The other option is to fill out a drop off form.

We are dedicated to maintaining your pet’s comfort and quality of life for terminally ill or geriatric pets until a natural death occurs or humane euthanasia is elected.  When you have elected to schedule a quality‐of‐life appointment for your pet, if you could please let the receptionist or technician know this your first time making this decision. Our DVMs and technicians can better explain the details and the procedure. We know whether it is your first or 100th they are all difficult decisions to make. We are here to answer your questions and provide comfort for you when you say, “goodbye.”

Therapeutic lasers emit a single wavelength of light in the near infrared spectrum which penetrates the skin, muscle, tendons, and ligaments to promote healing. Laser light stimulates healing by increasing circulation, reducing inflammation and pain, thus promoting cell growth.  Laser therapy is non‐invasive and can be used in a variety of conditions such as ear infections, back pain, bladder inflammation, arthritis, and many other conditions.  Owners generally notice pain relief within the first one to three treatments.

CANNOT BE USED IF CANCER IS SUSPECTED