Radiology Services: On-site X-ray equipment provides high quality radiographs to aid in the quick diagnosis of many disorders.

Ultrasound: This non-invasive, state-of-the-art technology uses sound waves to painlessly examine specific internal organs, primarily the heart and abdominal organs. Pregnancy exams are also available.

Laser Therapy: Deep penetrating laser therapy aids in pain relief and healing time for injured or arthritic pets. It is a non-invasive, safe therapy that uses advanced light wave technology to gently stimulate cells. Laser therapy can help pets with arthritis, skin conditions, chronic ear infections, wound healing and many other conditions.

Laboratory: In-house laboratory facilities provide for serum chemistry, hematology, serology, urinalysis and parasite testing. We also utilize commercial veterinary laboratories for specialized diagnostics and consultations.

Our pet wellness services include:

• Wellness Exams – Regular wellness exams are the first line of defense for protecting your pet’s health. Your veterinarian can examine your friend from snout to tail for any signs of skin diseases, eye/ear problems, obesity, behavioral abnormalities and other issues that might require earliest possible treatment.
• Disease Screening Through Blood Testing – Blood tests allow us to screen for a variety of diseases and disorders, from systemic illnesses and organ failure to parasitic infestations. The sooner we identify any lurking problems, the sooner we can prescribe the correct treatment to get them under control.
• Flea And Tick Prevention – Your pet should have round-the-clock protection against fleas and ticks, which not only irritate the skin but can also spread serious diseases. We can provide that protection through a program of monthly medication.
• Heartworm Testing And Prevention – Heartworm, a parasitic invasion of the heart and lungs, can be fatal to your pet. We test for heartworm so we can provide the appropriate treatment as early as possible. But treatment is a complex affair for dogs and a risky one for cats, so Our veterinarian also provides medications to prevent infestations from occurring.
• Microchipping – ID tags can be lost or torn off of collars, but a microchip always remains under your pet’s skin. This tiny transmitter shares your pet’s unique ID information when scanned, allowing whoever finds him to contact you.
• Nutritional Counseling And Weight Control – Pets need a precise mix of nutrients to maintain optimal health; we can advise you on how and what to feed your special pal. If your pet is overweight, we can recommend a customized dietary and exercise plan to help him avoid the dangers of obesity.
• Vaccinations – Vaccinations against specific disease threats such as distemper and rabies can spur your pet’s body to develop critical, possibly lifesaving immunity. But vaccinations need to be updated from time to time so the protection doesn’t wear off. That’s why your veterinarian also provides vaccination update reminders so you’ll always know when it’s time for that next booster shot.

Why Vaccinations Matter

So, why is keeping your dog up-to-date on all its vaccinations so important, anyway? For starters, vaccinations and immunizations help to protect your dog from any number of diseases and illnesses, so they help keep your pup happy and healthy. Not to mention, keeping dogs properly vaccinated reduces the spread of disease and keeps the canine population as a whole in better health.

Of course, if you ever board your dog or bring it to a doggy daycare or dog park, you will also need to provide paperwork proving that your pet is up-to-date on these vaccinations.

Rabies Vaccine for Dogs

One of the most important vaccines your dog will need throughout its life is the rabies vaccine for dogs . Generally, a dog is first vaccinated against rabies as a puppy, and the vaccine is repeated a year later. From there, most dogs are good to receive the vaccine in three-year increments for the rest of their lives. This helps to protect them from contracting this serious and contagious disease that can otherwise be spread to other animals and even humans.

Other Required Dog Vaccinations

Aside from the rabies vaccine, there are a number of other dog vaccinations that may be required for your pet. For example, the DHPP vaccine is typically recommended once every three years once your dog hits adulthood, and DHLPP may also be recommended by your vet depending on your dog’s specific risk factors.

Bordatella is another common vaccination given to dogs to protect them from a bacterial illness that can cause a hacking, painful cough in dogs and is highly contagious. Your veterinarian will be able to help you determine whether or not your dog should receive this vaccine and, if so, how often.

Why Trust Our Eaton Rapids Veterinarian?

Our Eaton Rapids veterinarian staff here at Snow Animal Health Care has years of experience in administering vaccinations and immunizations to dogs and other pets alike. Allow us to make sure your dog is up-to-date with its vaccinations during your next visit. Our team will also take the time to explain any vaccinations and their potential side effects or risks before we administer them so you’re well informed.

The Importance of Cat Vaccinations

If cats’ bodies produced all the disease immunity they needed from birth, there would be no need for vaccinations. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. The mother cat transfers some disease protection to her kittens, but after a few weeks that second-hand protection vanishes and the kittens are left vulnerable to some extremely dangerous diseases. To “jump-start” the body into creating antibodies against these diseases, we administer a vaccine. A vaccine is a killed or inert sample of the disease organism that still bears enough resemblance to the live disease to fool the body into producing antibodies to fight it.

Core Vaccinations from your Veterinarian

Your veterinarian can provide essential or “core” vaccinations when your kitten is just a few weeks of age. These core vaccinations are required protection against some of the worst disease threats commonly faced by the cat community. Chief among these killers is rabies, a neurological infection that always kills its host and is easily transferred by the bite of a rapid animal. Your cat also needs core vaccinations against rhinotracheitis, panleukopenia and feline calici virus. Some cats also benefit from optional vaccinations against disease such as Bordatella or feline leukemia. We can discuss whether your cat might need such elective vaccinations.

Scheduling Cat Vaccinations

Several rounds of core cat vaccinations administered during the first year of life provide solid disease protection — but don’t assume that you’re finished scheduling cat vaccinations! Vaccines eventually lose their potency, which means that your cat will lose his immunity. That’s why your Eaton Rapids veterinarian will recommend a schedule of booster shots to help keep your cat as safe and healthy as possible, year after year. It’s a reflection of the compassionate care and attention to detail that we work to provide for every patient at our clinic.

Dental problems in pets can take a variety of forms. The most obvious problem is a broken or infected tooth that is causing your pet acute pain. If your pet have obvious tooth damage, refuses to eat, chews with difficulty or refuses to be touched on the head or face, we may need to perform dental extractions or other treatments to resolve the issue. Dental extractions not only end your pet’s discomfort, but the extraction of a diseased tooth can help preserve the health of surrounding teeth.

The most common threat to pets’ dental health is periodontal disease — in fact, most cats and dogs aged 3 or older have at least some periodontal disease. This inflammatory condition of the gum tissue is caused by the buildup of a sticky substance called plaque on the teeth, both above and below the gum line. The plaque, which eventually hardens into a stubborn material called tartar, attracts bacteria, creating an inflammatory response that eats away at the gums and bone that hold the teeth in place. Not only can pets lose their teeth to this painful condition, but the bacteria can also move on to other parts of the body, including the vital organs, to create a serious systemic infection. Oral cancer is another serious danger. This aggressive, ultimately deadly cancer may not show any obvious symptoms to owners until it has already become highly advanced.

Here are some of the surgical services we offer at our Eaton Rapids Veterinarian office.

• Spay–This simple surgical procedure is routine in the veterinary world. It is simply sterilizing your female pet so she can’t breed. It is done with general anesthesia and a small incision. Pets can go home the same day.
• Neuter–Also routine, this sterilizes your male pet, preventing him from impregnating a female one. Like with the spay procedure, the neuter also eliminates the sexual drive in the animal if it is done at a young enough age, so he won’t be acting out in this way with other pets, either. Neutering is done under either general or regional anesthesia, and most pets can go home the same day. Recovery is quick and virtually painless. Spay and neuter procedures are among the most common surgical procedures in veterinary medicine.
• Declaw–If you’re tired of having your cat scratch you or the furniture (or both), you can opt to have yours declawed. This procedure involves taking off the top joint on each of your cat’s toes, since the claws are located there. Your pet will usually stay with us overnight, and will need bandaging and heavy painkillers for a few days after the procedure.
• Gastropexy–Usually done on dogs, this procedure untwists a bloated stomach by attaching it with sutures to the abdominal wall. It can prevent stomach rupture from the build-up of gasses trapped by the twisting. It is also used to treat acid reflux disease in dogs.
• Biopsy and Mass Removal–If your pet needs a biopsy, we can do it. We are also able to remove anything on your pet that shouldn’t be there. Both procedures can be done under general or regional anesthesia, and your pet typically goes home the same day.
• Soft Tissue Surgery–Muscle, ligament, cartilage, and tendon repair can all be done at our office. Recovery time and the length of time before your pet goes home varies according to the procedure and the individual needs of your pet.

On-Site Radiology From Your Eaton Rapids Veterinarian Saves Time – and Lives

Having radiography services quickly accessible for our veterinary patients helps ensure proper diagnosis and the quickest possible treatment for your pet from our Eaton Rapids veterinarian. In an emergency, this can save your pet’s life. For less-serious issues, having a radiology department here at our location is extremely convenient for our pet patients and their caretakers.

If you’ve ever visited your personal physician and been referred elsewhere for an x-ray (radiography) of your wrist or lungs/chest, for example, you will understand. There is immense efficiency gained by having immediate access to radiology at the same location where you’ll be treated. When you bring your pet to our veterinarian, you’ll have no need to drive (or make an appointment) elsewhere for radiography, then await results and return for treatment. All of the pet diagnostics can be done right here from your Eaton Rapids veterinarian.

High Tech Pet Diagnostics

If your pet requires an x-ray to confirm a diagnosis, we perform digital radiography to capture the image of the injured area. Digital x-rays offer important advantages, including:

• Digital x-rays don’t involve film, as traditional x-rays do, so there is no need for film processing prior to seeing the results.
• Digital images can be easily shared via email if necessary, to confer with another vet, for example.
• Enlarging digital images is simple and takes only seconds.
• Digital x-rays are easily filed away in the computer, and remain intact, without risk of becoming damaged in a physical file.
• Digital radiography uses much less radiation than traditional x-rays, so there is little concern about radiation exposure if several images need to be taken for our Eaton Rapids Veterinarian.

Advanced Pet Surgery Options From Your Eaton Rapids Veterinarian

Dr. Snow can perform more than just routine procedures. As your veterinarian, she is skilled at a number of different advanced pet surgery procedures, including:

Dog ACL Surgery

Much like humans, dogs can tear their ACL – an injury that can often only be healed through surgery.We are able to perform dog ACL surgery here at our clinic. Our team will examine the injury and determine which approach is most appropriate for the situation, which may include using synthetic suture material or fibrous tissue near the injury to attach the inside upper femur to the outside femur. Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy – where the tibia is cut and altered to stabilize the joint – may also be an option, depending on the injury.

Pet Soft Tissue Removal & Repair

There are a variety of soft tissues that can sustain injury, requiring removal or repair through surgery. Essentially most surgeries that do not involve the skeletal system or the nervous system are considered soft tissue surgeries. Tendon, ligament, cartilage and muscle removal and/or repair can all be taken care of here at Snow Animal Hospital. As your veterinarian, Dr. Snow has the training and experience to perform these surgeries.

Some common soft tissue surgeries include:

• Wound reconstruction
• Splenectomy
• Removal of urinary bladder stones
• Laparoscopic ovariectomy

Pet Mass Removal

Finding a lump on your pet is always concerning. Fortunately, your veterinarian in Charlotte MI, Dr. Snow, has the training and tools to remove most masses from your pet. Through a physical exam and different scans, she can determine the exact nature of the mass and the best removal method – one that is minimally invasive and designed to help your pet recover as quickly as possible from surgery.

Although tumors are the most commonly known type of mass to the public, there are a surprising amount of mass types that can appear on or in your pet. Melanomas, mast cell tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, mammary adenocarcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas – the list is long, and each presents its own risk.

Dr. Snow will attempt to remove the mass in a single surgery using large surgical margins – the material removed surrounding the tumor – to ensure the mass is completely removed and to avoid the need for a second surgery.

Benefits of Spaying or Neutering Your Pet With Your Eaton Rapids Veterinarian

Not sure whether to schedule a spay or neuter procedure? If your dog or cat is still “intact”, your pet is more vulnerable to the following risks:

• Cancer – Some types of cancer are much more common in intact animals. Spaying or neutering nearly eliminates the risks of uterine, ovarian, testicular, and other reproductive cancers, while it dramatically decreases the risk of bone and breast cancer for some pets.
• Escapes – Reproductive hormones tell pets to seek out potential mates, which may lead to frequent escapes or escape attempts.
• Fights – Neutering a male pet will usually decrease or eliminate instances of territorial aggression, but it’s important to schedule the procedure before their aggressive instincts become habits.
• Urinary Infections – Intact male cats face especially high risks of urinary infections, but neutering decreases their chances.
• Overpopulation – If your pet comes into contact with other intact pets, unwanted pregnancies may be the result.

Our Safety Protocol for Spay and Neuter Surgeries

Our veterinarians know every patient is a beloved member of a local family. We treat your pets like our very own, enforcing a strict risk management protocol for every pet surgery. We administer anesthesia gradually, making sure your dog or cat is comfortable and their heart and lungs have no abnormal responses. Our goal is to reduce risks as much as possible while closely monitoring the vital signs for any slight changes. Spay and neuter surgeries are among the most common, routine, and low-risk surgical procedures that we perform, but our staff is always prepared to treat emergency complications.

Take-Home Medications and Post-Op Vet Care

After your pet is spayed or neutered, we’ll send you home with pain medication and detailed instructions for their recovery. Dissolvable stitches and responsible at-home care will reduce your pet’s need for follow-up visits, but we encourage you to call us if you notice any abnormalities. Spaying is a more intensive and invasive procedure than neutering, but both procedures require relatively little rest and recovery before your pet is back to normal.