(619) 460-3100 | 8618 Lake Murray Blvd, San Diego, CA 92119

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Services

Listed below are some of our most commonly performed services. If you have questions, please feel free to give us a call at 619-460-3100. Most services are on a pet-to-pet basis and a physical exam may be required for accurate pricing.

Canine services

Comprehensive Heartworm test*

Rattlesnake vaccine

Fecal analysis

Anal gland expression

Feline services

Anal gland expression

Average nail trim

*The comprehensive heartworm test checks for heartworm and the 4 most common tick-borne diseases

In an effort to strengthen our bond and gain/maintain your dog’s trust, we have decided to discontinue canine nail trimming services. Most dogs really enjoy coming here and love their doctor, until we try to trim their nails! We highly recommend a groomer for this procedure, it is their specialty! We are happy to provide you with a list of local groomers with good online reviews.

Our DAP, FVRCP, and FELV vaccines are 50% less volume than most vaccines to deliver a more comfortable experience for your pet. We also use an oral bordetella vaccine instead of the nasal or injectable versions, which most dogs accept more readily.

We accept cash, checks, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and Care Credit.

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Exam:

We will listen to your pet’s heart and lungs, check the ears, eyes, skin and teeth and feel the abdomen for any obvious abnormalities. We can discuss diet, flea and heartworm prevention and deworming protocols as needed. Our doctors will take the time to answer all of the questions you may have about your furry friend. Since vaccines do affect and burden the immune system, we do require an exam with every vaccination. This is to ensure the safety of your pet.

Rabies:

In most cases, disease is transmitted via a bite wound and it is mostly wildlife that gets infected. When wildlife starts coming into contact with the pet population, then pets become infected and when pets get infected, human infection is not far behind. Because this infection has nearly 100% mortality, preventing it in pets becomes crucial to preventing it in people. Of course, people can get infected by wildlife contact as well. Despite vaccination being readily available, every year the U.S. reports approximately 50 canine deaths, 250 feline deaths, and several human deaths from rabies. Worldwide, some 55,000 human deaths occur annually from rabies even now in the 21st century. There is still no reliably effective treatment for rabies infection once symptoms have started.

DAP:

DISTEMPER – The canine distemper virus is closely related to the human measles virus and in years past puppies were immunized for distemper with the vaccine against measles. Symptoms include: Gooey eye and nose discharge, fever, decreased appetite, coughing/pneumonia.
PARVO VIRUS – This virus barely existed before the 1970s, but in no time became a major cause of canine death. Currently, it is primarily a cause of severe illness and death for puppies and adolescent dogs; fortunately, vaccinations are an effective route of prevention if performed on the proper schedule. Parvoviral infection must be considered as a possible diagnosis in any young dog with vomiting and/or diarrhea. With proper hospitalization, survival rates approach 80 percent.

Bordetella:

Kennel cough is an infectious bronchitis of dogs characterized by a harsh, hacking cough that most people describe as sounding like “something stuck in my dog’s throat.” This bronchitis may not last long and be mild enough to not need any treatment, or it may progress to a life-threatening pneumonia depending on which infectious agents are involved and the patient’s immunological strength. An infected dog sheds infectious bacteria and/or viruses in respiratory secretions. These secretions become aerosolized and float in the air where they can be inhaled by a healthy dog. Obviously, crowded housing and suboptimal ventilation play important roles in the likelihood of transmission but organisms may also be transmitted on toys, food bowls or other objects. See our videos (under ‘Helpful Information’) for examples of a cough vs. reverse sneeze.

Rattlesnake:

Dogs encounter snakes in the snake’s natural habitat during play or work. Most bites to dogs occur on the face or extremities. The rattlesnake bite is generally hemotoxic, which means that it exerts its toxin by disrupting the integrity of the blood vessels. The swelling is often dramatic with up to one-third of the total blood circulation being lost into the tissues in a matter of hours. The toxin further disrupts normal blood clotting mechanisms, leading to uncontrolled bleeding. This kind of blood loss induces shock and finally death. Facial bites are often more lethal as the swelling may close the throat or impair ability to breathe. The faster the bite is recognized, the more effective the treatment is. Do not try to cut the bite wound open or suck out the poison. Pressure bandages have been advocated but while these will help keep the poison from moving centrally in the circulation, they also can increase the local tissue damage by concentrating the poison near the bite wound. It is best to seek veterinary care immediately for proper treatment. Seek veterinary care immediately for proper treatment, even if your dog has been vaccinated against snake venom. A history of vaccination does not preclude the need for emergency treatment after snake bite; the goal of the vaccine is to lessen the poisoning.

Canine Influenza:

Just like people, dogs can be affected by different strains of influenza, a highly contagious respiratory infection. There are two strains of canine influenza known to affect dogs internationally. The signs in both strains range from fevers, listlessness, coughing, sneezing, and a runny nose to life-threatening pneumonia, but typically it’s much like having kennel cough. Transmission generally requires direct contact with an infected and contagious dog’s fresh saliva or oro-nasal secretions. The problem is that an infected dog is usually contagious before showing any clinical signs. Therefore, apparently healthy dogs can transmit the disease. Dogs that go to daycare, dog parks, performance competitions, dog shows, training classes, or boarding kennels are at higher risk of becoming infected.

Leptospirosis:

Leptospira organisms are spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes. Leptospires live best in warm, slow-moving water such as after heavy rains or flooding. After the water clears, they contaminate soil for many months. Wildlife are common carriers of infection. Dogs become infected by leptospires when irritated or cut skin comes into contact with infected urine or water contaminated with infected urine. Alternatively, bite wounds, exposure to reproductive secretions, and even eating infected tissues can transmit this infection. The organisms quickly spread through the bloodstream, leading first to inflaming the blood vessels themselves: fever, abnormal bleeding, abnormal bruising and tissue edema appear after an approximately 7-day incubation period.

Anal gland expression:

Anal sacs (also called anal glands) are two small glands just inside your pet’s anus. The material secreted into these sacs is thick, oily, stinky, and is commonly described as smelling fishy. Most wild animals can empty these glands voluntarily for scent marking or in self-defense (like a skunk might do); however, domestic animals have largely lost their ability to empty these sacs voluntarily. Walking around and normal defecation serve to empty the sacs but some animals become unable to empty their sacs on their own at all. The sacs can then become impacted and uncomfortable.
Dogs with impacted anal sacs usually scoot their rear on the ground in an attempt to empty the glands. Some dogs will lick their anal area and other dogs will chase their tails. Cats often lick the fur off just under their tails. Some animals are simply vaguely uncomfortable, holding their tails down, shivering, showing reluctance to walk or hiding. See our video tutorial (under ‘Client Info’) if you are interested in attempting this at home.

FVRCP:

Feline distemper, more technically known as feline panleukopenia, is a very contagious, life-threatening infectious disease of cats. Fortunately, vaccination is highly effective and the “feline distemper vaccine” (which also covers common upper respiratory infectious agents) is considered to be the core immunization for all cats, regardless of their lifestyle.

FELV:

Feline leukemia virus, a retrovirus, is a common infection of cats. It is the cause of more cat deaths, directly or indirectly, than any other organism and is widespread in the cat population. FeLV transmission most commonly occurs through close, social contact. Contact with saliva from infected cats is a primary mode of transmission, because the concentration of virus is high in saliva. But the virus is also shed in blood, urine, feces, nasal secretions, and milk. Sharing food and water dishes, using the same litterbox, mutual grooming, and bite wounds are all possible methods of transmission.

Fecal:

This process is typically called a fecal “float” where the feces is mixed with a special agent and allowed to sit (for the parasitic eggs to float to the top) and then a small sample is looked at under a microscope. We typically will send the fecal sample to a lab to have this performed. Common parasites that are detected via this method are: giardia, coccidia, roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. We generally recommend checking a fecal annually after puppy/kittenhood.

Heartworm Test:

Heartworm disease is a serious disease that results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage and death in pets. It is caused by a parasitic worm called Dirofilaria immitis. The worms are spread through the bite of the mosquito. The dog is a definitive host, meaning that the worms mature into adults, mate, and produce offspring while living inside a dog. The mosquito is the intermediate host, meaning that the worms live inside a mosquito for a short transition period in order to become infective (able to cause heartworm disease). The worms are called “heartworms” because the adults live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of an infected animal.

In the United States, heartworm disease is most common along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from the Gulf of Mexico to New Jersey and along the Mississippi River and its major tributaries- but is has been reported in dogs in all 50 states.

In San Diego, we have been lucky to have a very small population of mosquitos and a large population of dogs on preventative. This decreases the overall number of positive cases in our area. After Hurricane Katrina we saw a large increase in heartworm in San Diego. Once again, we are being flooded with dogs from the south due to the most recent hurricanes. These heartworm positive dogs increase the risk for our pets.

We highly recommend a monthly preventative for all our canine patients. Prior to starting your pet on a preventative, we need to first be sure they are starting out healthy and test negative for heartworm. This is done with a quick in-house blood test. Currently we have a heartworm test that includes the top 3 most common tick-borne diseases ($44).

Even if you are not interested in a monthly prevention, we still highly recommend testing once a year. Heartworm disease symptoms do not show up until significant heart and lung damage has already been done. Finding it before it causes problems is key to a healthy pet.

We’re offering curbside check-ins from your car for your appointments. Call 619-460-3100 when you arrive for your appointment, we will put you in touch with one of our technicians who will touch base with you regarding your online intake form and reason for your visit. The technician will then come and escort your pet to our treatment area for the veterinarian to perform a thorough examination. Our veterinarian will then communicate via phone to discuss their findings and develop a plan for treatment. We will not proceed without touching base with you first. For this reason, we ask that you be available by phone during your appointment. Rest assured we are still giving all the (owner approved) treats, hugs, kisses and cuddles to all your fur babies while they are with us! We understand it is a weird time, and we treat every one of our patients as if they were our own pet.

We’re offering drop-off appointments. You can drop your pet off and come pick them up later in the day. Please let us know if you would prefer this option so we can best schedule you a time. We ask that you are available by phone so that you can speak with our technicians and veterinarians regarding your pet’s health needs.

For all drop-off exams, we will provide all necessary paperwork via email prior to the appointment time and on the day of the appointment one of our staff members will meet you at your car and will take your pet into the clinic for you. Please call us at 619-460-3100 when you’re here.

**At this time we are not allowing any clients into our building for the foreseeable future to keep our clients, staff, and families as safe as possible. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this transition.**

First a friendly technician will touch base with you over the phone to discuss why your pet is here and clarify any follow up questions from your intake form the doctor may need to best serve you.
Your pet will then be set up in their own individual housing for the day. This will include: a spacious kennel, a warm blanket/bed, a bowl of water, and plenty of treats (as long as it is ok with the owner!).
The doctor will then work your pet in to their schedule as time allows, which will allow more doctor time for your pet. We will then contact you with recommendations and discuss next steps prior to performing any treatments. We will only move forward once we are on the same page as you. For this reason, we do recommend that your drop-off is scheduled on a day you are able to be by your phone.
Once your pet has had their treatments (as previously discussed) we will call to advise when your baby is ready to go home. We would recommend planning on picking them up between 3-530 pm (when we close) to be on the safe side, however, if they can go home earlier we will be sure to let you know!

**While your pet waits for the doctor to work them in to their schedule, please know they are getting plenty of attention from our staff throughout the day! Whether that be for potty walks, pets, scritches, kisses or full on conversations-our staff will love your babies as you do. Think of it as a pre-COVID workday when your pet used to be at home, but instead they are surrounded by friends, new smells, and plenty of entertainment.
***If your pet does not do well in this type of situation, or is prone to anxiety, this appointment type may not be for you and that is ok! We can schedule a regular appointment, it just may take some patience to accommodate this with our schedule.

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