Wellness Care for Colorado Pets
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Dr. Gastellum is a firm believer that all optimal pet care starts with regular, annual physical exams. This means that whether you are here for an ear infection with your senior dog or a vaccine appointment for your kitten, he is going to take his time with a full body exam. He schedules appointments on the hour accordingly to ensure there is enough time to properly examine your pet, and our mobile clinic is fully equipped for high-quality wellness care both at our homebase or on the road.
Head-to-Paw Exams
All physicals are head-to-paw to give us the opportunity to look for any lumps, bumps, skin abnormalities, or other signs of illness. We check vitals and weigh each pet at every visit. We are incorporating Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging into every wellness examination as an aid in gathering further health information about your pet. Along with a careful medical history, we use this information to create a health baseline that can be referenced in the future. We recommend scheduling at least one wellness exam per year for most young to middle-aged pets and two annually for senior pets or those with ongoing health concerns.
Personalized Immunizations
Vaccinations help your pet build up immunity to some of the most common (and dangerous) ailments, but we understand that each pet is different. We offer personalized immunization recommendations based on your pet’s age, health, and lifestyle. We promise to cater our vaccine recommendations to your pet so we can be sure he or she is getting the best protection possible.
Bloodwork
Annual blood and urine analysis is highly recommended to get an in-depth analysis of how your pet’s organs are functioning. While our physical exams are thorough, they can’t always detect things “below the surface.” You will be emailed a copy of the report with a full explanation of the results and a game plan outlined for any abnormalities detected.
Microchipping
We use and recommend AKC ISO REUNITE Microchips. Through the years we have seen many lost pets reunited with their owners through the use of microchips. The three most common scenarios we have witnessed in Chaffee County are:
- Outdoor cats which run away
- Dogs allowed off leash and take off after a deer or otherwise don’t respond to their owner’s voice commands
- Dogs seemingly contained in their yard but wiggle under a fence or finagle their way through an unsecure gate and escape unbeknownst to the owner
Microchips are implanted over the top of the neck using a hypodermic needle. Once placed, they are inert and permanent. They may be implanted during any visit but most commonly are placed during your pet’s initial vaccine series or when they are spayed or neutered. All the local veterinary clinics and Ark Valley Humane Society have scanners which detect microchips. It is important that once the microchip is implanted that your pet get registered with AKC Reunite. Here at At Home Pet Doctor, that registration process is now automatic. Visit AKC REUNITE to double check your pet is registered and also to keep the information current should your contact information change.
At Home Pet Doctor believes that pet wellness care is the cornerstone of good health. We want to partner with you to ensure your pets get started on the right paw when it comes to health and wellness. To learn more about our wellness visits or to schedule an appointment, please call (719) 839-0446.