Preventative Veterinary Care in Memphis

Schedule Regular Checkups With Your Vet

Our goal at Walnut Grove Animal Hospital is to prevent problems before they happen and to help your pet live a long and happy life. Many important components contribute to pet wellness. Our doctors strongly feel that annual to semi-annual physical examination by a veterinarian is essential to excellent pet care. Depending on the age of your pet, we recommend annual or semi-annual visits to our clinic for a check-up. Remember, 1 year of your pet’s life is equivalent to about 7 people years.

For our best value on wellness care, ask about our Annual Pet Wellness Program for Dogs and Annual Wellness Program for Cats, which include a physical exam by a doctor, all recommended pet vaccines, urinalysis, blood analysis, and a heartworm test for dogs and FeLV/FIV test for cats.

For budget conscious clients, Walnut Grove Animal Clinic bundles many of these vaccines into an economical and convenient Core Pet Vaccine Package.

Other important components of good pet care include the following:

• Spay or neuter
• Routine pet vaccinations
• Preventative medications
• Routine wellness screening
• Pet nutrition
• Pet dental care

Spaying or neutering your pet provides several health benefits that can help your pet live a longer and better life. Fertile female animals are at greater risk for mammary cancers and a life-threatening infection of the uterus called pyometra. Intact males are at a higher risk for prostate problems, certain types of cancer, and are more likely to leave home and become lost or injured.

By vaccinating for common animal diseases, we are able to prevent unnecessary infection and illness. Based on your budget, our veterinarians can help you assess which vaccines are recommended for your pet.

The development of vaccines and medications has made it easier to prevent infection by heartworms, intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks. There are a variety of products available that can make this process easy and keep your pet parasite-free.

Routinely monitoring blood chemistry levels and urine analysis helps us establish a baseline normal for your animal. That way, we can detect problem signs early while they are more easily treated. The American Heartworm Society recommends yearly heartworm testing. Periodic feline leukemia/feline immunodeficiency virus screening, and fecal parasite screenings are also recommended.

Proper nutrition is a big part of keeping your pet healthy and happy. Our veterinarians are the best resource to help you select the proper diet for your pet.

Pet dental health assessment is very important component of every physical examination. A through observation of the patient’s teeth, gums, lymph nodes, facial symmetry, and the roof of the mouth is conducted. Early detection of dental problems greatly improves the quality of life for your pet. Bad breath is a common complaint that may disclose some type of oral disease. Gum disease, called gingivitis, causes abscesses or infection that lead to bone loss. Bone decay leads to tooth loss. Our doctors can show you how to best care for your pet’s teeth and gums and help identify problems before they lead to more serious health issues. Severe oral infections can cause infections in the heart, liver, and kidneys. If you’d like to know more about dental health for your pet, give us a call or ask your veterinarian during your next visit.

Microchip Identification of Your Pet

Microchips have become a popular way to identify lost or stolen pets and effectively return them to their owners. A microchip is a mini computer chip the size of a grain of rice. The tiny chip is injected into your dog, usually between his or her shoulders as an identification measure. The chip contains a unique number that is stored in a database and is readable by a scanner or wand.

If your pet becomes lost or stolen, they will be identified by a shelter or upon their next visit to a veterinarian. It is a routine practice to screen all pets for a microchip in these situations.

Registering your information with the microchip supplier is an important step that should not be overlooked. Providing your current contact information will ensure that you will be reunited with your pet faster. There are many other benefits to registering your pet that we will be happy to explain if you are interested in this service.

Behavioral Issues

It is important to your quality of life that your pet be a well-behaved member of your family. Walnut Grove Animal Clinic offers behavioral consultations to our clients. We can also recommend educational material related to your pet’s issues.

The biggest reason animals are surrendered to shelters and rescue agencies are behavioral concerns. We want to keep your pet in your home for his or her entire life and are happy to help you with any behavioral problems that you may have.