What to Expect

In your search for a veterinary facility, we believe you should expect high quality care as well as great service.  Our goal has been to assemble a veterinary health care team committed to providing exceptional client service and veterinary health care.  Our commitment to you is to continue to offer our world class service and a state of the art veterinary facility.

Some Parkway Animal Hospital  features:

AAHA - Accreditation

Examinations

Bathing and Nail Trims

Surgery

AAHA - Accreditation

Parkway Animal Hospital is a veterinary clinic that is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association.  This means that we have been successfully evaluated on approximately 900 standards of pet care. These standards are periodically reviewed and updated to ensure they remain consistent with the advances made in veterinary medicine and technology. Only 17% of the veterinary offices in the nation are honored with this accreditation, and we are one of the only AAHA-approved clinics in the area.

We are proud to be an AAHA-accredited practice and believe this helps keep us on the leading edge of veterinary medicine and focused on continuous improvement to assure we can offer the quality and range of services you expect and deserve for your pet.

 For more information on how AAHA affects you and your pet, go to the AAHA website:

www.aahanet.org

Examinations

Each and every time your pet receives immunizations, we also perform a"nose-to-tail" complete physical exam.  This assures us that your pet is healthy enough for vaccination, resulting in immunity to many diseases. We also check to make sure that there are not any internal parasites (worms) or external parasites (fleas and ticks). 

We want to partner with you to ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.  It's a good idea to keep an accurate medical diary not only of the procedures and vaccinations your pet receives at the vet, but also of notes on things like your pet's elimination habits and any physical changes or unusual occurrences. Keep track of small shifts in your pet's behavior, including urinary marking habits and mood swings, along with diet and routine modifications.  Take this notebook when you visit the vet. These seemingly unrelated occurrences may help explain results of your pet's medical tests.  Also, if you move away and need to change vets, it's good to have this journal to provide a complete medical history.

Bathing and Nail Trims

We recommend bathing your pet every one to four weeks depending on your pets' living conditions and the time of year. Do not bathe your pet more than once a week unless the doctor has specifically instructed you to do so. We offer routine and medical baths to our clients--Let us do the dirty work!

In addition, we offer both clipper-style and rotary-file nail trims. Keeping your pets' nails short and well-tended is elemental in keeping them happy and healthy (and important so you don't get injured playing with them!). Often nail-cutting can be difficult for pet owners, as some restraint is usually necessary and determining where to cut without drawing blood can be problematic. Our team will help you determine which type of nail care your pet needs, and we will gladly perform this service for you!

These services are all by appointment and can often be combined with other hospital visits.

Surgery

If it is determined after a thorough exam that your pet needs a surgical procedure, a drop-off time will be scheduled for the afternoon before or the morning of the planned surgery, with the rare exception that the pet must stay with us until its procedure. We do our best at Parkway Animal Hospital to make your pet comfortable during its stay.  Although all anesthesia and surgery carries some risk, we strive to limit and reduce the possibility of a complication with our practice's protocols. We believe these measures help to keep your pet safe and aid us in providing the best medicine and care.

1. Before any anesthesia is administered, we perform blood tests to check for hidden infection, clotting ability, and anemia. For older animals, we also check kidney and liver function, blood sugar and blood protein levels. These tests help us decide on the best medicine for your pet and let us know whether or not we can proceed with the anesthesia.
2. We provide the safest anesthetics possible, including gas anesthesia and oxygen. (We use the same gases used in human medicine!)
3. We recommend intravenous catheters (IVs) be placed before anesthesia. This keeps a port open to the vein to provide IV fluids or medications, should the need arise.
4. We never perform surgeries without pain medications.  Your pet will be as pain-free as possible before, during and after surgery.
5. We continuously monitor blood pressure, body temperature, Electrocardiogram (EKG), oxygen level, heart rate, and respiration throughout any anesthetic procedure.
6. Our separate surgical suite meets all the American Animal Hospital Association's regulations for sterility. We always use protocols to maintain a sterile environment during surgery.
7. We provide comfortable ICU recovery areas where your pet is monitored by trained staff. A doctor or nurse will call you when your pet leaves recovery to discuss the surgery and plan your discharge appointment.
8. Every patient undergoing anesthesia is released from the hospital during a discharge appointment, during which time you will learn what to expect and how to care for your pet during its recuperation. Any questions you have will be answered at this time.
9. Any suture removal appointment, if needed, is included with the surgery.

Dental Cleanings

Because even the most cooperative pet may not readily go-along with a tooth and gum brushing, an annual cleaning by your veterinarian maybe in order.  Like you, your pet can lose his teeth due to decay and neglect, and dental infections can be extremely dangerous and life-threatening.  Dental cleanings are procedures which also require a pet's being put under anesthesia before they can be performed. If your pet is diagnosed as needing a dental cleaning, we will set up a drop-off time the evening before or the morning of the procedure. Your pet will be anesthetized and then given an ultrasonic dental cleansing--much like the ones humans receive at the dentist!

Spay/Neuter Surgeries

Spay/Neuter surgeries are HIGHLY recommended for ALL pets in order to both control the pet population and to avoid health and behavioral complications. These surgeries remove the sources of hormones from animals, reducing the risk of conditions such as mammary tumors and prostate problems.  After a precursory doctor's exam, a drop-off time will be scheduled for the afternoon before or the morning of the planned procedure.   While the incisions are minimal, there is some suturing required at the surgery sites. Oftentimes these stitches will dissolve by themselves, but some will need to be removed by the doctor at a designated suture removal or recheck appointment.

After Surgery

When your animal returns home from surgery, the doctor will give you  instructions specific to your pet and its procedure. Anytime your pet is put under an anesthetic, a good rule of thumb is to keep it on one level of your home in a closely monitored area. Everyday activities like jumping on furniture or climbing stairs can cause accidental injury to a recently sedated animal and can reopen surgery sites.  Food and water should be limited per your doctor's instructions for 12 hours to prevent nausea.  All doctor's instructions should be carefully followed, so please don't hesitate call us if you have any questions about your pet.