Vaccines & Annual Exams

Annual Exams & Vaccine Shots for Your Pet

At Compassion Veterinary Clinic in Blue Bell, PA, we want to help all pet owners understand the importance of vaccinating their pets. Vaccines help pets live longer, healthier lives. They help protect dogs and cats from dangerous and sometimes fatal diseases and have been shown to prevent premature death in millions of pets yearly. At Compassion Veterinary Clinic, we are dedicated to helping you provide the best care possible for your beloved dog or cat. Whether you've just gotten a new puppy or kitten and would like to get them started with their first round of shots or have a middle-aged or elderly dog that needs their yearly vaccinations, our team has the skills, compassion, and training to help.

Vaccines

Vaccines are now being divided into two classes - core and non-core vaccines. Our veterinarians provide consultations to choose the proper vaccines for your dog or cat at any age. Generally, our veterinarians offer 2-4 visits for check-ups, vaccines, behavior consults, and nutrition consults tailored for your pet. Then, your pet will receive check-ups and vaccines annually.

Core Vaccines

For example, ‘Core' vaccines for dogs should be given to every dog. The AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents' Report on Cat and Dog Vaccines has recommended that the core vaccines for dogs include Rabies and Canine Distemper vaccines, including canine distemper, canine adenovirus-2 (hepatitis and respiratory disease), and canine parvovirus-2. Core cat vaccines are the Rabies and Feline Distemper vaccines, including the Feline Panleukopenia vaccine, the Feline Herpes vaccine, and the Feline Calci vaccine. The Feline Leukemia vaccine (FeLV vaccine) is recommended yearly for cats that go outdoors.

Non-core Vaccines

‘Non-core' vaccines are recommended only for certain dogs and cats. Whether to vaccinate with non-core vaccines depends upon a number of factors, including age, breed, health status, potential exposure, type of vaccine, and disease prevalence in the geographical area. Some of these vaccines for dogs include the leptospira vaccine (will protect your dog against 3 different serovars), corona vaccine, canine parainfluenza vaccine (commonly combined with so-called canine Distemper vaccine and is one of the pathogens of kennel cough disease), Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine (major pathogen of kennel cough) and Borrelia burgdorferi vaccine (Lyme Disease). A good example of non-core vaccines is the Kennel Cough vaccine which is especially important if your dog comes in contact with other dogs, is boarded, or goes to the groomer.

Annual Exams

At least once a year, your pet should receive a complete physical examination to keep your pet safe from preventable diseases and detect the early onset of abnormalities. Depending on the pet's health status, sometimes our veterinarians recommend a check-up every six months. Yearly, appropriate lab work will be tailored for your pet. Some examples of these lab works are intestinal parasite testing, heartworm testing, and FeLV-FIV testing (for cats). We recommend annual senior wellness lab work for senior patients, which allows us to diagnose a potential health problem before clinical signs occur. Early detection of diseases will allow us to provide prompt treatment for your pet. Prompt treatment of an ongoing disease before the disease gets a chance to advance allows us to reverse or moderate the impact of the disease process, which, in turn, will lengthen your pet's life span and later decreases the cost associated with specialty care.

To schedule an appointment for an annual exam and vaccines for your pet, call our clinic at 610-277-3672 in Blue Bell, PA.

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