Temple Heights Animal Hospital has a Wellness Program for your pet regardless of your pet’s age. It’s important to begin early. The foundation of your pet’s wellness and longevity begins with regular physical exams. Depending on your pet’s age and health condition, exams are recommended every six months. Once the patient becomes a senior, we may recommend examinations every 4-6 months. Pets with more serious concerns may need more frequent exams.

Our examinations are thorough, looking at all body systems from head to tail. With regular exams, our staff can identify problems at the earliest stage and institute steps to correct the problem. Remember that pets age at an accelerated rate compared to us. To a dog or cat, one year is equivalent to 5-7 human years.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital has special programs for senior pets. Scheduling regular veterinary examinations is one of the most important steps pet owners can take to keep their pets in excellent health. When dogs and cats enter the senior years, these health examinations are more important than ever. Senior care, which starts with the regular veterinary exam, is needed to catch and delay the onset or progress of disease and for the early detection of problems such as organ failure and osteoarthritis. AAHA recommends that healthy senior dogs and cats visit the veterinarian every six months for a complete exam and laboratory testing.dog in field
Just as aging humans begin to forget things and are more susceptible to mental conditions, your aging animals may also begin to confront age-related cognitive and behavior changes. Most of these changes are rather subtle and can be addressed in a proactive manner. Regular senior health exams can help catch and treat these problems before they control your pet’s life.

Keep in mind that every year for a dog or cat is equivalent to 5–7 human years. In order stay current with your senior pet’s health care, twice-a-year exams are a must. During the senior health exam, your veterinarian will ask you a series of questions regarding any changes in your pet’s activity and behavior. The veterinarian will conduct a complete examination of all of your pet’s body systems. Client education, laboratory testing and x-rays are also key components of the senior exam.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital offers a puppy package that starts around eight weeks old depending on when you got your puppy. The packages include vaccinations, deworming, and intestinal parasite analysis. Regular office visits during your puppies first few months are a great way to be sure their health issues are addressed and any questions you have about adjusting to life with a new puppy are answered.

Vaccinations given during the puppy packages help to protect your pet from infectious diseases such as Parvo and Distemper. These diseases can be life threatening and it is important that your pet develops immunity to these diseases through a proper series of vaccinations to avoid serious disease.

By purchasing a puppy package, you will save over 20% off the price of each of the services if they were purchased individually.

Vaccination is a highly effective way to prevent potentially life threatening diseases later in life. All kittens should receive Rabies, FVRCP (“feline distemper”), FELV (Feline Leukemia)and Calici vaccines. Kittens should be tested for FELV and FIV prior to vaccination. All kittens should receive a Feline Leukemia test to make sure they weren’t exposed to this virus in the early stages of their life.

Regular appointments are also an excellent opportunity to get the answers to any questions you might have about behavior, feeding, and any other concerns you may have about your kitten. Having a kitten in the household is definitely rewarding, and we want to help your kitten adjust to its new home as easily as possible.

We offer a great Kitten Package that includes the vaccines, parasite screenings, deworming and a FeLV/ FIV test. The package not only offers a savings of over 20% but will give your new kitten a great start to a happy healthy life.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital offers a number of excellent flea control products. Fleas can be a major problem for cats and dogs. Fleas have four main stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The total flea life cycle can range from a couple weeks to several months, depending on environmental conditions.

Pets may be exposed to these blood sucking parasites anywhere: in your backyard, on walks, at the beach, or even in your own home. Fleas can cause great discomfort to your pet including biting, scratching, chewing, and restlessness. More seriously, they can cause anemia, tapeworm infections and flea allergy dermatitis to your pets, and other serious diseases to humans. We advocate flea baths for all pets and Bravecto, Credilio or Vectra flea control for your dog or cat. Although if you desire other flea control products that we do not carry you can have order them through our online pharmacy and have them delivered to your home.

As mentioned above, the flea life cycle is quite variable. Pet owners should control populations inside the home as well as in yard areas. It’s important to remain vigilant, even when a flea problem is thought to be under control! We offer appropriate counseling for our clients.

*Credilio for dogs is an oral tablet given once every 30 days for flea and tick prevention. Credilio can be used in dogs as young as 8 weeks old

*Bravecto for Dogs is an oral chew that is given once every 90 days for flea and tick prevention. Bravecto can be used in dogs starting at 6 months of age.

*Vectra 3D for Dogs is a topical flea, ticks, mosquitoes, lice, mites and sand and biting flies that is applied once every 30 days and can be used in dogs starting at 8 weeks of age

*Vectra for Cats is a topical flea preventive that is applied once every 30 days and can be used in cats as young as 8 weeks old.

*Bravecto for cats is a topical flea preventive that is applied once every 90 days and can be used in cats 6 months of age and older.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital offers Low Cost Vaccinations for a full-range of diseases. We offer Low Cost Vaccines during our normal business hours. Vaccinations are important, even for indoor pets. Vaccinations protect your beloved pet from painful and often fatal diseases. They help ensure a long and happy life for your pet, with many hours of enjoyment for you with your animal companion. Your pet’s age, health, lifestyle, and environment can all affect the vaccination schedule.

An important part of Wellness Care is having your pet up-to-date with vaccinations. Along with wellness examinations, preventive vaccinations and regularly scheduled boosters are keys to good health and disease prevention. Today, many immunizations and preventive treatments are available that did not exist just a few years ago. Your pet can be protected from most major infectious diseases. And the cost of vaccinations is very small, compared to the cost of treating a disease or of losing your pet altogether.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital offers Low Cost Vaccines everyday! Our vaccine prices are less than most supposed Low Cost Vaccine clinics.

1. You do not have to wait in line.

2. Your pet is not exposed to other diseases waiting in line.

3. Your pet receives vaccines in a clean hospital environment under the supervision of a licensed Veterinarian not in a parking lot, in the hot sun

Give us a call today to discuss our Low Cost Vaccines and receive prices we encourage you to call and compare prices as we did.

Please feel free to discuss with the veterinarian which vaccinations and schedules are best for your pet.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital recommends that you microchip your pet for its long-term safety. The number one cause of pet death is, surprisingly, getting lost. Ten million pets become lost every year. Without identification, 90% do not return home. Collars and tags are not enough, microchip implants are permanent.

The procedure for implanting the microchip is safe. We advocate the Home Again microchip which we implant under the skin with minimal pain. This microchip program provides you with nationwide 24/7 on-call support. It also provides lost pet insurance, a pet ID card, and a proactive pet recovery network. Visit their website at www.homeagain.com.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital tests pets for heartworm disease. Fortunately, the risk to cats in Southern California for this disease is very low.

Dogs in our area, however, remain at risk for developing heartworm disease. The disease starts as a bite from an infected mosquito. The larvae enter the dog’s body and take up residence in the heart and large vessels of the lungs. Over time, this can affect blood flow throughout the body, impacting the heart, lungs, kidney, and liver. Heartworm disease is a silent killer that has been identified in all 50 states. This disease is preventable with monthly oral medications, or an injectable medication every six months.

Temple Heights Animal Hospital advocates yearly heartworm testing and heartworm preventative with Interceptor Plus. The added advantage of these medications is that they also treat for several intestinal parasites monthly.

If your pet is not protected with a preventable medication and contracts the disease, it can be treated. However, the treatment is very costly and your pet may have complications from this treatment, even death. Therefore, it is much safer and less expensive to treat with a preventative on a monthly basis.