Imagine being able to see what is going on inside your pet. It would be pretty amazing to see with the blink of an eye how all those internal organs, such as the liver and kidneys are working. Unfortunately, there is little that we can tell from looking at the outside of a pet that reflects what is actually going on inside. We must rely on other tools to tell us the true story.

One of the most powerful diagnostic tools that we have is blood work. The blood panels that we run allow us to assess how well your pet’s internal organs are functioning. Most commonly, we assess red and white blood cells along with platelets, in addition to liver and kidney function. We may also accumulate information about the thyroid, the pancreas, the intestines, the spleen and all the other systems- it varies with the type of blood panel being run. The type of panel we run will depend on your pet’s age and current health status. Panels are also used to help monitor how pets are doing on various medications. Blood collections are commonly not difficult. We generally collect the blood sample in the exam room with you present (there are exceptions to this). Results are available within 24 hours in most cases. Blood tests provide outstanding value.

Another valuable tool at our disposal is the urinalysis. We run chemistry tests and examine the urine under a microscope to assess bladder and kidney health. It may also give us information about the liver and other internal organs like the adrenal glands. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to learn about your pet’s internal organ function.

In dogs, as part of our Wellness Plans, we test eye pressure (Tonometry) to look for diseases such as glaucoma, which is very painful and often results in blindness. If caught early enough, glaucoma and other conditions can be held at bay preventing serious problems that may otherwise result in blindness.

In many of our patients (dogs and cats alike), we want to assess blood pressure to look for diseases such as high blood pressure (hypertension) that can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and even death. It’s a painless and simple test that saves lives.

In our canine friends, in our Wellness Plans, we have included chest x-rays to detect a variety of problems including cancer and heart disease. X-rays don’t hurt and they provide a quick answer to many questions we may have. There are many other diagnostic tools at our disposal, but these are the more common ones in our practice.