A very different experience! Dr. Salvo sees one patient at a time, and will often be the one to answer the door. There is no receptionist, no technician and we try our hardest to not have any other patient’s in the building while one is scheduled with Dr. Salvo. This doesn't always happen, but is always our goal. The owner is used during the exam and treatment process as the pet is much more comfortable with the owner. Treats are used for distraction and positive reinforcement As much as possible. If your pet has allergies, please bring your pet’s favorite treats! Some patients are nervous without their housemate..so feel free to bring their bestie with them!
Observation: your pet's behavior, posture, gait, and overall physical appearance.
Vital signs:your pet's heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature
Physical examination: examine your pet's eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, skin, coat, limbs, joints, and abdomen.
Palpation: By use of hands to feel for any abnormalities or lumps on your pet's body.
Auscultation: use a stethoscope to listen to your pet's heart and lungs
Laboratory tests: Depending on your pet's health status, Dr. Salvo may also recommend laboratory tests, such as blood work, urinalysis, or fecal analysis.
It's important to note that Dr. Salvo may also ask you questions about your pet's diet, behavior, exercise, and any other relevant information to help with the diagnosis and treatment of any potential health issues.
This is by far the most accurate fecal testing available! This test detects teh ADULT parasite BEFORE it has a chance to lay eggs! On more primative tests; the technician is looking for eggs that have been shed by the adult…if there are no eggs; this test is FALSELY reported as negative. Fecal Dx testing avoids false negatives, detects infections prior to eggs being shed intot he environment. This test detects Whipworm, Tapeworm, Hookworm, Roundworm and Giardia Antigen as well as eggs.
Yet another challenge with fecal flotation is that this method of egg identification lacks the ability to detect infections during the prepatent period or with single-sex infections, when eggs are simply not present in the infected animal. Because many parasites shed eggs intermittently, a specimen from an infected animal may still generate a false-negative diagnosis if only a single fecal flotation is examined. For all these reasons, there is a need to find a better tool for the diagnosis of the most common intestinal parasites found in dogs and cats….and THIS is why Dr. Salvo ONLY utilized the Idexx Fecal Dx test for gastrointestinal parasites.
Dr. Salvo abides by the American Heartworm Society Guidelines; which support monthly prevention and yearly testing to verify that prevention is working. Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos and we have them here all year around! Heartworm prevention is affordable and easy to administer.
Treating Heartworm disease requires strict cage rest for over 6 months, month long antibiotics, three deep muscle injections and multiple heartworm tests to verify status…Dr. Salvo believes it much easier to prevent a disease than it is to treat one!
Fleas can cause anemia ( that can cause multiple complications systemically), tapeworm infection ( which can be transmitted to humans and other pets); while ticks can cause various disease that can cause anemia, paralysis, neurological disease, Lyme disease etc….monthly prevention should be strongly considered depending upon exposure.