Our staff never underestimates the power of tender loving care!
Wellness and Preventive Care
At the Animal Medical Center we believe that preventative medicine is very important in keeping our pets as healthy as possible. Because pets age more rapidly than humans, an examination by a veterinarian is recommended every six months. Early detection of illness is crucial. We also believe that all pets are individuals with unique lifestyles, habits, and needs. We tailor our vaccination protocol to your individual pet based on those criteria. We also offer several different types of heartworm, parasite, and flea prevention for dogs and cats, nutritional counseling, custom designed weight management programs, and carry Purina Veterinary Diet prescription foods.
Medical Services
If your pets become ill, our hospital is equipped with in-house laboratory equipment to give our doctors answers fast. We also utilize several reputable laboratories for lab testing that is not available in clinic. Medical services that we offer include, but are not limited to:
- Hospitalization
- Digital X-rays
- Treatment for heartworms
- Allergy testing
- Prescription diets
- Electrocardiogram
- Blood Pressure Monitoring
- Intestinal parasite detection
- BAER Hearing Tests
- Acupuncture
Surgical Services
We are proud to offer a wide array of surgical services. Elective surgeries such as spay and neuter are available for all dogs, cats, and some exotic species. Other surgical services available include:
- Orthopedic surgeries
- Abdominal surgeries
- Emergency surgeries
- Laporascopic procedures
Each surgery patient is carefully evaluated by a veterinarian prior to any surgical procedure. We highly encourage pre-anesthetic blood work to minimize anesthetic complication. We custom tailor anesthetic protocols for each patient based on their age, physical condition, and medical issues. We carefully monitor vital signs such as temperature, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and ECG for all surgical procedures.
Pharmacy
For your convenience, we have a complete pet pharmacy. Medications in stock include those to treat chronic conditions, such as arthritis or thyroid disease, and medications to treat short term conditions such as infections as well as heartworm and flea prevention. We also have in stock many over the counter products for home dental care and basic grooming. Our pharmacy is available to clients of the Animal Medical Center of Forney for new prescriptions and refills.
Dental Health for Dogs & Cats
Your pet's teeth play an important role in his & her life, possibly more than your own. Consider that we humans use our teeth to eat, drink and speak. We brush our teeth multiple times per day, floss daily, use mouthwash, chew gum, and visit our dentist for regular cleanings. Our pets use their teeth to eat, drink, vocalize, grab items, protect themselves, play, and itch. However, most pets' owners do not brush, floss, or otherwise perform any type of routine cleaning on their pet's teeth.
By the time they reach 3 years of age, 85% of dogs & cats will need a professional dental cleaning. Some small toy breeds such as poodles & dachshunds may need their teeth cleaned significantly sooner than this. Dog & cat teeth are very similar to humans in structure. Bacteria in the mouth mix with food & saliva to form plaque. Plaque is a transparent adhesive fluid composed of mucin, epithelial cells and bacteria. Plaque starts forming in two days on a clean tooth surface. If the plaque is not removed by daily brushing, mineral salts in the food can precipitate to form hard dental calculus. Calculus appears yellow to brownish and cakes on the teeth. Once calculus forms, it is impossible to remove with brushing. The calculus is irritating to the gums, changing the pH of the mouth and allowing bacteria to survive under the gums. By-products of these bacteria "eat away" at the tooth's support structures, eventually causing the tooth to be lost in some cases. This is called periodontal disease.
The goal of our veterinary staff is to diagnose this process early in the course of the disease and prevent severe periodontal disease from occurring. Regular veterinary checks are essential to determine the stage of the dental disease and course of treatment. When plaque is mild, daily brushing with a pet-safe toothpaste might be recommended. There are also prescription dental treats which helps decrease the amount of bacteria in the mouth when used on a regular basis.
Once plaque forms into calculus, a professional dental cleaning is necessary. Dogs and cats must be under general anesthesia to properly perform a dental cleaning. The calculus is scaled away from the teeth, each tooth is probed for gum recession & evaluated for disease, all the teeth are polished, and a protective fluoride rinse is applied. By the age of 3 years old, most pets will require this once yearly.
If too much time is allowed between dental cleanings, the calculus that forms on the teeth can cause severe periodontal disease. Signs that your pet may have periodontal disease include weight loss, trouble eating, eating on one side of his or her mouth, dropping food, sudden preference for soft foods, blood or pus from the mouth, swelling around the mouth or very bad breath. The goal of dental cleanings when periodontal disease exists is to return your pet's mouth to as healthy a state as possible. This includes removing the offending calculus, probing all the teeth, and polishing all the teeth but also may include removing any teeth that are loose, diseased, fractured, or have infection under the gums. Periodontal disease if left untreated can lead to disease of the heart, kidneys, liver.
Veterinary Acupuncture
According to ancient Chinese medical philosophy, illness is a result of an imbalance of vital energy within the body. Acupuncture balances this energy and allows the body to heal. Acupuncture can stimulate nerves, increase blood circulation, relieve muscle spasms, and cause the release of humoral regulators such as cortisol and endorphins.
The number of treatments varies with the problem being treated. Most cases will need four to six treatments usually one week apart initially. After the initial treatment series, if additional visits are needed the interval usually decreases to once monthly.
Acupuncture is one of the safest alternative forms of therapy for animals when it is administered by a properly trained veterinarian. In small animals, some of the conditions that respond well to acupuncture include:
- Musculoskeletal problems such as arthritis or disc problems
- Infertility problems
- Gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea
- Respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis
- Skin problems such as lick granulomas and allergies
- Neurological disorders such as paresis, paralysis, and seizures
Digital radiography
Digital radiography is the standard of care in human medicine & has recently become available in veterinary medicine. Digital x-ray systems utilize computer based imaging instead of a film based system. Traditional x-rays systems used a metallic film that captured an image. The film was developed using water based chemicals to freeze the image onto the film. This processing took time and the image could not be visualized until the developing was complete. If the x-rays were not ideal, the x-rays had to be taken again. Digital x-rays allow faster & more efficient processing of higher quality images.
1. Improved Image Quality
With standard x-ray technology, basically what you see is what you get. The most immediate benefit realized with a digital radiograph is the improvement in image quality. Improved image quality makes us makes it easier to interpret x-rays with subtle changes. X-rays can be lightened, darkened, viewed in different contrast, magnified, and measured to give the most information possible.
2. Speed & efficiency 
Overall speed of digital radiography is much faster than traditional radiography. Speed and efficiency make it easier to include radiographs as part of your pet's outpatient visit in most cases. Because of increased efficiency, this can decrease the need for sedation in some cases and make it possible to takes x-rays even in critically ill pets.
3. Information storing & sharing
Another feature that allows for efficiency is the ability to archive & retrieve x-rays. A digital computer system maintains your pet's x-rays in electronic files that are duplicated in case of hardware failure, and can be easily stored and accessed. Because the x-rays are in electronic format instead of on film, we have the ability to quickly and easily send the images to consultants or specialists when expert opinions are needed. Now these opinions can be obtained in a matter of hours instead of days.
Radiographs are often a vital tool in diagnosing disease with your pet. The flexibility and capability of digital radiography make the task of taking x-rays of your pets easier than ever before.
BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) Hearing Tests
In veterinary medicine, the BAER hearing test is most often used to screen dogs for congenital deafness. BAER testing is the only 100% reliable method for determining if a dog is deaf (or for measuring the extent of hearing loss). BAER (pronounced "bear") stands for "Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response" and is a procedure using computers to record the electrical activity of the brain in response to sound stimulation. This same test is used to check the hearing of human infants, and measures the same range of hearing.
Numerous breeds are at risk for this disorder and in the vast majority it is related to coat color, or lack thereof. The BAER hearing test is recommended for all canines and is especially recommended for at risk breeds. The BAER hearing test is performed on any canine over six weeks of age.
Each ear is tested individually and the test generally lasts for only 10 to 15 minutes.