Welcome to the Animal Medical Hospital. We have been providing quality veterinary care at 204 East Tenth Street since December 1, 1985. We offer a variety of healthcare for your companion pets including Veterinary Wellness Care, Surgical Care, Radiology and Laboratory Services, Grooming and Boarding.

Our Doctors are also available for after hour emergency care 24 hours. By calling the office number, information will be given for emergency service.

   Ah!  The sun is finally out at last!  What a long winter we have had!  But, as the grass greens up and the temperature increases, fleas and ticks start to become a problem for our pets.

 

The way animals get fleas is from other flea infested animals.  They could come from a stray pet or a neighbor's pet going through your yard.  Wild animals, mainly opossums and raccoons can also be carriers for these pests.  As they pass through, flea eggs fall off of them into your pet's area.  These eggs develop into fleas who then jump on your pet when they are in these areas.  Fleas can even jump on us when we are outside and we bring them inside to our house pets.

 

The most common problem fleas cause on our pets comes from the saliva they inject under the skin of our pets when they bite.  This saliva is irritating and our pets can develop flea allergy dermatitis.  This causes pets to scratch and bite and lose their hair.  It only takes one flea for this to become a problem in allergic pets.  If your pet has a lot of fleas, especially if they are puppies and kittens, they can become anemic from flea bites since fleas are blood sucking insects.  Fleas also transmit tapeworms when our pets ingest infected fleas.

 

Pets get ticks walking through the woods or high grass.  When we or our pets walk by and brush up against ticks they dislodge and attach to us or our pets.  Ticks can transmit several diseases when they bite.  The most common tick born diseases in this area are Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

 

There are several products available to kill fleas and ticks on pets if they pick up these unwanted pests.  The best treatment is prevention so they don't develop an infestation.  Flea and tick medication should be started early in the spring before fleas and ticks become active and continued through the second killing frost of winter.  Many pet owners will continue flea medication year round as fleas can live in the inside environment even after the temperature has killed the outside population.

 

Ask our staff about the best flea and tick medication for your pet.  There are several products available that combine flea protection with heartworm prevention and even parasite protection.  These products are given once a month so they are easy to use.  Also ask about specials on these products to save you money!