Our Services

Regular Health Examinations

Your pet’s physical exam is important!

Animal Hospital of Tiffin is dedicated to the proper care of your pet. Through education, preventive care, and careful management of medical needs, we will help you enjoy your pet for as many years as possible. To learn more about our Wellness Exams & Preventative Care, please click here.

Our pets can’t tell us where they hurt or how they are feeling. They are often good at masking their pain. A regular physical exam and a careful discussion with the client allow us to detect abnormalities and uncover disease. Early detection and treatment are essential in prolonging and improving your pet’s quality of life. Early diagnosis may mean the difference between success and failure in the treatment of disease.

Many symptoms may appear harmless, but changes in weight or appetite may signal liver, kidney, or heart problems. Lumps or bumps under the skin may be cancerous. Ear infections and abscessed teeth are both painful and common but may not be noticed by the owner until well advanced. Regular health exams are the basic tool our doctors use to evaluate your pet’s health status and to help you make informed decisions about your pet’s care. This is also a time for your veterinarian to make recommendations about nutrition, exercise, weight control, and hygiene. Your veterinarian will take this opportunity to discuss with you the latest developments and recommendations regarding pet health care and treatment. This is also your opportunity to ask any questions you may have about your pet’s health and behavior.

What Happens During a Regular Health and Wellness Exam

A wellness exam is a complete hands-on assessment of your pet’s health status. We measure weight and respiration during your pet’s exam and examine eyes, ears, mouth, heart, lungs, abdomen, skin, lymph nodes, nervous system, external genitalia, and gait. Throughout the evaluation, the doctor will discuss with you your pet and listen to your concerns and questions.

Vaccines are administered at the yearly wellness exam. Each pet’s vaccine record is reviewed along with their lifestyle (indoor vs. outdoor, travel history, frequency of boarding or grooming, etc.) to determine the appropriate vaccination protocol for your pet. For more information on the vaccines available and recommended at the Animal Hospital of Tiffin, click here.

Yearly Heartworm Testing is generally conducted during this regular health exam. At Animal Hospital of Tiffin, we recommend that prevention be given 12 months of the year to protect against heartworm disease with the recommendation for a yearly blood test. Treatment for heartworm disease is quite costly compared to the relatively inexpensive monthly prevention that is easy to give. For more information about our heartworm test and prevention, click here.

Fecal or stool analysis is also recommended once a year at the time of the Wellness exam. Examining the stool sample microscopically is very important for the early detection of diseases such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, tapeworms, coccidia, and giardia, not only for your pet’s health but also for your family’s. By detecting and treating intestinal parasites early, we can prevent them from becoming clinical diseases.

Good Health for Your Pet may Include Periodic Blood Testing

Early detection and treatment are essential for your pet’s long and healthy life. A Blood Chemistry Screen or Complete Blood Count can pick up a problem before it’s caught on a physical exam. Early detection of diabetes, kidney and liver disease, as well as metabolic imbalance, is possible with blood screening. We also use blood tests to monitor the levels and efficacy of various medications we use to treat chronic diseases such as seizures, hyperthyroidism, or diabetes and monitor for adverse reactions from certain medications.

Detecting and Managing Disease Conditions

Pets with disease conditions require more intense monitoring than healthy pets. Medical technology changes frequently and visiting your veterinarian regularly ensures that your pet is receiving up-to-date care. It goes without saying that a physical exam is important anytime you suspect a problem. If you observe any of these signs, please call us to schedule an appointment:

• Weight gain or loss
• Stool or urine accidents
• Increase in sleep or restlessness
• Fatigue
• Breathlessness
• Coughing
• Difficulty walking or moving
• Frequent vomiting
• Poor appetite
• Increase in thirst or urination
• Bad breath
• Dull, flaky hair coat
• Lumps or bumps
• Foul odor
• Behavior change
• Crying or whimpering

Flea and Tick Prevention

We recommend year-round flea and tick prevention. In our region, we have seen cases of fleas every month of the year. Preventing fleas from getting on your pet is much easier and less expensive than trying to get rid of the fleas once they have made their way into your house. Fleas also carry tapeworms and can cause a severe skin disease in affected animals as many animals are allergic to flea saliva.

Ticks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are easy to see once they are engorged, while others are not. Each type of tick carries different, deadly diseases. Many of these diseases are transmissible to both humans and animals. It is important to keep pets on tick prevention, especially those that spend a lot of time outdoors. Once a tick is attached, it can be difficult to remove and can transmit diseases. We have products that both repel ticks and kill them once they jump on your pet. Our yearly heartworm test also tests for 3 different tick-borne diseases. If any of these diseases are detected, we will begin your pet on therapy right away before they begin to show signs, as these diseases can be life-threatening if not caught in time. To see more about the products we offer, please click here.

We understand that surgery is a stressful time for your pet as well as for you. We do everything we can to make this event comfortable, safe, and convenient for everyone. We perform scheduled surgeries Monday through Friday, and when emergencies arise, we fit them into the schedule whenever necessary. If you would like to learn more about the specific surgical procedures we perform at Animal Hospital of Tiffin, please click here.

We recommend the use of the surgical laser when performing certain surgeries on your pet. The surgical laser seals blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels, so your pet experiences decreased pain, decreased bleeding, and decreased swelling.

Most surgical patients will spend the night with us. This ensures that they are monitored after surgery and receive activity restriction immediately after surgery. If your pet needs to spend the night after a procedure, we make every attempt to keep him as comfortable as possible. Occasionally owners like to visit their pets. If it is only one day, sometimes your visit can actually make it more stressful for your pet. We ask that you call ahead so we can get the okay from your pet’s doctor. You can be assured that your pet receives much attention and TLC while under our care.

A pre-anesthetic blood screen is recommended to detect any hidden problems that could threaten your pet’s well-being while under anesthesia. An electrocardiogram to evaluate heart function is also recommended. Each patient’s body temperature is maintained using a warm water-circulating heating pad during surgery and has a heated pad during recovery.

General anesthesia is administered as an intravenous induction and as an inhaled gas. Gas anesthesia and oxygen are delivered to the patient through an endotracheal tube which is placed in the pet’s airway. An electrocardiogram, pulse oximeter, blood pressure, and respiratory monitor are methods used to monitor the anesthetized pet and help to ensure his or her safety. All anesthetic protocols are tailored to your pet to ensure safety, especially in our older and high-risk patients.

A registered veterinary technician is present to assist the doctor during the surgery. The technician monitors the pet’s rate and depth of respiration, heart rate, temperature, and the color of the pet’s gums and mucous membranes. Following the surgery, your pet is put in heated recovery and carefully monitored.

Surgery may be performed with a scalpel blade or with a surgical laser. Some surgeries are only done using the surgical laser due to less bleeding, less pain, and less swelling.

Pre and post-operative pain management is provided.

Pets released after surgery will need to have their activities restricted for a few days. They need this to allow for the fastest healing with as little pain and complications as possible. Your pet should be kept indoors, and running or jumping should not be allowed. Leash walks are recommended. In some cases, your pet may be discharged with a collar to prevent your pet from self-traumatizing and/or infecting its surgical site. These collars are bulky, and some pets may pout with them on. Although strongly discouraged, you may remove for short periods of time, IF you can provide 100% supervision. If your pet opens up the incision, additional surgery, trauma, and repair will cost you. You will be provided with individualized care instructions based on the surgery performed on your pet.

Types of Surgeries – For more information, click here.

• Spay and Neuter
• Mass/Tumor Removal and Other Soft Tissue Surgery
• Limited Orthopedic Surgery
• Eye Surgery
• Ear Crop
• Abdominal Surgery

Good dental care plays a crucial role in the quality of your pet’s life. Dental disease is one of the most common health problems we see in adult cats and dogs. More than just bad breath, dental disease can cause pain, tooth/bone loss, infection and may affect internal organ function. The bacteria that reside in the mouth are a readily available infection source for the rest of the body. Liver, kidney, and heart function can suffer from untreated oral disease. Dental disease is present in at least 85% of patients over the age of 3 years. For more information about dental care, please click here.