Wellness

Immunizations and Wellness Care:

A regular physical examination is just as important for your pet as it is for you. We recommend a complete physical examination for your pet at least once a year. During a physical examination, we perform a "nose-to-tail" examination of your pet. We examine your pet's nose, eyes, ears, check your pet's teeth and oral cavity, listen to your pet's heart and lungs, carefully examine the skin and coat, look for any unusual lumps or swelling, palpate the abdomen and muscles and perform an orthopedic evaluation of the bones and joints.

We strive to prevent illness whenever possible. Our wellness programs are designed specifically for your pet and include a comprehensive physical exam, internal parasite testing, heartworm and flea control, vaccination program and specialized blood tests for all life stages.

At BBVH, we realize that not every pet requires the same vaccinations. We tailor our vaccine schedules based on the individual needs and unique lifestyles of each pet.

Vaccination guidelines        dog        cat

Senior Pet Care

Like people, dogs and cats are living longer. It is important that we help ensure these extended years are the happiest and healthiest as possible. We hope that with our new Senior Wellness Program together we can make a significant difference in the life of your senior dog and cat.

Age is not a number, but rather a measure of the effect of aging to the body. Variables such as nutrition, genetics, and environment all contribute to how your pet will be influenced by the aging process. For practical purposes we consider “senior” to be at 7 years old. Small dogs and cats tend to live longer than medium or large breed dogs. Since pets age more rapidly than people, dramatic changes in health can occur in as little as 3-6 months. 

The purpose of screening apparently healthy pets is to establish a baseline for future comparison and to detect hidden or sub-clinical abnormalities at a time when preventative intervention will have the greatest benefit.

Internal Medicine

You love your pet. When your pet is sick, you want the best care possible. The medical staff at BBVH  provides outstanding medical care for your pet in a compassionate and loving environment. The entire staff is committed to medical excellence and prides themselves on open communication with every client.

BBVH is a full-service animal hospital and wellness center. In order to help diagnose your pet's medical condition, we have invested heavily in the most up-to-date medical instruments. We use the latest technology, including ultrasound and endoscopy, to provide your pet with the highest level of care possible. We cover all areas of internal medicine including cardiology, ophthalmology, neurology, dermatology, gastroenterology, oncology and endocrinology.

Cancer Therapy

 BBVH serves patients from all over Northern Nevada and California. Pets unfortunately, develop many of the same types of cancer that affect humans. In the past, cancer was a certain death sentence for animals, but today there are a variety of cancers and tumors that can be successfully treated. Advances in the knowledge of tumor biology, nutrition, surgery, and chemotherapeutic agents have provided options for cancer treatment like never before. Early detection and treatment are very important in the successful management of tumors in pets. Routine examinations are recommended for any animal over 8 years of age, and for certain breeds of dogs (golden retrievers, boxers) that have a relative higher risk of developing certain types of cancer. Clients also should routinely watch for the warning signs of cancer in their pets:

Weight loss	Coughing or weakness	Decreased appetite
Unexplained odor	Vomiting	Behavioral changes
Poor hair coat	Lumps and bumps that show signs of rapid growth, discomfort, or bleeding.

The Cancer Center at BBVH serves as a regional referral center for the treatment of cancer in small animals. Many of the patients seen for cancer are actually referrals from other veterinarians around the area. In addition, BBVH is one of the few hospitals in Nevada that offers the new therapy for malignant melanomas, a devastating diagnosis.

If you have any questions regarding cancer, cancer screening tests, or cancer treatment, contact Drs. Baker or Crumley

Dentistry

Dental hygiene is an important part of your pet's overall health. Poor dental health can often be the cause of serious illness. If left untreated, dental problems can lead to larger systemic problems in your pet due to oral bacteria entering the blood stream and damaging the kidneys, heart and liver. Many of these problems can be avoided by scheduling regular dental check-ups and teeth cleanings for your pet.

Veterinary dentistry is considerably more involved and time-consuming than basic human dentistry. Cleaning a pet's teeth requires general anesthesia followed by a day-long hospital stay. While your pet is under anesthesia, our skilled veterinary staff does a thorough dental exam to assess tooth and gum health. We then perform ultrasonic scaling and polishing, as well as the extraction of any diseased teeth. We now have digital dental radiology to help us determine the proper course of treatment for a tooth. Many teeth that look normal on the outside can have significant disease on the inside.

Reproductive Services

Drs. Leautier and Sandoval provide advanced canine reproductive services. This includes routine and surgical inseminations using fresh, chilled or frozen semen.  In most cases. dogs need little help to conceive. When there is a problem, correct timing of the "heat" cycle, proper semen analysis, collection and shipment will helps to maximize fertility.

 

Prescription Diets

Some pets require special food, and all pets benefit from a balanced diet. Prescription diets are specifically formulated to meet the requirements necessary  to keep your pet healthy, happy and active. Our trained and certified staff is available to help you choose the right diet for your pet. Pets with specific needs due to a health problem will benefit by eating a diet made specifically for their needs. We are proud to feature Royal Canin Diets.    Royal Canin Website

 

Surgery

Our hospital is well-equipped to perform most minor and major surgical procedures, from spays and neuters to more complicated emergency, orthopedic and soft-tissue surgeries. Prior to surgery, each patient receives a thorough physical examination to identify any existing medical conditions that might endanger your pet's health. Because not all problems can be detected on examination, we also suggest pre-anesthetic blood and urine testing. These tests not only give us a more complete picture of your pet's health, but also allow us to tailor an anesthetic regimen that is specifically designed for your pet.

We offer a wide variety of anesthetic protocols tailored to your pet's individual needs. We use state-of-the-art anesthetic machines and utilize a variety of anesthetic monitoring devices including Doppler blood pressure monitors, respiratory monitors, and other cardiac monitoring equipment. IV fluids are vital for all surgical procedures to support the vascular system and provide an open port for rapid medication administration if needed.

Pain management is an important part of our pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative anesthetic and medical protocol. All surgical patients, including those undergoing routine procedures such as ovariohysterectomy or castrations, receive pain control medication.

BBVH is fully equipped to perform most common orthopedic procedures including fracture repairs, joint surgery and bone biopsies. Our doctors have over 25 years of experience successfully repairing torn anterior cruciate ligaments, the most common knee injury in dogs and cats, as well as patella luxations.

Laparoscopic surgery

Laparoscopic surgery is also called minimally invasive surgery, is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions, as compared to larger incisions needed in traditional surgical procedures. Laparoscopic surgery belongs to the broader field of endoscopy.

The key element in laparoscopic surgery is the use of a laparoscope - a telescopic rod lens system that is usually connected to a video camera. Also attached is a fiber optic cable system connected to a cold light source (halogen or xenon), to illuminate the operative field, inserted through a cannula or Trocar to view the operative field.

In veterinary medicine, laparoscopic surgery is used for several procedures. These techniques often provide a quick and relatively non-invasive means of obtaining answers that would otherwise require major surgery or expensive diagnostic testing. There are a number of advantages to laparoscopic surgery versus the traditional open procedure. These include:

• Shortened anesthesia time
• Reduced blood loss
• Smaller incision, which reduces pain and shortens recovery time
• Less pain, leading to less pain medication needed
• Faster recovery time
• Reduced exposure of internal organs to possible external contaminants, thereby reduced risk of acquiring infections

We are performing laparoscopic guided gastropexy (follow link for more info, and will soon be performing laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy (spay)

Diagnostics

Laboratory Testing

Since your sick pet cannot tell us what is wrong, veterinarians must sometimes supplement physical exams with sophisticated diagnostic testing. Our hospital is equipped with a complete in-house laboratory that allows us to measure more than 100 laboratory values, with results often available in a few minutes. In addition, we work with several outside referral labs if your pet requires specialized testing.

Radiographs (X-Rays)

Radiographs (x-rays) are extremely helpful for diagnosing and monitoring many medical and surgical conditions. X-rays are useful in examining your pet's bones, lungs, heart, abdomen, oral cavity and other areas. An x-ray can spot a fractured bone, detect cancerous tumors, diagnose heartworm disease and locate an obstruction or foreign body in your pet's stomach. When used in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures like ultrasound, x-rays can accurately diagnose problems, making surgery your pet's surgery less traumatic and complicated.

We feature state-of-the-art, digital radiography. Compared to x-rays produced by a traditional machine, the quality of digital radiographs is much better. The time spent taking your pets' radiographs is significantly shortened and fewer pictures are needed to achieve diagnostic-quality results. We can now easily and quickly consult with a Radiology Specialist to gain valuable diagnostic information.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a valuable, non-invasive imaging procedure that complements x-rays and allows our veterinarians to better visualize internal organs in the chest and abdomen. During an ultrasound, high-frequency sound-waves are directed into the body and bounce off the organs, creating a computer image of the inside of the body. This painless diagnostic technique is normally done without sedation of your pet.

Ultrasound is invaluable for making treatment decisions for various types of heart disease. It also allows us to biopsy organs such as the liver and kidney through a tiny "keyhole" incision. Ultrasound works best in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures. For example, if an x-ray detects a lesion, an ultrasound can determine the origin of the lesion and whether it has spread elsewhere in your pet's body. Using the ultrasound image as a guide, surgical biopsies can be obtained without major surgery and your pet can often go home the same day.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy means "looking inside" and refers to looking inside the body for medical purposes. The instrument used for this procedure is called an endoscope.

Endoscopy is a minimally invasive, diagnostic, medical procedure commonly used to evaluate the interior surfaces of an organ by inserting a small tube into the body. Through the endoscope, the observer is able to view lesions on organs and other internal medical conditions.

In veterinary medicine, endoscopy is commonly used as a diagnostic procedure for tissue and organ biopsies, to remove foreign objects (particularly in the stomach) or get an inside view of a particular part of your pet's body. Even though anesthesia is required to keep your pet still during the endoscopic procedure, the amount of anesthesia and recovery time is greatly reduced. Endoscopy is often indicated when routine blood and urine tests, radiographs and ultrasound do not give the complete diagnostic picture.

The endoscope is composed of a long tube (flexible or rigid), a light source, camera and viewing eyepiece. In addition to the fiber optic light source, there are two channels within in the tube. One channel is for passing forceps, snares or biopsy instruments, allowing for the removal of foreign objects, collection of biopsy samples and removal of small polyps or tumors. Air or water can be passed through the other channel for better viewing of the tissue or organ. Compared to traditional surgery, the benefits of endoscopy include shortened anesthesia time, decreased inflammation, less physiologic stress and discomfort and an earlier return to normal function. Even though general anesthesia is required for an endoscopic procedure, it is still considered much less invasive than traditional surgery due to the relatively short procedure time and low occurrence of complication.

 

Ancillary Services

Microchipping

Each year, millions of pets go missing, and many never make it back to their homes. Implanting a microchip in your pet is a simple, painless way to avoid this tragedy.

A microchip is a tiny electronic device, about the size and shape of a grain of rice. It is implanted beneath a pet's skin between the shoulder blades, and stays there for the pet's entire life. This procedure is as easy and as painless as a vaccination.

Each microchip has a unique number. This number, along with information about the owner and pet, are added to a national pet registry. Most veterinary hospitals and animal shelters have electronic scanners for detecting and reading these implanted microchips. If a lost pet is found and a microchip is scanned, the registry is called and the owner can be contacted. BBVH features the Home Again Microchip System.

Pharmacy

BBVH offers a full array of the most up-to-date veterinary medicines, including those for treating heart disease, intestinal problems, skin disorders and arthritis. We carry a variety of flea control products, heartworm preventatives, shampoos and ear cleansers. For your convenience, We have now partnered with VetSource to offer home delivery of many of the most common veterinary prescription products

Canine Weight Loss Program

Like their human counterparts, pets have trouble shaking off those extra pounds. Too many treats and not enough exercise leads to excessive weight gain, which can have far-reaching effects on your pet's overall health. Our veterinarians can help devise a weight loss plan for your pet. Our program combines diet, exercise and Slentrol (a new medication for the management of obesity in dogs) for weight loss in overweight dogs. Please ask a hospital staff member for more information.

Pain Management

Veterinary patients feel pain and discomfort under the same circumstances as people do. We know that recognizing and alleviating pain in animals is the essence of good patient care. We use a multimodal approach to pain relief. Epidurals, local anesthetic, pre-surgical pain relief, and post surgical medications are all important to the well being of your pet. A patient that is not in pain will heal faster, eat better, and sooner return to it's normal ways.