Preventative medicine involves routine examinations to get base line information about a patient. We look at the patient's living environment, breed predilections, past medical history and current risks or exposures. It is important to look at diet and behavior as part of a routine examination so that early signs of problems such as obesity or separation anxiety can be addressed.

Preventative health exams should be performed on pets at least once a year. For the very young or the older patient, more routine exams may be necessary to insure the best health.

As part of preventative medicine, many animals are vaccinated against life-threatening diseases. Vaccines are given to minimize the risk of a patient should they be exposed to a certain virus/ disease. Each animal is evaluated to determine which vaccines are most appropriate for them.
Read more about BANHC's Vaccine recommendations.

Dental care is a very integral part of preventative medicine and ranges from home dental care to professional dental surgery (extractions and cleanings) done right in our office.

Spaying and neutering are important components of preventative medicine for our pet. With spaying and neutering, we help decrease pet overpopulation, roaming of animals and cancer of the reproductive organs as well as trauma and infection to those organs.

Preventative medicine also involves routine diagnostics such as blood, urine and fecal analysis. We do many lab tests in house as well as work closely with the full service diagnostic laboratory at Angell Memorial in Boston. Specimens are transported to Angell on a daily basis with many results the same evening. With the lab at Angell, we also have access to board certified pathologists and radiologists to work on cases.