We recommend annual wellness exams for most pets. Senior pets or those with medical conditions may need more frequent visits.

Yes! We provide core and non-core vaccinations tailored to your pet’s lifestyle and risk factors.

Symptoms like loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, or unusual behavior could signal a health issue. If you’re concerned, schedule a visit.

Spaying or neutering can take place at 6 months of age. Spaying a female prior to her first heat cycle significantly reduces the incidence of mammary tumors, ovarian cancer, and uterine infection, and has the obvious benefit of no unplanned pregnancies. Neutering a male pet at 6 months helps prevent future prostate problems and greatly reduces the occurrence of serious behavior issues, such as inappropriate elimination (“marking territory”), aggressiveness, and the desire to run in search of a mate. There are some acceptations to spaying/neutering at 6 months of age. If you think your pet should wait, please consult with your veterinarian. They will discuss the pros and cons of waiting.

Vaccinations for kittens are generally started at 6-8 weeks of age. A distemper combination (FVR-CP) is given every 3-4 weeks until your kitten reaches 12 weeks of age. It is then boostered annually. Rabies vaccine, while not required by law, is highly recommended. It is administered at 16 weeks of age and is good for one year. After that, rabies vaccines are given every three years.

Vaccinations start at 8 weeks of age. A distemper combination (DHLPP) is given every 3-4 weeks until the puppy reaches 16 weeks of age. The distemper combination is boostered annually, however other vaccine options also exist. The rabies vaccine is given at 16 weeks of age and is good for one year. After that, the rabies vaccine is administered every three years. Talk with your veterinarian about your pet’s lifestyle and they can make vaccine recommendations accordingly.

During your pet’s annual exam. If you have a puppy or kitten, we recommend running two fecal tests several weeks apart to ensure your puppy or kitten is parasite free. If your pet is sick with vomiting or diarrhea, we will also ask that you bring in a sample at the time of your office visit. Pets can pick parasites up from other animals and the environment.

Heartworm is a parasite carried by mosquitoes. It is recommended by the Companion Animal Parasite Council Companion Animal Parasite Council | Home (capcvet.org) that animals living in Wisconsin are on year-round prevention. There are a lot of reasons for this, most importantly because the life cycle of heartworm disease and the life cycle of the mosquito are both quite complicated. And because of how the temperatures are in Wisconsin, your pets are at risk at times when you would think they would not be. Another benefit to protecting your pet from heartworm disease is that the monthly heartworm prevention that we recommend also protects your pet from intestinal parasites.

If your pet goes outside, they should be on prevention. It does not get cold enough in Wisconsin for enough consecutive days to kill ticks. So, there is tick activity year-round. Ticks carry many diseases that can be transmitted to your pet when they bite. Some of the tick-transmitted diseases can be debilitating or even deadly. Fleas may not be a huge problem year around in Wisconsin, but we still can have flea issues and infestations. Once you get an infestation, they are challenging themselves to get rid of them and they do carry disease. With a bad infestation, people can get flea bites as well. 

Any time anesthesia is administered, a certain amount of risk exists. If your pet is generally healthy and in the normal weight range, it is likely the risk will be slight. In almost all cases the health benefits of performing the procedure are far greater than the anesthetic risk. To decrease risk to the lowest possible level, we recommend bloodwork on all pets, healthy or not, prior to all anesthetic procedures. These blood tests, performed prior to anesthesia, give our veterinarians information by assessing kidney and liver values, glucose levels, blood counts, hydration level, etc. Should there be health concerns, additional testing and supportive care may also be advised.

Please call us so we can do an assessment over the phone to determine the urgency and how to most efficiently handle your pet’s problem. We will try our best to see your pet during our regular business hours. When the clinic is closed, emergency care is provided by the Blue Pearl Emergency Pet Hospital, located at 4706 New Horizon Blvd, Appleton, WI. They can be reached at 920-993-9193.

The answer isn’t always clear-cut, but emergency care is required for any life-threatening injury or illness that requires immediate hospitalization. Urgent care falls between emergency care and regular vet visits, in the somewhat unclear area of “I know something’s wrong with my pet and it needs to be checked out by a vet ASAP.” 

If you’re ever in doubt about what qualifies for urgent versus emergency care, just contact us and we’ll help you figure it out. Here’s a list of pet ailments that can help you make a call in your care decision.

Urgent care

Again, urgent care should be sought for issues that need immediate medical attention but aren’t necessarily life-threatening. These may include:

• Bite wounds

• Diarrhea or vomiting

• Constipation

• Dehydration

• Itchy skin or rashes

• Wound treatment

• Hair loss

• Pain or limping

• Changes in behavior

• Loss of appetite or overeating

• Cuts and abrasions

• Scooting

• Eye issues (tearing, redness, discharge)

• Ear infections

• Pale gums

• Runny nose, coughing, or sneezing

• Worms, fleas, ticks, or mites

• Urinating blood

• Consuming a foreign body (toy, rawhide, etc.)

Emergency care

If your pet is experiencing a life-threatening crisis that requires immediate hospital attention, they need emergency care:

• Collapse or loss of consciousness

• Paralysis

• Seizures

• Choking

• Excessive bleeding

• Severe or persistent diarrhea or vomiting

• Fractures

• Penetrating wounds

• Allergic reactions

• Heatstroke

• Stopped breathing

• Cardiac arrest

• Trauma or accident, such as falling or being hit by an object or car

• Distressed mother in labor/inability to deliver kittens or puppies

• Bloat

• Toxin ingestion (both poisons and food not suitable for your pet)

We accept cash, credit/debit cards, and pet insurance (they reimburse you). Payment is due at the time of service.

We do not offer payment plans at this time.

Yes! We work with most major pet insurance providers