It’s a well-known fact that our pets age much faster than we do. The age at which we consider an animal a ‘senior’ depends a lot on its species and breed, but as a general guide it’s from around seven years old.
Just like us, there are many pet health issues that are much more likely to happen in older age – and are more easily managed if they are detected earlier rather than later. For this reason, when we examine a senior pet, we give particular attention to things such as hearts, eyes and joints, and looking for any lumps.
However, there are problems that a good examination and good observation by an owner simply can’t detect, but that blood and urine testing can. We are in the habit of regularly testing our own senior animals in this way, and are offering to do the same for your seniors.
The tests we do check many of the organ systems such as liver and kidneys and look for signs of problems such as diabetes and blood disorders. When we get normal results, it’s both a good sign for your pet’s health, and a useful baseline for us to compare subsequent results with.
Because of the importance of this testing, we offer a special price on senior blood testing and urinalysis, when performed with your pet’s annual checkup and/or vaccination. Please let the nurse know when you are making the booking, so we can allow additional time for sample collection.