Services at Nakusp Veterinary Clinic

We are interested in the well-being of all of your animal companions, and provide most medical, dental and surgical services of a general practice.  We take an interest in the whole pet, including preventive medicine as well as nutrition, behaviour and good dental health.

As the saying goes:  "Pets are the family we choose for ourselves."  Let's treat them with compassion, care for their health and make sure they have good quality of life!

Preventive Medicine

Preventive medicine is also called "wellness care".  It starts at 6 - 9 weeks of age when puppies and kittens have their first exam.  During the early months of these pets' lives, we are assessing their health, nutrition, growth, dentition, and behaviour.  Vaccinations and parasite treatments are recommended.  Spay and neuter are discussed, including optimal timing.

We recommend an annual wellness exam each year to follow up with every pet.  This allows us to notice what is happening with your pet and help you adjust your care if needed.  Sometimes a pet needs a different diet, or sometimes there are new dental problems or the beginnings of a disease process.  We look for issues that we can fix before they become problems.

Somewhere between the ages of 7 and 10, depending on breed and size, your dog or cat is considered a senior.  Then we need to discuss screening tests that may be of value as your pet ages. 

Behaviour

We use a positive approach to training, and like to start with your pet learning that we are a fun place to come to!  We welcome sensitive cats and dogs that may need a little TLC.  We can demonstrate training techniques during your wellness visits, and we can also help you with specific problems.

Here are some behaviour resources we recommend

Nutrition

There are so many things to consider when deciding what to feed your pet!  There is no one food or feeding method that is perfect for every pet.  We can help you with dietary recommendations and nutritional information, especially for special dietary needs.  We stock a number of different diets and can source other options where needed.

Most of the diets we stock (MediCal/Royal Canin, and Orijen/Acana) are made in Canada and have met certain environmental standards.  Talk to Dr. Page about that if you want to hear the whole story!

Choosing a commercial food            Making your own pet food

Surgery

We have a well-equipped surgical suite with modern anesthesia and monitoring equipment. We perform many different surgeries, including fracture repair, abdominal surgery and removal of various kinds of tumours. Surgery is sometimes as common as taking a biopsy to make a diagnosis of a lump, or spaying a pet to prevent future litters. Sometimes it is challenging and rewarding and a chance to save an animal's life. 

More on surgery and anesthesia

Dentistry

The average dog has 42 teeth; cats have 30 teeth.  Like people, pets can be subject to a whole host of dental problems that can be painful and/or affect other organs such as heart and kidneys.  We use special equipment to take dental radiographs, and a high-speed dental system to perform dental surgery.  Our goal is to keep our patients free of pain and infection!

More on dentistry

 

Laboratory

We are fortunate to be able to offer a range of laboratory services to provide timely diagnostics for our patients.  We are equipped, for example, to analyze blood chemistry, blood cells, urine, skin scrapings, fine needle aspirates, ear smears, and routine cultures.  Medicine has become increasingly complex, and getting all the information to make a diagnosis is important to provide the best treatment.

More on Diagnostic Laboratory

 

 

 

Radiology

Many people think that radiographs are used only to diagnose bone diseases and fractures. They are, however, useful for assessing many other conditions, such as bladder stones, enlarged hearts or gastro-intestinal disease.