It is important to realize that by taking prophylactic measures at home, we are not going to completely prevent the inevitable buildup of dental plaque and calculus. Instead, our goal is to minimize the rate at which it accumulates, and thereby reduce the number of anesthetic events required to clean the teeth on a regular basis. The rate at which dental tartar and plaque accumulate on our pet’s teeth is dependent on several factors. In dogs, the size of the animal has as much to do with the rate of accumulation as much as anything, as smaller breeds typically accumulate tartar faster than larger breeds. Dachshunds, Yorkies, Shih-Tzus, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, and Miniature Pinschers seem to build up residues the fastest. There are many options available for home dental care for both cats and dogs that we may provide to our pets. Any of these may be used alone or in combination with other measures. We typically recommend products that are approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC). This is a panel of veterinarians that rate products based on their efficacy, active ingredients, and margin of safety related to their regular use. The best measures that we can take include daily teeth brushing, enzyme-impregnated rawhide chews, regular application of gingival antimicrobial solutions, prescription dental diets, and oral rinses that can be added to the water bowl. Products approved by the VOHC can be found at the following link...
Vaccination
Go here for: Dog and Cat breed information, vaccination recommendations, lists of frequently-asked questions for dog and cat health issues, and questions about the practice of veterinary medicine in general.
Veterinary Ophthalmology
Dr. Becker’s largest interests in include ophthalmology, dermatology and dentistry. She particularly enjoys the opportunity to teach and to work “one-on-one” with clients.
Nutritional Counseling
Www.hillspet.com is the official site for Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which includes Science Diet and the line of Prescription Diets of virtually all letters of the alphabet. It has good info on each diet, and downloadable books on puppy or kitten care. Some fun online quizzes are also available.
Comprehensive Examination
Anesthesia is the issue that creates the greatest fear in people about their pets. We take it seriously, and have worked very hard to create anesthetic and pain-control protocols that offer the greatest safety and comfort for your pet. Surgical patients are given complete physical examinations prior to anesthesia, have in-house blood screening of major organ function performed, receive preventative pain medication, have intravenous catheters placed, and balanced electrolyte fluids given throughout anesthesia. Patients have monitors placed for respirations, oxygenization, and heart rate and rhythm, with trained surgical nursing caregivers under the doctor's direct supervision. Gas anesthesia and a heated surgical table to help maintain patient warmth contribute to quick recoveries. Every effort is made to ensure that your pet receives an exquisitely safe and pain-free anesthetic experience that reflects the highest standards within veterinary medicine.
Www.knowheartworms.org KNOW Heartworms aims to educate cat owners about heartworm disease and the threat it poses to cats. It also points out some of the signs not commonly assigned to heartworm disease.Go here for: Information on heartworm disease in cats.
Pain Management
We offer in-house laboratory services, such as fecal, heartworm, feline infectious disease, urine, and cytologic analysis, and contract with excellent outside laboratories for the full array of clinical pathology services. Rapid Complete Blood Count (CBC) results are available from our IDEXX Lasercyte analyzer, offering accurate red cell, white cell, and platelet counts. Our Abaxis VetScan II rounds out the in-house laboratory, with complete blood evaluations for presurgical patients, and rapid monitoring for patients with liver or thyroid disease, or those on anticonvulsant or pain management medications. Fecal examinations are performed by centrifugation analysis, providing the most sensitive and accurate results for your pet. All laboratory results are kept in your pet’s electronic records, for easy and permanent access. We constantly update our capabilities to use laboratory testing to diagnose and manage illness and monitor response to therapy.
Vomiting Treatment
Diarrhea Treatment
Skin Condition and Allergy Treatment
In many cases, we diagnose these allergies based on the symptoms they show and, often, if they have a previous history of the problem at a similar time of year. For severe sufferers, especially those that are miserable all year long, we may advise allergy testing. Traditionally, this was done by having a dermatologist give a series of injections under the top layer of the skin and looking for a reaction, a process called "intradermal skin testing." This is still a very good method. But blood testing for environmental allergens, done by a commercial laboratory that tailors the test to a specific region of the country, can be extremely effective, too. Please let us know if you have questions about these tests; many of you may have already run them on your pet, and are giving allergy injections to "hyposensitize" them to some allergens.
Upper Respiratory Illness Treatment
Www.cdsindogs.com> is an informational site from Pfizer Animal Health. The former is a resource for helping people whose pet may have Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, and the latter discusses infectious respiratory disease in dogs. Other Pfizer product information can be found at www.rimadyl.com, www.revolutionpet.com, and www.simplicef.com.
Geist area homeowners have grown accustomed to the presence of “adorable” wildlife that calls our wooded and ravine terrain their home as well. From the bunnies and deer that find my perennials irresistible to the raccoons that have affection for the garbage cans, I join my neighbors in dealing with issues stemming from co-existence with wild animals. As a veterinarian, I have long dealt with interactions between pets and wildlife, often including fights involving some combination of dogs, coyotes, cats, and possums (the last of which are surprisingly nasty creatures). But now we have another issue that is present locally. A disease called “leptospirosis” has re-emerged. This bacterial disease, which can cause fatal kidney and liver failure in dogs, was relatively common years ago, but then largely disappeared from Indiana. In the past year in particular, I have personally diagnosed it in dogs in the area. It is spread through contact with urine from infected animals, most often wildlife like raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels, and deer. The contaminated urine, though often found in puddles or other standing water, can also penetrate the soil, where Leptospira bacteria can survive for several months. Humans can also contract the disease.
Ear Infection Treatment
Appropriate care of skin disease in pets involves effective therapy to alleviate symptoms and provide relief, and reaching a diagnosis to provide long-term solutions for often-frustrating skin and ear infections and disease. We have extensive experience and interest in management of many skin conditions. Especially with allergic skin disease, reaching a definitive diagnosis is extremely important in controlling itching and discomfort. With serum allergy testing and appropriate diets to diagnose and treat food allergies, we often can get to the “root cause” of a problem without repeated visits that treat only symptoms. Also, many patients have skin infections that are also itchy, and contribute to chronic problems that don’t seem to resolve. Diagnosing and treating these infections effectively, including ear infections, can make an immense difference in the success with dermatologic cases.
Traditionally, we have treated a fat cat like a small dog when it comes to nutrition. This is to say, we often have fed low-fat, high-fiber foods to both species to try to decrease caloric intake while still allowing them to get the sense of a full tummy (and, therefore, keep them from harassing us with hungry meows). Many a fat cat has indeed lost weight this way. But there are some concerns. Cats are considered true carnivores (meat-eaters) as opposed to dogs who are omnivores (meat- and plant-eaters). Their need for carbohydrates is much lower than that of dogs; meat products by themselves are often adequate. A fairly recent theory that holds a lot of credence in my opinion is that the increased incidence of diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar) in cats has arisen because we have overfed high carbohydrate foods to cats. The pancreas, which produces insulin, essentially "wears out” from the workload, and then stops producing insulin. Insulin, which is necessary to transport glucose (sugar) into most body cells, is deficient in most diabetic animals.
Thyroid Disease Treatment
Causes of seizures are many. In young animals, we attribute many of them to “idiopathic epilepsy,” where the first word says it all—we just plain don’t know what causes them. It is called a “rule-out” diagnosis, because other disorders, including liver and kidney disease, some toxins, electrolyte and blood sugar disorders must be eliminated first. Bloodwork often does this. In older dogs and cats (maybe 6 years or older) we may add some more “Organic brain disease” causes, including tumors. Interestingly, there are some statistical links now being drawn between hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone levels) in dogs with epilepsy, and allergies to some food proteins in both dogs and cats. Some find seizures may happen when pets are in more stressful circumstances. Most, for whatever reason, seem to happen when people are home to see them happen. Some medications may make seizures more likely.
Epilepsy Treatment
Knee Problems Treatment
Kidney Disease Treatment
Be sure that outdoor pets have access to fresh (and unfrozen) water and shelter from the wind. Give your car hood a “thump” if it has been parked outside to shake loose any kitties that have found your engine to be a warm napping place. Fan belt injuries can be disastrous. Finally, the ethylene glycol found in anti-freeze is a potent toxin to pets that like to lick the sweet, syrupy fluid from the garage floor or driveway. It causes potentially-irreversible kidney failure. Incidentally, if your pet is involved in any holiday drama, we will be here regular hours throughout the holidays (including 8 to 12 on the Saturdays of Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and the Mondays after both holidays).
Periodontal Disease Treatment
At Fall Creek VMC we commonly get asked questions about what pet owners can do to clean their pets’ teeth at home. Before this question can be addressed, it is important to know that by taking prophylactic measures at home to clean teeth, and by doing routine oral cleanings under anesthesia, we are working to eliminate periodontal disease, so called “periodontitis”. This is the number one oral disease in dogs and cats, the end-stage of which is loss of teeth. Periodontal disease is disease of all of the structures of the periodontium, a collective group of anatomical structures that includes the teeth, the bones of the jaws that hold the teeth, the periodontal ligaments (which help hold the tooth roots in place), and the gums. The root of all periodontal disease (pun intended) is the buildup of dental plaque and subsequent dental calculus. Plaque is the grey-brown accumulation of bacteria, salivary glycoproteins, lipid, carbohydrates, and inorganic minerals (calcium carbonate, phosphates). Once this material mineralizes it is known as dental calculus. This material adheres to the teeth and must be mechanically removed. The buildup of plaque and calculus results in the gum disease gingivitis and eventually gingival recession, a painful process by which the gums recede and expose the sensitive roots of the teeth. This is a self-perpetuating process that can be very painful and affect your pet’s overall health.
Cancer Treatment
Diagnosis and therapy for many tumors and cancers is available. Chemotherapeutic drugs can be administered in-house for cancers such as lymphoma/ lymphosarcoma and mast cell tumors. We can work with you in decisions such as referral to a board-certified oncologist, surgery, and other treatment options. While care of cancer patients may involve surgical and medical options, sometimes it may be just appropriate efforts to provide comfort and the best quality-of-life for as long as possible. Hospice care may be a good choice for some patients as well. We will work with you to accurately diagnose cancers, determine a prognosis, and provide clear options, while also helping you navigate the emotional aspects of your pet’s illness.
Epileptics, if they are so-diagnosed, are often given anticonvulsant drugs if they have more than one seizure in a 30-day period, or if they have status or cluster seizures. These medications may vary, but all require close monitoring to avoid toxicity and side-effects. The goal of anti-convulsants is not to “cure” epilepsy or even prevent all future seizures, but to “raise the threshold” for their occurrence. Good information in the recently-published veterinary literature is coming out on options for alternative medications or “add-on” drugs for pets that cannot handle the more commonly-used approaches. This has been very helpful in more difficult cases.
Wound and Fracture Care
Kim is from Columbus, Ohio where her and her husband Jeff raised their daughter Brooke. Kim has always loved animals. Prior to moving to Indiana, her family raised Akitas and showed them competitively. Kim currently has one Akita named Murphy along with one grand-dog, Chloe the Frenchie, who lives in California with her daughter Brooke. Kim and her husband moved to Indiana in 2018 when her husband started his own research and development company studying wound care and prosthetics. After nearly 25 years of experience as a client services member in human medicine, combined with her love for animals, Kim truly enjoys working as a client services member on our team.
We take dental health seriously, so we offer preventative services, such as ultrasonic dental scaling and polishing, to keep teeth and gums healthy. We offer digital dental radiography that can be beneficial in diagnosing and treating unseen dental disease. We also have capabilities for minimally-traumatic oral surgery and extractions. Oral surgery and periodontal procedures like gingival flaps, root planning, and curettage are available. Some dogs may benefit from a vaccine for a common bacterial cause of periodontal disease called "Porphyromonas," that, combined with other dental care strategies, can cut down on plaque-causing bacteria. Please feel free to discuss this with the doctor or one of the technical staff.
Veterinary Surgery
To provide outstanding medical and surgical care to our patients using advanced, thorough diagnostics and therapy to effectively prevent and treat disease.
Laser Surgery
Spaying and Neutering
Our doctors have extensive experience in a wide range of surgical procedures, including elective surgeries such as ovariohysterectomy (spay), and neutering, as well as abdominal, upper respiratory, and ophthalmic soft tissue procedures. Additionally, orthopedic procedures, such as cranial (anterior) cruciate ligament and patellar luxation repairs are done in the practice. Sterile surgical technique is practiced to the level required by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) in the surgical suite.
Several answers fit here. Among them, emergency clinics have a lot of overhead expenses, including equipment for intensive care and in-house lab testing (outside labs close on weekends and holidays), high staff costs (try hiring for positions that include overnights, weekends, and holidays), and maintaining a facility that may see a zillion emergencies or nothing at all on any given day. Also, there is the old-fashioned economics of supply and demand, meaning that prices can be higher when you're the only show in town. That said, we do have more than one option in town, and having a bit of friendly competition is a good thing. For the increasing number of our clients that have been purchasing pet insurance policies, since all medical and veterinary costs seem to grow rapidly, it is important to know the level of coverage provided for emergency care. This can make a huge difference if your pet requires emergency care.
We are fortunate to have the talents of excellent pet groomers/stylists at Fall Creek Veterinary Medical Center! Hannah, Rachel, and Camryn are all experienced groomers that will provide safe and caring grooming services, and leave your pet looking and feeling their best! We encourage you to choose the groomer that you prefer, but know you will be happy with the finished product.
Senior Pet Care
As our pets live longer, they become an even greater presence in the lives of their human companions. Advances in veterinary medicine allow us to deal with the unique challenges of growing older. We take a strong interest in the early recognition and treatment of diseases that impact senior and geriatric pets. From options in screening bloodwork, dietary considerations, and behavioral challenges, to pain management and difficult end of life choices, we put a special focus on outstanding care of the geriatric pet. Because organ systems age more rapidly in our senior pets than they do in ourselves, we recommend complete physical examinations at least every six months when pets become seniors. This allows us to pick up on disease earlier, before it becomes more difficult to treat or creates discomfort in your pet. We also offer hospice care, where nursing staff or the doctor can make visits to your home for comfort care or evaluations of pets facing serious or terminal diseases. The difficulty of transporting pets, and the stress they may experience in the face of illness, can often add to the burden for the patient and family members alike. Please contact the office for more details about hospice care options.
Dog Training
Www.dogstardaily.com is the source for information about dog training tips or behavior problems. Go here for: Puppy behavior problem prevention, training tips, and advice on choosing a trainer.