About Alton Main Animal Hospital is proud to offer
Services
Preventive health care
We stress the importance of annual wellness exams for your pet(s) now that some vaccination protocols have changed. Pets cannot tell us how they feel, so by performing their annual physical exam we can check their eyes, skin, teeth, ears, respiratory and skeletal neural systems, lymph nodes, and mucous membranes to ensure they are healthy. We recommend annual blood screens to ensure all is well on the “”inside”” also. These tests can unmask diseases or disorders before they become severe and life threatening. These results can also provide an important benchmark for the future care of your pet.
Senior Preventive health care
Beginning around age 7 your pet enters his/her senior years. Health care for your older pet goes beyond regular vaccinations, parasite control, dental cleanings, regular exercise and good nutrition. We recommend that you bring your pet in for physical exams and labwork more often now. Your dog and cat ages 5 to 7 years for every one of yours. This suggests that health problems can progress 5 to 7 times faster. Our senior health care program seeks to promote health and prevent, or at least slow, disease in older pets by focusing on the body systems that are most affected by aging. We have developed several low cost senior wellness programs to help you with the necessary information. With appropriate care and nutrition your pet’s senior years can be a healthy and happy time
Pre-Surgical Policy
Alton Main Animal Hospital requires all surgical patients be placed on IV (intravenous) fluids during their anesthetic procedure. This helps maintain their blood pressure, since each individual is affected differently by different anesthesia types. It also helps to minimize any compromise to your pet’s liver and kidneys, since they are the two organs that process the anesthesia. Your pet must have had a physical exam with our veterinarian within the last 6 months, or we can do same day physicals. If your pet is less than 7 years old we recommend pre-anesthetic labwork testing. This will inform us of your pet’s kidney and liver functions. It could change our anesthetic protocols or even delay the surgery, if necessary. If they are 7 years or older, we require a more comprehensive labwork, which should be done a minimum of 2 days to a maximum of 6 months before the surgical procedure. All of our surgical patients should have food withheld from 10 pm the night before the surgery. It is okay to allow your pet to have water until he/she is brought to Alton Main Animal Hospital the morning of the surgery. We request your pet be admitted between 7 am and 8 am, allowing us time to prep for surgery (i.e. give preanesthetic injections to calm them and control pain, and prepping the surgical site), perform the surgery, and for the patient to be fully recovered for when you pick up, typically between 3 pm and 5:30 pm
Microchip
Millions of pets are lost each year. Some are found and unfortunately, some are lost forever. You can protect your dog or cat from this fate by having a permanent microchip id implanted in your pet. The microchip is a tiny form of computerized identification about the size of a grain of rice that can be permanently placed under a pet’s skin. It is a painless procedure and is as easy as a vaccination, but for convenience, it can be implanted while your pet is under anesthesia for his/her neuter/spay. The microchip is a small, sterile transponder that contains a unique id code capable of being read by a compatible scanner. Scanners are used by animal agencies, humane societies and veterinarians throughout the United States. Our scanner will provide Avid Microchip id numbers, The microchip’s biocompatible material is extremely safe for your pet. The microchip is a passive device. It requires no battery and remains inactive until it is scanned. How do recoveries take place? Once the microchip is in place, it can be read by a scanner that will identify the chip number, thereby revealing the necessary information to contact the owner and bring your pet home safely, provided you have registered with the recovery service. The database is maintained and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and you are notified as soon as your pet’s id is called into the 24 hour recovery service. For more information talk to your veterinarian or www. Homeagain.com
Overnight Patient
We do not have overnight staffing, but ensure our patients are comfortable with a blanket, pain medications (when necessary), food and water and sometimes soothing music. If our patients are critical and need 24 hours observation we will assist you in transferring them to the Pet Urgent Care. For most of our overnight surgeries, your pet is better to rest in a quiet place to assist in recovery. For hospitalized ill patients, we do come in (whether it be the doctor or the technician) once or twice between the hours of 7 pm and 7 am, to make sure they receive their needed antibiotic injections and they are receiving their needed fluid therapy. We do encourage our clients to visit their pets during normal hours, when an extended hospitalization is necessary.
General surgery
We offer surgical services for soft tissue procedures such as ovariohysterectomy (spay), orchidectomy (neuter), mass/growth excisions, abscess/wound debridement, urolithiasis (bladder stone removal), and exploratory surgeries (such as foreign body blockage). We use the safest most recently available anesthetics. During surgery and procedures requiring anesthesia, your pet’s heart rate, pulse, respiration and oxygen levels are monitored closely by a pulse oximeter monitor which notifies us immediately of anything unusual. It’s our job to ensure that your pet can properly process and then eliminate the anesthetic he or she is given. Before we perform any procedure requiring anesthesia, we run tests to confirm that your pet’s organs are functioning properly and to reveal any hidden health conditions that could put your pet at risk.
Orthopedic surgery
We have the capability to perform fracture repairs, luxating patellas and anterior cruciate ligament repairs.
Dental cleanings/extractions
We perform recommended professional anesthetized dental cleanings and scalings along with necessary extractions.
Radiographs
We have onsite capability to take x-rays of your companion for immediate reviewing for diagnostic recommendations.
On-site laboratory
Our on-site laboratory includes a Vetscan which allows us to perform blood chemistries (such as liver and kidney functions) for immediate reviewing. We also have a CBC machine which will provide us with a CBC (complete blood count) providing us information on red blood cell counts, white blood cell counts and platelets.
Radiographs
We must have a current (within the last 12 months) client, patient, and doctor relationship in order to fill any medical prescriptions. Refills will be granted as long as your pet is current on the required labwork and physical exam needed for individual medications and patients.
Vaccinations
With the changing protocols in frequency of vaccinations given, it is highly recommended to continue with those annual physical exams and discuss each pet’s individual needs for vaccinations, since there are so many factors to consider, such as age, lifestyle, and risk of exposure in individual environments. Rabies vaccinations are legally recognized only when given by a licensed veterinarian
Radiographs
We must have a current (within the last 12 months) client, patient, and doctor relationship in order to fill any medical prescriptions. Refills will be granted as long as your pet is current on the required labwork and physical exam needed for individual medications and patients.
Vaccinations
With the changing protocols in frequency of vaccinations given, it is highly recommended to continue with those annual physical exams and discuss each pet’s individual needs for vaccinations, since there are so many factors to consider, such as age, lifestyle, and risk of exposure in individual environments. Rabies vaccinations are legally recognized only when given by a licensed veterinarian
After-Hours Emergency
We refer our after-hour emergencies to