Companion Animal Services
CLINIC & URGENT CARE SERVICES
*Note: Urgent Care services are only available at our location in Lodi. Extended urgent care hours: Monday – Friday until 10pm and Saturday 8am-5pm
Surgical Services
Lodi Veterinary Care’s surgical suite and skill of our surgical teams allow us to provide your pet with a wide range of surgical services.
Soft tissue surgical services include:
- Spay and neuter
- Mass removal
- Abdominal exploratory – for foreign body removal or gastrointestinal biopsies
- Splenectomy (removal of spleen)
- Cystotomy (bladder stone removal)
- Enucleation (removal of eye)
- Hernia repair
- Perineal urethrostomy
Orthopedic surgical services include:
- Cruciate (ACL) repair, including Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) and lateral suture technique
- Limb amputation
- Femoral head osteotomy
- Patellar Luxation
Anesthesia and Monitoring
Ensuring the health and safety of your pet during surgery is of the utmost importance. For every pet we customize an anesthetic and monitoring regimen that adheres to the highest principles and ideals of veterinary medicine. At Lodi Veterinary Care, your pet will receive state-of-the-art anesthetic administration and cardiovascular monitoring. Every surgical patient has a veterinary surgical team, including a veterinarian, certified veterinary technician, and a veterinary technician assistant. This team is dedicated to their individual care. We tailor our anesthetics to each individual patient – based on their age, breed, history and health status. Every patient under anesthesia receives pre-surgical bloodwork, intravenous fluids, as well as, temperature, blood pressure, carbon dioxide, heart rate and respiratory rate monitoring. We utilize Bair Hugger warming systems to maintain body temperature during surgery and post-operatively. Our surgical team closely monitors every patient until they are ready to be discharged from the hospital.
Pain management
We take pain control very seriously and no animal is allowed to be in pain while in our care. A proper and balanced application of pain medication means your pet will be able to heal more quickly and with minimal discomfort. Pain management is an important aspect of our pre-, intra-, and post-surgical protocols. At discharge, we will review all medications with you and provide a thorough explanation of proper use and dosage.
Post-Operative Care
As your pet is being discharged form our hospital, you will meet with a veterinary technician. They will provide detailed information on how to properly care for your pet at home after surgery, as well as, answer any questions you may have.
We are available and happy to answer any questions or concerns that may arise once you get your pet home. Our veterinary team is always available for questions you may have regarding your pet following surgery, even late evening or middle of the night.
Internal Medicine
At Lodi Veterinary Care, we have an integrated approach to internal medicine. With our state-of-the-art technology, including full in-house laboratory, ultrasound, laparoscopy, and endoscopy, we are able to effectively and efficiently work-up, diagnose, and treat medical conditions.
- Diabetes
- Kidney disease
- Thyroid disease
- Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease)
- Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s disease)
- Gastrointestinal disease, such as inflammatory bowel disease
- Urinary tract disease
- Liver disease
We are able to combine our knowledge and expertise of traditional and complimentary medicine to provide your pet with the most effective disease treatment plan. Our doctors will thoroughly discuss your pet’s medical conditions and offer the best treatment options available.
Emergency & Urgent Care
We understand the stress and trauma associated with emergency and urgent care needs. Emergency and urgent care cases take top priority at our hospital. We ask that you call ahead so we can provide guidance over the phone. Our highly skilled veterinary health care team and state-of-the-art facility are always prepared to perform life-saving measures for your animal.
For urgent care needs, a certified veterinary technician will assess your pet and evaluate their vital signs, including temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and gum color. If your pet is medically stable, one of our companion animal veterinarians will examine your pet as soon as possible. At times, it may be best for your pet to be admitted to the hospital for monitoring and assessment by our veterinary care team.
In addition to normal business hours, we offer extended urgent care hours on Monday – Friday until 10pm and Saturday 8am – 5pm. If your animal needs urgent medical attention during normal business hours or during our extended urgent care hours, please call any of our regular phone numbers to get in touch with our veterinary team. Outside of these hours, we will be partnering with a veterinary triaging service, allowing our companion animal clients to communicate directly with an off site veterinarian to help triage their emergency needs. If a patient does need to be seen outside of the above times, they will be directed to a 24/7 emergency hospital in Madison.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy provides a safe, less invasive way to provide an early diagnosis of many disorders, and it allows specific therapeutic treatments. Lodi Veterinary Care offers both flexible and rigid endoscopy.
Flexible endoscopy
This type of endoscopy involves using a flexible tube with a viewing port and a video camera. The tube can be inserted into the esophagus and stomach through the mouth, or into the colon via the rectum. This allows our doctors to image and biopsy the esophagus, stomach, and colon without surgery. Foreign bodies can often be retrieved from the stomach and esophagus using endoscopy, saving pets from having to go through open abdominal surgery.
Rigid endoscopy
This type of endoscopy involves using a shorter, more rigid endoscope to evaluate areas such as nasal passages and urinary bladder. Rhinoscopy is performed to look, flush, and biopsy inside the nasal passage to help determine causes of sneezing, reverse sneezing, nasal discharge and abnormally loud breathing sounds.
Cystoscopy is performed to see the bladder and allow biopsy of bladder tissue. This can help determine the cause of blood in urine and/or abnormal urination.
Health & Wellness
Lodi Veterinary Care believes that preventative healthcare is very important for the health and happiness of your pet. We advocate wellness exams every six months to detect potential problems and hopefully extend the life of your pet. Each wellness visit includes a complete physical examination, as well as, an emphasis on breed and age specific conditions.
We recommend the following for our patients each year:
- Wellness examinations every six months
- Vaccinations tailored to your pet’s lifestyle
- Wellness bloodwork, including Complete Blood Count, Chemistry panel and Urinalysis for pets over 1 year of age
- Heartworm and tick-borne disease (Lyme, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia) testing for dogs
- Intestinal parasite screen
- Heartworm and flea and tick preventatives
- Heart worm, flea and tick prevention:
Heartworm preventative, such as Interceptor Plus, is used to prevent heartworm disease. However, it also includes important intestinal parasite prevention for roundworm, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitoes; however, intestinal parasites are present year-round in our environment. For this reason, we recommend year-round Interceptor Plus for our patients. We choose to offer topical, Parastar Plus, and oral, Simpatico, tick and flea preventative due to their high efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness. Other preventatives are available through our online pharmacy.
To help you and your pet, we have developed healthcare packages that provide your pet’s annual recommended preventative care at the most affordable price. Head over to our Wellness Packages page for more information.
Laboratory
Laboratory testing of blood and urine samples is a critical part of wellness care, assessing anesthetic risk, and identifying illness. This testing is important for diagnosing and preventing disease.
Our on-site laboratory at our Lodi hospital is equipped to analyze an array of diagnostic samples. This allows almost instant results to aid in accurate and efficient disease management.
Our in-house testing includes Complete Blood Counts (CBC), chemistry panels, electrolytes, urinalysis, pancreatic screening, and blood clotting times. All these tests can be done as part of your pet’s exam, with results within minutes. Other routine testing includes intestinal parasite screens, skin scrapings, ear and skin cytology, and fine needle aspirates.
We also work closely with several outside laboratories for infectious disease screening and other advanced testing. Quick turn-around times with these laboratories gives us an answer regarding your pet’s illness, often in 1-2 days.
Laser Therapy
Laser therapy provides a non-invasive, pain-free way to treat a variety of conditions and can be used in conjunction with existing treatment protocols.
Applications for laser therapy:
- Treatment of arthritis, degenerative joint disease, or hip dysplasia
- General pain management (sprains, strains, and stiffness)
- Post-surgical pain (spays, neuters, declaws, and other surgeries)
- Skin problems (hot spots, lick granulomas, infections)
- Fractures and wounds
- Ear infections
Laser treatment sessions are typically 10-20 minute appointments and you are welcome to be with your pet during their treatment. Laser treatment occurs in a quiet room and most often pets are asked to sit or lay down, depending on locations of needed treatment. As the laser therapy is administered, your pet will relax and enjoy the treatment!
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a very important diagnostic tool that allows our team to gain a very precise look at your pet’s internal organs without surgery.
Digital Radiology
We offer state-of-the-art digital radiology at our Lodi hospital. These high-resolution images are processed within seconds, allowing immediate diagnosis of life threatening conditions. This also means your pet’s time on the x-ray table is reduced. Digital images can also be easily emailed–allowing seamless consultations with specialists, and images can be sent to you as part of your pet’s home medical record.
Dentistry
Routine oral examinations include checking for calculus formation, gingivitis, bleeding, foul odor, discolored teeth, and fractured teeth. Staging your pet’s periodontal disease helps us better determine which dental treatment is best for your pet.
At Lodi Veterinary Care, we offer different levels of periodontal procedures to tailor treatment to your pet’s dental care needs.
Steps involved with all periodontal cleaning procedures:
- Complete oral examination
- Ultrasound scaling of all teeth
- Fine hand scaling above and below the gum line
- Polishing of all teeth
- Dental charting
- Before and after photographs
- Advanced periodontal procedures, such as radiology and surgical extractions are also performed if warranted
Dental home care
We tailor dental home care to each patient and client. The goal of dental home care is to prolong the time between periodontal cleanings.
- Brushing
- Dental Diets
- Tartar Shield chews
More from our Blog…
Feline Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a common problem in cats. Caring for a diabetic animal requires some effort, but most pets remain happy and comfortable. Successful patient management requires a team effort between you and our veterinary care team. What is diabetes mellitus?...
Laryngeal Paralysis
The larynx (or voice box) is a structure located in the throat that helps direct air into the lungs and food into the esophagus. Its function is important in preventing food/water from entering the lower airways when swallowing. The larynx opening and closing is...
Vestibular Disease
The vestibular system is a combination of sensing receptors in the middle ear which help us determine our orientation and movement. These receptors then send signals via nerves to parts of the brain that help us maintain balance and coordinate our movements. If any...