By Dr. Johnathan Pierce
What constitutes a healthy pet?
As pet owners we see our pets behaving normally, eating and drinking well, playing, socializing, but do we notice subtle nuances that certain diseases exhibit? The short answer is sometimes. We can visibly see our pet slowing down a bit, drinking more water than usual, losing the luster to the hair coat, etc., however, these signs can be so subtle that we don’t notice them. There are a few ways that we can screen our pets to make more certain that they are healthy as possible.
First and foremost, the annual exam to age 6 or 7 and senior exams twice annually. These exams can detect early dental disease, infectious diseases, evidence of parasitism, early cancers, hereditary abnormalities, early heart disease, etc. As our pets age beyond 6-7 years, we should start to consider examinations every six months. Our pets change and age faster than we do. If we increase the frequency of veterinary examinations, we may be able to detect disease earlier in its process, increasing our chances to treat earlier and prevent long term and irreversible damage. This can also help us manage diseases like kidney disease because the earlier it is detected, the more we can slow down the process and improve the prognosis.
Annual and twice-annual comprehensive blood screenings can detect changes within the liver, kidneys, clue us into endocrine diseases such as Cushing’s, Addison’s, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, chronic urinary tract infections, or evidence of cancer. Subtle differences from screening to screening can help us determine whether additional diagnostics such as X-rays or ultrasound are necessary to look further and help diagnose disease.
We recently treated a patient that had screening blood work done twice, six months apart. Due to the fluctuation in liver values, we performed X-rays and ultrasound. We found a cancerous mass in the patient’s abdomen, which we were able to remove before it spread or ruptured and caused bleeding. Recently there have been advances in cancer detection. The OncoK9 blood test can detect some common aggressive cancers earlier before we could see physical or behavioral changes. The test can be used as a screening or as a confirmatory diagnostic if there is a question about cancer type.
Make sure to keep up with your annual exams for all your pets and remember early detection can significantly improve your pet’s lives and treatment outcomes.
Island Life Animal Hospital
Dr. Danielle Gallo
Dr. Johnathan Pierce
5901 Sun Blvd., Suite 107
St. Petersburg, FL 33715
727-289-3776
islandlifeanimalhospital.vet