Veterinarian in Greenwood, SC

To provide the best care for all of our patients, and maintain a high standard of care, we do not offer payment plans through our hospital. Payment is due at the time that services are rendered in the form of cash, credit, or check. We accept Visa, Discover, and Master Card. However, we do accept CareCredit, which offers a payment plan for large purchases. Please ask our reception staff for more information on CareCredit if you are interested. You may apply online and use the card the day of your application if necessary.

Puppies and kittens both need to come in over the span of a few months for a series of boosters. Starting at 6 weeks, they’ll get their first vaccine, known as DHPP (Distemper, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus) for puppies or FVRCP (Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, and Chlamydia) for kittens. This will need to be boostered every 3-4 weeks until they are 15 weeks old. In addition, we vaccinate for Rabies on the last vaccination appointment.

Both will then only need to be boostered once a year. Also, we’ll check a fecal sample for the first two exams to make sure your puppy or kitten is free of worms as well!

Most likely, No. If your dog has been diagnosed with worms, just make sure to wash your hands after handling them. Not all worms are transmissible, but some worms, like roundworms and hookworms, can be contracted if you come into contact with the feces. Puppies and kittens generally get worms from their mothers, transmitted during development or through her milk. Older dogs can get worms from the infected feces of other dogs, from ingesting fleas, or even from the ground. The best way to prevent any infestation in your dog is to bring them in regularly for a visit and to keep them on a monthly dewormer between visits.

If you adopted a puppy or kitten, the best time to spay (girls) or neuter (boys) them is between 4-6 months, after they have received all of their vaccines. As a general rule, the sooner the better for males, in order to prevent any unwanted behaviors, like marking or aggression. In female dogs, we prefer to spay them before they go into heat. This helps cut down on the chance of developing mammary tumors later on in their life.

There is also newer information regarding spaying and neutering at an older age. When you come in for your appointment we will discuss this and determine an individual plan for your pet.

If your dog is older, spaying or neutering them can still be a wise decision. While older pets may not bounce back as quickly as younger puppies and kittens, there are still health benefits to having them spayed or neutered.

Modern veterinary surgery is actually very similar to human surgery. While it does still have risks, we take every precaution to ensure your pet’s safety. Before surgery is even started, we run bloodwork to check that your pet doesn’t have any current conditions that would interfere with the surgery. While pulling the blood, our technicians also place an IV catheter, assuring immediate access for medicine administration.

No matter what surgery we are performing on your pet, an experienced veterinary technician is right there next to the doctor, monitoring your pet with the latest technology, tracking their heartrate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and more. Even after surgery, the technician will stay with your pet until they are completely awake, and in most situations, you’ll be able to take your pet home that night.

There are many options out there, however, we recommend a select few because of their ease of use, efficacy, trusted brand, the spectrum of coverage, and more. We recommend that all animals stay on flea, tick and heartworm prevention year around. **Remember: Fleas only spend 20% of their life on the pet, so just because you do not see them, does not mean they are not in your home or on your pet.**

Our doctors and staff recommend the following products because of their safety & efficacy.

FOR DOGS

Nexgard is a monthly oral chewable pill that covers fleas and ticks only. It must be paired with Heartgard or Interceptor to provide heartworm prevention. Heartgard and Interceptor are monthly heartworm & intestinal parasite preventatives. When paired with either Nexgard or Bravecto your pet is protected from fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites, and heartworms.

Bravecto is an oral chewable pill that only has to be administered every 3 months and provides flea and tick prevention. As with Nexgard, it must be paired with Heartgard or Interceptor to provide intestinal parasites and heartworm prevention.

Bravecto and Nexgard must be paired with heartworm prevention such as Heartgard or Interceptor. When these two products are paired together, your pet is protected from fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites, and heartworms.

Trifexis is a monthly oral pill that covers fleas, intestinal parasites, and heartworms. It does not protect against ticks!

FOR CATS

Revolution is a monthly topical flea and heartworm preventative.

Bravecto is a topical treatment that is applied every 2 months to prevent heartworms, fleas and ticks.

Frontline Gold is a monthly topical flea preventative.