MEDICAL SERVICES • RESORT SERVICES
MEDICAL SERVICES
At Best Friends we treat dogs, cats, “pocket pets” including hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, sugar gliders, and reptiles. (Dr. Craig has a strong interest in reptiles.) We DO NOT treat birds. We make use of state-of-the art procedures to provide the highest standard of care to our patients. To ensure that we keep up with the ever changing field of medicine, we invest heavily in our staff and equipment. Our medical and surgical services include:
Preventative Medicine
Vaccines: We use the latest vaccine protocols recommended by leading immunologists and tailor our vaccination approach to each animal. This gives us the assurance that your pet will receive the proper protection from the diseases he/she is likely to be exposed to. This also will limit the chance of vaccine related side effects by not vaccinating for diseases they will be unlikely to encounter. For cats, we use the non-adjuvanted rabies vaccine called Purevax. We feel that the elimination of certain chemicals called adjuvants potentially makes this vaccine safer than others. For those cats needing the leukemia vaccine, we use the Purevax leukemia vaccine which, again, doesn’t contain adjuvants. In addition, this vaccine is delivered transdermally via an airjet instead of by the traditional needle. Again, we feel that these extra considerations may be safer for your pet.
Comprehensive Physical Exams: We perform a comprehensive exam each year and can provide owners with a thorough report card detailing our findings. Once a pet reaches middle age (over 6 years), we recommend exams twice yearly. Remember, pets age much faster than humans do such that one year correlates to an average of 7 years for a pet.
Health Screen Testing: For many disease conditions the key is finding it and treating it early. Older pets, certain breeds and some species have diseases that don’t have obvious symptoms early on, yet can be detected by performing simple tests. A small list of examples includes:
| Recommended Procedure | For Which Patients |
| Heartworm testing | All dogs annually |
| Stool analysis | All dogs & cats annually |
| Urinalysis | Senior pets & certain breeds prone to kidney disease |
| Blood chemistry & blood count | Senior pets annually and/or prior to surgery |
| Blood pressure testing | Senior cats & pets with certain conditions |
| Eye pressure measurement | Senior dogs & those breeds prone to glaucoma |
| EKG | Senior dogs & those breeds prone to heart disease |
| Chest X-rays | Patients with heart murmurs, older pets prior to anesthesia |
| Cardiac ultrasound (performed by a board certified radiologist) | Patients with heart disease |
Anesthesia: Capabilities include: Isoflourane gas anesthesia, blood pressure monitoring, EKG monitoring, pulse oximetry, respiratory monitor, use of multimodal pain and anesthesia protocols. All patients recover in our intensive care unit to maximize patient care.
Surgery: Our dedicated surgical suite has been designed with positive pressure ventilation to enhance sterility. 
Prior to being moved to the medical care suite, our patients recover in our intensive care unit which allows us to maximize the level of post operative care and pain control. We use multimodal pain control protocols to maximize pain control and minimize side effects. We perform a wide variety of soft tissue surgical procedures from the routine neuter to complex surgeries, as well as orthopedic surgeries such as fracture stabilization and cruciate repairs.
Dentistry: We recognize the importance of dental care for our pets and offer comprehensive dental services including, but not limited to:
Digital dental radiographs (x-rays)
Dental prophylaxis (includes ultrasonic scaling, high speed polishing, and fluoride treatment)
Tooth extraction, root planning
Oral surgery
In-House Laboratory: Our in-house laboratory allows us to have quick access to diagnostic information so that our patients get the right treatment as quickly as possible.
Our laboratory is capable of:
| • Blood chemistry panels | • Complete blood counts |
| • Ear cytology | • Fluid and aspirate cytology |
| • Parvo viral testing | • Heartworm testing |
| • Direct stool analysis | • Floatation stool analysis |
| • Feline leukemia testing | • Feline immunodeficiency testing |
| • Packed cell volume | • Blood sugar evaluation |
| • Fungal cultures | • Urinalyses |
| • Skin cytology |
Additional diagnostic services are available using a reference laboratory
Pharmacy Services: One of our goals is to offer you convenience with competitive pricing. We carry a full line of pharmaceuticals 
in our pharmacy. We routinely check 1800PetMeds to ensure that our prices for flea and heartworm products are compatible with theirs. (In many cases ours are actually less expensive as we can offer manufacturer rebates. We also guarantee all claims for efficacy which are only recognized when the product is purchased through your veterinarian.) We unfortunately do not have enough shelf space to carry every brand of product available. Rest assured, our veterinarians have chosen the products that they feel are most effective, and in some cases, safest. If there is a product that we do not carry that you would like to continue using, we can usually special order the product. If your pet has received a prescription from us, you can use the online form to request a refill. If you are unable to stop by and pick up your prescription, we will be happy to mail it to you.
Dermatology (skin care, diagnosis and treatment)
Ophthalmology (eye)
• Tonopen for measuring eye pressure (used to diagnose glaucoma and uveitis)
• Fundic exams
• Most cases of eyelid surgery
Contagious Disease Isolation
Should your pet have a contagious condition, we do have a dedicated isolation ward to prevent the transmission of the disease to other patients in our facility. This not only protects our other guests, but it also ensures that your pet gets the appropriate attention it deserves in this dedicated ward.