At Friendship, we know you want your companion to live a long and healthy life. Our primary care team is dedicated to providing you with high quality comprehensive care at every life stage. We believe that each pet is a family member and an individual with unique medical, dental, and nutritional needs. Our primary care doctors work closely together as a team and will guide you in your medical decisions and serve as a liaison should your pet need to be referred for specialty care. Continuity of care is vital to providing you and your pet with the best care. Please be sure to ask for your preferred veterinarian when scheduling an appointment. At your appointment you can expect a veterinary assistant to talk with you about your pet’s general care and get a basic history if there are any problems. They can also give you advice on maintenance care such tooth brushing, ear cleaning or nail trimming, or on how best to medicate your animal. Be sure to relay all of you concerns so that working together, the doctor and assistant can provide you with answers to all of your questions.

Appointments

Friendship offers appointments for both wellness care and non-routine visits seven days a week. We offer appointments from 7am-9pm Monday thru Friday and 7am-3pm on both weekend days.  We have twelve primary care staff doctors who work as a team along with our specialists to ensure your pet receives the highest quality of care available. Our primary care doctors have over 180 years of combined experience in primary care!

What to Expect at Your Pet’s Upcoming Primary Care Appointment:

Having your pet examined regularly is an important part of caring for your dog or cat. We are looking forward to helping you keep your pet healthy.

During your pet’s upcoming wellness appointment you can expect to spend a few minutes talking about your pet’s habits at home including: appetite, thirst, eliminations, activities and travel as well as reviewing any preventatives, supplements and/or medications you are giving to your pet. This gives us important insights into how your pet is doing at home and may alert us to possible medical concerns.  The information you give us along with our physical examination of your pet will allow us to make the most appropriate medical recommendations for your pet, including vaccinations, diet and supplements, preventatives and if indicated- diagnostic tests.

Wellness Care

Preventative healthcare is truly important. All pets should be examined at least annually by your veterinarian. Pets age about seven times as fast as we do, so older pets should be examined even more often. Examinations are critical to help veterinarians find disease early—the best time for them to be treated. Early detection screening may include blood tests, urine tests, stool tests or other diagnostics, and may be recommended for your pet. Vaccination, parasite prevention, and nutrition assessment are key components of a wellness check-up. At Friendship, we do not believe in over-vaccinating dogs and cats. While vaccines have proven life-saving benefits, vaccination programs must be tailored to the patient and the risk of exposure.

Wellness Plans

A wellness plan can cover the cost of your pet’s annual care for a one-time discounted fee.  Friendship’s wellness plans have been uniquely created for our primary care patients and are managed by our in-house administrative staff.  Our plan options include, puppy, kitten, adult, and mature.  Use our interactive comparison tool to determine if a plan is right for you.

Sick Pet Care

Your primary care veterinarian is the first contact for a pet with an undiagnosed health concern and will also work with you to provide your pet with continuing care of varied medical conditions. Continuous care is important for patients with medical conditions that require long term treatment and monitoring.

Senior Care

When your pet has been with you for many years—not only do they become irreplaceable members of the family, they also need a little extra care. As your pet grows older we recommend that wellness visits become more frequent and that we see your pet at least twice a year (every 6 months). These exams, along with early detection screening, are the key to detecting health problems that could endanger your pet. Our pets are susceptible to same ailments that aging humans face, such as cancer, diabetes, kidney complications, liver and intestinal disorders, arthritis, dental disease, and vision impairment. Keep a watchful eye for anything unusual or out of character for your dog or cat. Some warning signs to watch out for include:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Excessive drinking or urination
• Loss of appetite
• Lethargy
• Behavioral changes
• Diarrhea or vomiting
• Skin lumps, growths, or irritation
• Bad breath, plaque on teeth or bleeding gums
• Ear odors, ear redness, or scratching at the ears
• Lameness or changes in mobility

For more information on our Primary Care Services, please don’t hesitate to contact us.