Boosters and Exams

Puppy Boosters and Exams - This link maps out a schedule for your puppy’s vaccine series and provides details for the puppy plan package that we offer. Kitten Boosters and Exams - This link maps out a schedule for your kitten’s vaccine series and provides details for the kitten plan package that we offer.

Annual Physicals

Canine Annual Physical - We recommend that your dog gets a yearly exam, heartworm test, intestinal parasite screen, rabies vaccine, and distemper combination vaccine, all of which can be purchased as a discounted package. When your pet turns 7 years of age, we then recommend a geriatric annual physical due to the increased chance of your pet acquiring an age-related disease. Feline Annual Physical - We recommend that your cat gets a yearly exam, upper respiratory vaccine, leukemia vaccine, and rabies vaccine, all of which can be purchased as a discounted package. When your pet turns 7 years of age, we then recommend a geriatric annual physical due to the increased chance of your pet acquiring an age-related disease.

At Silver Bluff Animal Hospital, we offer a variety of elective surgeries, such as spaying, neutering, front declawing on cats, dentistry services, and tail/dewclaw docks on puppies. Please call the office for more information. To expedite dropping your pet off for surgery, please review our preanesthetic form. If you feel comfortable with the form, you may fill it out and bring it with you. The night before your pet's surgery, please do not feed your pet after 8:00 pm and pick up his or her water bowl before you go to bed. Do NOT feed your pet the morning of his or her surgery, as this can cause vomiting and complications during surgery. Please drop your pet off between 8:00 and 8:30 am on the morning of his or her surgery.

Accommodations:

Silver Bluff Animal Hospital offers luxury boarding in our new kennel facility. Dogs can either board in our indoor/outdoor runs or in our deluxe suites. While boarding in our runs, your pet can choose to stay inside in the air conditioning or walk outside for bathroom needs and fresh air. In our luxury suites, your pet can watch television and sleep on a doggie cot. All suite dogs are let out individually to play in the outdoor pen three times a day. Cats stay in our deluxe cat condos, where they can look outside or sleep on the condo loft. The condo cages can be opened or closed off to allow your cats to board together or just to give them more space. Please see our Hospital Tour to view all of our accommodations. For your convenience, all medical services, such as puppy/kitten vaccines or annual physicals, can be done while your pet is boarding.

Prices are as follows:

* Please note that prices are subject to change. K9 Indoor/Outdoor Runs:     $18.00 per night     $13.50 per additional dog (must stay in the same run) K9 Deluxe Suites:     $22.00 per night     $16.50 per additional dog (must stay in the same suite) Feline Cat Condos:     $15.00 per night     $11.25 per additional cat *Medications will be an extra $2.00 per day, per pet. Daycare:     Doggy or Kitty daycare is available at $9.00 per day. Baths: If desired, we will bath your pet the day before you pick them up. The charges are: Small dog - $22.00 Medium dog - $25.00 Large dog - $30.00 Medicated bath - $32.00 *We do not offer flea baths, as our topical flea preventions offer much better flea control.

Vaccine and Parasite Requirements:

In order to board your pets, please make sure they are current on all their vaccines. If your pets have received their vaccines at another clinic, then their vaccine records must be presented to us at the time of boarding. Required vaccines include: Dogs: Rabies and DHPP within the past year; Bordatella (Kennel Cough) within the past 6 months. Cats: Rabies and FVRCP (upper respiratory vaccine), and Leukemia vaccine within the past year. If your pet is not current on his or her vaccines, then a technician at Silver Bluff Animal Hospital will give your pet the required vaccines while they are boarding. In order to prevent a parasite outbreak at the clinic, your pet must be free of fleas and ticks during their stay. If parasites are found on your pet, they will be treated at your expense. ALL CHARGES FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT, BATHS, BOARDING, AND PARASITE CONTROL ARE DUE IN FULL WHEN THE PET(S) IS PICKED UP.

Items From Home:

Please bring all medications and special foods that your pet is currently taking. Since sudden food changes can lead to diarrhea, you can also bring your pet’s food for him or her to eat. Otherwise, we feed boarding pets Purina EN Diet. We have blankets and towels for boarding pets to lay on, so leaving other items is not necessary. If you desire to leave toys or blankets, please put your name in permanent marker on ALL items. Silver Bluff Animal Hospital is not responsible for items lost during boarding, therefore we discourage leaving leashes, towels, toys, and food bowls.

We see all patients on an appointment basis. We recognize that emergencies are unpredictable and often urgent, so we will be happy to fit your pet in as a walk-in or drop-off if no appointments are available. Please keep in mind that we do see our scheduled appointments first as a courtesy, so walk-ins will be seen as soon as possible in between appointments. Keep in mind that an office visit will be charged to all appointments, but sick patients often need x-rays, bloodwork, medications, or other medical treatments, all of which are additional costs to the exam.

Heartworm disease is caused by a worm that is transmitted by mosquitoes to dogs and cats. A mosquito’s bite transfers microscopic baby worms (microfilaria) to the animal’s blood circulation. Eventually, the worms settle in the right side of the heart, where they will grow to the size of spaghetti. Having the parasites in the heart causes turbulent blood flow, which causes the heart to work harder and leads to heart failure. Heartworm positive dogs usually exhibit signs of lethargy, exercise intolerance, coughing and/or breathing problems, and a loss of appetite. Severity of clinical signs depends on the number of heartworms present in the heart and how long the infection has been present. A simple blood test can be done to determine if your pet has heartworms. Heartworm treatments are typically performed on heartworm positive dogs that the doctor has cleared for treatment. If there is extensive damage to the heart and/or lungs, if the dog is older, or if the dog is very sick, heartworm treatment may be postponed or discouraged. Our veterinarians will discuss with you the individualized risks and benefits of the treatment for your pet. X-rays to detect the amount of damage to the heart and bloodwork are usually necessary to determine the health condition of your pet. If your pet is scheduled for heartworm treatment, your pet will need to be dropped of the morning of treatment around 8:00 a.m. and will need to spend the night at the clinic. Two injections will be given in the hip muscle 24 hours apart in the morning, and the pet will be observed throughout the day for complications. You pet will be ready to go home on the second afternoon near closing time. Your pet will require one month of strict confinement, where the pet can only be leash walked to go the bathroom. Exercise after heartworm treatment can kill your dog! After one month, your pet will receive oral medication to kill all immature worms left in their system, and they will need to spend the day at the clinic for observation. One month later, they will need a final heartworm test. If it is negative, your pet will need to be started on heartworm prevention immediately, which will be required year-round the rest of his or her life to prevent re-infestation.

If you will be traveling with your pet interstate or internationally, you will need a health certificate verifying your pet is up to date on his or her rabies shot, that they are in good health, and that he or she is disease free. If you are flying with your pet, please be sure to check with your airline for their specific requirements. Different airlines have different policies on required paperwork. Please schedule an appointment to have your pets’ health certificates completed.