Have an older dog or cat and not sure what yearly stuff is "necessary"?
Dr Katie's lab, Mona, is 12, has a pretty laid-back routine, and rarely deviates from it.
Here's what she does for Mona at her yearly checkup...
I always make sure my pets are up to date with Rabies. Mainly because about once a year, I see a lawsuit pop up, where a dog bites or gets bit (involving another animal or a human), and it leads to mandatory quarantine and a lot of bad stuff. Regardless of age, I give them Rabies vaccines.
Proheart! (Or any heartworm preventative)... MANDATORY. THe last thing you want is your old dog to get a NEW problem, like heartworms, which can really decrease their quality of life in their older years, especially since it is hard to treat older dogs for Heartworm Disease.
Once a dog hits a geriatric age, Parvo, Distemper, and Hepatitis are more rare for them to pick up! If your old dog is hunting squirrels and raccoons, they might need these shots, but the 13 and 14 year old dogs might be able to skip them.
When saving money on these above vaccines, I like to put that money towards Geriatric Blood Work. Catch things early! You will not only prolong their lives but increase the quality of life in an older animal, if you can protect the function of their organs by monitoring for early stages of failure. This can be done in the exam room, results provided within 2 hours :)
Cheers to your old guys and girls and call us to set up an appointment today!