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General Practice

• Dental Wellness
  • Periodontal Disease
  • Prevention
• Parasitic Diseases
  • External Parasites
  • Internal Parasites
  • Prevention
• Preventive Medicine
  • Vaccines & Vaccinations
• Grooming
• Boarding
  • Boarding Forms

Holistic Medicine

• Acupuncture
• Bach Flower Therapy
• Bio Assessment & Therapy
• Veterinary Manipulative Therapy
• TCM Food Therapy
• Homeopathy

Surgery

• General Surgery
• Laser Surgery
• Surgical Forms

Geriatric Care

• Geriatric Wellness
• Common Health Problems
• Geriatric Heath Packages
• Geriatric Care Forms

Parasitic Diseases

Parasites can often affect both animals and humans. The fact that many of your pet's potential parasites can also affect humans (zoonosis) makes it doubly important to keep your pet parasite free. Diligent routine prevention programs can avoid some parasites. Parasites come in many forms and affect various parts of the body. Geographical location, lifestyle, housing conditions and species play a role in which parasites are likely to be a problem for your pet. The organisms discussed in SCVC's web site are those we need to be aware of in our geographical area.

External Parasites:

• Fleas-are a major problem in Michigan
• Ticks- getting to be a big problem in Michigan, hikers and camping enthusiasts may find ticks on their pets.
• Mites- Ear mites and Demodex mites are quite common; Sarcoptes and Cheyletiella mites are less of a problem. These parasites tend to be Medically managed if they occur, rather than by routine prevention.
• Lice- are seen on rare occasions. (Animals and humans do not share the same type of lice.)

Internal Parasites:

• Intestinal... these include Roundworms, Whipworms and Tapeworms and Hookworms all are often detected in our area.
• Giardia and Coccidia are common parasites that are managed by treatment, rather than by routine prevention.
• Intra-vascular: Heartworm, Babesiosis and Lyme disease are currently endemic problems in the Midwest

Parasite Prevention

Through routine screening and the use of safe, effective preventive products parasites can be kept at bay! Parasites need their host animal in order to exist. It is not in parasites' best interest to kill its host (although this can, and does happen), however, they often result in a less than optimal physical condition. Poor hair coat, inflamed itchy skin, intermittent diarrhea and poor physique can be markers for parasitism. In many cases the host can appear perfectly normal while harbouring and spreading these organisms. Fecal parasite examinations can detect if your pet currently harbours intestinal parasites. If organisms, or their eggs, are detected upon this microscopic examination appropriate medications can be dispensed to treat the infection. Blood tests that can be done rapidly in clinic can detect the presence of heartworm. Flea combs and skin taping can be used to detect superficial parasites. Skin scraping is required to detect mites that dwell deep in hair follicles.