WHY WE RECOMMEND BLOODWORK

During your pets regular exam our veterinarian may recommend a blood test. No this isn’t to try and get more money from your wallet, this is to try get more information from your pet. Lets start from the beginning:What does bloodwork show us?A general panel will contain a Complete Blood Count (CBC/Hematology) and a Chemistry Panel. A CBC will tell your vet if your pet is anemic, fighting an infection, immune response and much more. Chemistry panels can vary with what they check, but a basic panels will tell us if your pets Liver, Kidney & Pancreas are functioning properly. It can also help detect issues like Cushings or Addisons disease. Some additional test may check your pets Thyroid to ensure your pet is not battling hypo or hyperthyroidism.Why do we recommend them on healthy pets? Creating a baseline is important to understanding your dogs health. It allows us to monitor when levels start to decrease or elevate and make sure we catch changes quickly. Running just one panel once during your pets life doesn’t tell us what your pets “normal†is. Bloodwork may not tell us everything, but, it is a good tool to track your pets health. So the next time your pet is in for their annual test ask your vet what bloodpanel they would recommend.