Pets enter "seniorhood" at about seven years of age.   If you haven't already, soon you may begin to notice some telltale signs that your pet is entering the "senior" years. Maybe your dog takes longer to fetch a favorite ball or is slower to greet you at the door. Maybe your cat has lost weight in spite of having a bigger appetite than ever. Maybe your pet is "forgetting" litter training or housetraining. Perhaps you've noticed weight gain, poor skin and coat condition, or sleeping more than usual. In the past, we often accepted a declining quality of life for our aging pets—or for ourselves, for that matter—as a fact of life beyond our control.

Thanks to advances in disease detection and treatment, that is no longer necessary!  Ailments that affect senior pets, such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease, can now be effectively treated with new medicines and better nutrition.

With appropriate veterinary care and nutrition, your pet's senior years can be a healthy and happy time. And you are the key to making this happen. You know your pet better than anyone does, so it is up to you to report any changes you see to our veterinary staff. We also recommend that you bring you senior pet in for physical examinations and lab work more often now, at least twice yearly.  Remember that your pet ages five to seven years for every one of yours. This suggests that health problems in your pet can progress five to seven times faster and, therefore, more frequent checkups are necessary. By working together, we can prevent or treat many problems that could rob your pet of his or her quality of life.

Proper nutrition is an extremely important factor in your senior pet's health.  Dietary needs mirror the changes occurring in the body: metabolism slows and fewer calories are required. Just as we need to alter our eating habits as we grow older, aging pets should modify their diet to avoid excess weight gain.  A properly formulated diet combined with a moderate exercise program is powerful preventive medicine for your senior pet. For those reasons, we have partnered with the Iams Company and Hill’s Pet Nutrition to provide your pets with Eukanuba Veterinary Diets and Prescription Science Veterinary diets, which are made specifically for the conditions we diagnose most often in older dogs and cats.

By sharing life and love with you, your pet has given you a priceless gift. Now that your pet has earned senior status, you have an opportunity to give something in return: the special love and care that can make the "golden" years happy and healthy. To help us to begin to safeguard you pet's health, please take the time to fill out the enclosed questionnaire. If you answered yes to one or more questions, you should call to make an appointment, so that we can better evaluate your pet's health status. Please remember to bring the questionnaire with you.