Veterinary Diagnostics

At Five Valleys Vet Clinic, we understand that it can be confusing and perhaps even frustrating when your veterinarian requests to perform diagnostic testing on your apparently healthy and happy pet. Because we consider you to be the most important member of your pet’s health care team, we want to help you understand why diagnostic testing can be an invaluable part of your pet’s veterinary care.

The absolute best form of veterinary care is preventive care. Whether we want to believe it or not, our pets are absolute experts at hiding their discomfort and pain, usually until their discomfort or pain becomes absolutely overwhelming. What this means to us is that since our pets will not tell us where it hurts or how it hurts, we have to be more thorough in visibly verifying that they truly are in good health.

Diagnostic testing, such as radiology, urinalysis, blood screening, thyroid testing, cortisol testing and much more can detect whether your pet is suffering from any underlying diseases and illnesses, even where there are no outward signs of these conditions. This can give Dr. Wood a better picture of your pet’s overall health condition, which allows her to better care for your pet. Regular, specific diagnostic testing also means that your pet is less likely to suddenly encounter a medical emergency at some later point when they will require much more extensive, and costly, treatment.