If you are travelling to the United Sates by car, all that is needed for your pet to come with you, is updated vaccines, a microchip and a signed vaccine certificate provided by one of our veterinarians. If you are flying to the United States, please call your airline to confirm what is required to fly with your pet!
If you are travelling outside of North America, please contact CFIA to determine what forms are necessary to travel with your pet before making an appointment with us!
Adding a new puppy or kitten to the family is very exciting, however there is a lot to learn and it can be very overwhelming. Chedoke Animal Hospital is here to help!
When getting a new puppy or kitten, it is important to have them come in for a physical exam, test a fecal sample and get them up to date on all of their vaccines.
For kittens, we vaccinate for PRC at 8, 12 and 16 weeks. This helps to protect against Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia. All cats should also be vaccinated for Rabies, as per Ontario bylaw, at 16 weeks. For any cats that are going to be venturing outside, we suggest the Feline Leukemia Vaccine, as well as a parasite prevention plan.
For puppies, we vaccinate for DAP at 8, 12 and 16 weeks to protect against Distemper, Adenovirus (Hepatitis), Parvovirus, and Parainfluenza. At 12 and 16 weeks, we strongly recommend vaccinating for Leptospirosis, as cases are on the rise. Similarly to cats, all dogs should be vaccinated for Rabies, as per Ontario bylaw, at 16 weeks. Depending on your dogs lifestyle, additional vaccines may be added onto your dogs vaccination plan, such as the lyme vaccine or Bordetella (Kennel Cough Vaccine).
At Chedoke Animal Hospital, we understand the reality of finances playing a role in your pet’s medical decisions. This makes it increasingly important to make sure your pet’s medical bills are covered, so you never have to worry about money when making decisions about your loved ones. This is why we strongly suggest looking into pet insurance!
There are many options in terms of plans for your pet to meet your individual needs. The three most popular companies, OVMA Pet insurance, Pets Plus Us, and Trupanion, can cover up to 80-90% of your pet’s veterinary bills for illness and accidents. At your next visit, please ask us about how to get your pet signed up!
Every year we strongly suggest you test your dog for heartworm and our three most common tick-borne diseases; Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Lyme disease.
Heartworm disease is carried by infected mosquitos, and transmitted into your dogs bloodstream when the mosquito bites them. Six months after infection, the heartworm larva will be matured, allowing us to test for the disease in April/May. This disease causes coughing, exercise intolerance, lethargy, decreased appetite weight loss, difficulty breathing and can eventually lead to death. Due to the severity of the disease, we strongly recommend testing and administering prevention to your pet from June to November.
As ticks become more prevalent in our area, we are beginning to see more dogs test positive for the three tick-borne diseases we test for; Anaplasma, Erlichia, and Lyme disease. These diseases can cause fever, lethargy, pain, lameness, vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, anemia, respiratory distress, seizures and other neurological issues. Due to the severity and frequency of these disease, we highly recommend keeping your pets on year-round tick prevention, as our Canadian winters are not cold enough to kill the ticks.