Has your pet ever been sick and you have no clue why? In clinic diagnostics allows our doctor to get the results of your pet’s blood work in less than ten minutes! The ability to obtain liver and kidney profiles, coupled with a complete blood count enables our doctor to determine if there may be an underlying problem with your pet that may not be seen by a physical and visual examination.
Miller Animal Hospital is pleased to offer your pet in clinic diagnostic blood work capabilities. Our hospital's latest analyzers allow us to determine if your pet has an issue with its organs or blood in less than ten minutes! Often your pets come in as you have noticed that they simply aren't feeling their usual playful selves.
With a small amount of blood drawn from your pet by a veterinarian or certified veterinary technician, we place the blood in our state-of-the art analyzers and have results while you wait! This means you may not have to come back with your pet the next day for additional procedures. Our diagnostics can help us determine if you pet has an organ issue or another underlying problem with a complete blood count.
Heartworm Testing and Treatment
Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease affecting pets in the United States. Here in Folsom, Louisiana, mosquitoes are a major factor in the spread of heartworms, biting infected animals and spreading the heartworm larvae when they move on and bite their next host. These larvae can grow to be foot-long worms that live in the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of infected animals. Heartworms can cause heart failure, lung disease, and damage to other organs. There are few, if any, early signs of heartworm disease in dogs and cats. It is a serious, progressive disease, but the earlier it is detected, the better the chances that your pet will recover.
Our doctor will test your pet for heartworms with a small blood sample. Results are obtained quickly, and they will determine whether more tests are needed and if treatment is necessary.
If the test for your dog comes back negative, then our doctor will start the appropriate preventive treatment that you will need to administer year-round for the rest of his life.
Cats are not a natural host for heartworms, however, just a few can make a cat very ill. Prevention in cats is very important because there is no approved drug treatment for heartworm infection in cats. If your cat tests positive for heartworms, he can be helped with good veterinary care and a long-term management plan.
Coggins Testing
Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) is a deadly viral disease for which there is no cure or vaccine. This disease is spread from horse to horse by horse flies, therefore, the disease can occur in any location where horseflies live. Once a horsefly bites an infected horse and then bites a healthy horse, the disease is transmitted. A simple test, called a Coggins test, can determine if a horse is a carrier of the disease.
Miller Animal Hospital offers Coggins testing to horse owners in the Folsom community. All horses domiciled in the state of Louisiana must be maintained with a negative current official test for EIA. A Coggins test is often needed to take your horse to shows or across state lines.
Blood Pressure
Heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature are three key non-invasive clinical measurements that are used to assess the state of a patient’s essential body functions.
Here at Miller Animal Hospital measuring blood pressure is considered the fourth vital sign because it is so important in so many ailments, including chronic kidney disease and heart disorders. Additionally, whenever patients are placed under anesthesia, their blood pressure is monitored closely for the safety of the patient.