Our hospital provides a wide variety of in-house diagnostic testing with the most state of the art technology available. It is our goal to provide your pet with the highest level of care possible, and our diagnostic tools help us do that.
Diagnostic Care
How can you tell if your pet is sick or injured? Unfortunately, our animal companions cannot speak to tell us what’s wrong or show us where it hurts. What’s more, when an illness or injury cannot be easily detected on the surface of the body, it can be challenging to recognize the signs of a problem and determine exactly what that problem might be. In these instances, we need tools that will allow us to look beyond the surface and learn what’s happening inside your pet’s body. That’s where veterinary diagnostics come into play. Here at South Shore Animal Hospital we utilize a wide variety of state of the art diagnostic tools to help us manage the ongoing health of our patients.
Digital Radiology
X-rays provide valuable information about a pet’s bones, gastrointestinal tract (stomach, intestines, colon), respiratory tract (lungs), heart, and genitourinary system (bladder, prostate). We use radiology alone or in conjunction with other diagnostic tools. Interpretation of radiographs requires great skill on the part of the veterinarian.
We are proud to offer digital radiology (x-rays that are captured digitally rather than on film). This state-of-the-art technology allows us to provide you with a quicker diagnosis for your pet.
To avoid a blurry image, pets need to remain completely still while an x-ray is taken. In some cases, we may need to sedate your pet or use short-acting general anesthesia.
If you have any questions about our radiology service or what to expect during your pet’s procedure, please don’t hesitate to ask.
In-House Laboratory
If there is ever an emergency, your pet needs to be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible. Our advanced laboratory is able to run bloodwork or other necessary tests while you are waiting in the room and the doctors are able to interpret the results immediately.
CBC (Complete Blood Count): Counts the different blood cell types, differentiates each and other information about blood cells.
Chemistry Panel: Helps evaluate organ function and dysfunction as well as electrolytes and other non-cellular factors in the blood.
SediVue: Urine analyzer to evaluate the urinary tract for infection, crystals, and other factors.
Vetlab UA Analyzer: Evaluates the chemical components of urine samples such as checking pH and for glucose (sugar) in the urine as well as others.
Snap tests: Quick and convenient tests for heartworm and tick borne disease, pancreatitis, Feline leukemia and Feline Immunodeficiency virus, Giardia parasite, and Parvovirus infection.
Cytology: Gives the ability to look at samples from different parts of the body under the microscope to diagnose a number of disease/infectious processes.
Reference Laboratories
If your pet requires further testing that we are not able to perform in house, we have two amazing reference laboratories that we have partnered with to make sure we are able to do everything we can to give your pet what it needs. You can click on the links below to learn more information about each of these laboratories.
Please contact us today if you have any questions or would like to learn more about how we care for your pet.