Blood work is frequently overlooked, but it’s an essential part of healthcare for both sick and healthy pets! Pets can be very good at masking illness or hiding any changes that may occur as they age. Without bloodwork, small changes that can significantly impact their overall health will often go unnoticed until things reach a critical stage.

It is easy to forget how quickly our pets change with age—and they age at a much faster rate than we do. Even though our pets can maintain a youthful attitude, their bodies undergo drastic changes we might not notice. Routine blood work for senior pets is essential to ensure our pets stay healthy and get the best care we can give.

Blood work also helps us diagnose and treat a variety of health conditions. Routine blood work and a thorough physical exam give the veterinarian comprehensive information about your pet’s health—inside and out. This information helps us provide the best treatment and prevention recommendations possible. If your pet needs surgery, we will need to run blood work to determine whether the pet is healthy enough for a surgical procedure and what anesthesia protocols are the safest for them.

Your Labs Are In!

Routine blood work that we often recommend includes:

• Complete blood count (CBC) — A CBC evaluates your pet’s red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Abnormalities can indicate infection, anemia, and blood clotting problems.
• Chemistry panel — A blood chemistry panel assesses your pet’s organ function, including their liver and kidneys.
• Parasite screenings — Dogs should be screened annually for heartworm disease and tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis.
• Viral Screenings—FeLV and FIV tests for cats and parvo tests for dogs are essential in ruling out the causes of many symptoms.

Additional tests, such as more specific kidney function and thyroid testing, may also be recommended as pets age. We can perform many types of laboratory services in-house. For more specialized tests, we partner with a trusted outside laboratory. 

If you have questions about the kinds of lab work we provide, please call us at (617) 939-8172.