FAQs

At Country Place Veterinary Clinic, we believe that the best way to extend the life of your pet is to identify disease processes early, and prevent the progression of chronic illness before it becomes a problem. For this reason, our doctors advise scheduling yearly exams for your pet.
To ensure that we identify health issues early, we recommend an examination by one of our veterinarians every 12 months for healthy pets under the age of 7, and every 6 months for healthy senior patients. Those pets with chronic disease or mobility issues may require examination on a more frequent basis.
Blood work is another way to identify disease processes early and prevent the progression of chronic disease. We recommend annual blood work to provide a baseline for our veterinarians to identify trends and specific areas to focus on in an effort to prolong the duration and quality of life of our patients. Whether your pet is a youngster or a senior, regular blood work can help detect some diseases early, making it easier to catch a potential problem early and avoid complications and expensive treatments.

Periodontal disease (disease of the structures around the tooth--the gums, bone, and connective tissue) is one of the most common problems that we deal with on a daily basis at Country Place Veterinary Clinic. Periodontal infections, tooth fractures, and oral masses can be sources of serious discomfort for your pet. Additionally, untreated periodontal infections can cause damage to major organs of the body including the heart, liver, and kidneys. Proper veterinary dental care can help prevent your pet from developing painful dental conditions, and can extend their life expectancy as well.

There are several factors that help determine the best age for spaying and neutering including your pet’s breed (larger breeds wait longer) and individual health status. Typical spaying and neutering for most pets not used for breeding purposes is usually recommended between 4 and 6 months of age. Spaying and neutering help with animal population control and prevent unwanted pets. Just as importantly, spaying and neutering can improve the overall health of your pet, and help in avoiding certain reproductive diseases, and some types of cancer.

Heartworms are a parasite that is transferred to our pets via mosquito bites. Heartworm treatment is very intensive requiring heavy monitoring by the pet owner and can be costly. The best way to treat heartworms is to actually prevent them from happening. There are many products on the market from pills to chewy treats to injectable medicines that are available through our clinic. Topical heartworm prevention is also available. Our veterinarians at Country Place Veterinary Clinic will determine which preventative is right for your pet based on needs and lifestyle.

At Country Place Veterinary Clinic, we only recommend those surgical procedures that are in the best interest of your pet. Each individual procedure varies from pet to pet and condition to condition, however, all procedures, great and small, come with some amount of risk.
Our doctors take every step to make sure that your pet is as safe as possible during and after their procedure. Typically, a physical examination, review of the patient’s medical history, and blood work are recommended for each pet that may have to be subjected to sedation or anesthesia. Our veterinarians will use this information to screen your pet for potential issues before beginning any procedure to help ensure the safety of your pet. As with humans, the older the pet, the more precautions need to be taken.

Although there will always be a minimal amount of risk associated with anesthetizing your pet, we take every precaution available to ensure that those risks are minimized, including most of the same fail-safe measures that your physician would provide if you were placed under anesthesia. We also monitor vital signs throughout their procedure, and actions will be taken if these signs veer off from normal rates. After the procedure, the animal is monitored by our staff until deemed ready to head home with their family.

Just as humans are advised to get all their vitamins and daily servings in, veterinarians suggest the same for animals. Having a balanced diet keeps your pet trim, active and healthy. Pets, like people, are unique and individual; they have different needs based on their size, age, and health issues. But no matter what their individual needs are, it is important that pets maintain a healthy weight, eat a nutritious diet, and receive adequate exercise to promote living longer with fewer health issues.
When pets are overweight, it creates a tendency towards diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, and other chronic health conditions. Using our nutritional counseling services at Country Place Veterinary Clinic will help simplify just what your pet should be eating and how much.
Additionally, if your pet suffers from allergies we can also recommend hypoallergenic foods that we have available at our clinic that can keep skin issues at bay.

If you notice your pet acting strangely, including loss of appetite or energy, you should bring your pet in as soon as possible for an examination by our doctors. Pets have an instinct to hide pain and illness because it can signal they are easy prey to predators. By the time we as owners notice the change in behavior the animal may have been suffering for several days.

Country Place Veterinary Clinic is pleased to offer above standard services and care for their clients. In order to continue a high quality of service, payment is expected in full at the time of examination or procedure. We accept cash, check and credit card payments. If an unexpected emergency occurs with your pet that is not within your immediate budget, we are partnered with Care Credit. For more information and to find out if you qualify, please visit https://www.carecredit.com. We also accept Scratchpay.

If you notice visible parasites on your pet, call us today and schedule an appointment so that our veterinarians can recommend the appropriate treatment for your pet. Flea and tick preventatives have improved greatly in recent years. These preventatives are safe and effective and come in a wide variety of forms. At Country Place Veterinary Clinic, we fit the preventative product to the pet's problem and environment.

First thing to know about pain management is that human over-the-counter pain medications can be very toxic to dogs and cats. Prescription pain medications can be recommended short term or long-term depending on the source of pain. It is very common to dispense something post-operatively, for minor aches and pains, or in cases of degenerative joint disease. The type, dose, and duration of pain medication can be determined by one of our veterinarians after a good physical exam and possibly some diagnostics.

All after hour emergencies are referred to the Lafayette Animal Emergency Clinic on Winchester Drive in Lafayette.
Phone: 337-989-0992
Address: 206 Winchester Dr.
Lafayette, LA 70506
Please learn more by visiting their website at www.lafayetteanimalemergencyclinic.com