Accidents and trauma are recognized generally at or shortly after the incident. We recognize the dog is limping after jumping off the porch. Many contagious diseases occur shortly after exposure. A week after being to the lake and around other campers with their dogs, our dog develops a contagious cough. There are some exceptions to this generalization, especially in cats, which often do not show effects of diseases such as Feline Leukemia ( FeLv) or Feline Immuosuppressive Virus( FIV) for months to years after exposure. Most illness brought on by toxic compounds such as antifreeze show clinical signs within days if not hours.

How Are Most Diseases Recognized?

In common diseases of middle aged to older patients, we are often mislead by what we see. Signs of kidney disease, for instance, are not seen until over three fourths of the kidney is destroyed. It is not unusual for a patient who has been acting sick for a couple of days, that in the owner's mind was perfectly healthy three days ago, to have some disease that has been developing for months or even perhaps years.

How Do Most Disease Processes Develop In The Body?

You, as the caretaker, pay close attention and have not seen anything to warn you of the impending disaster. To understand this, we must recognize how the body works. When disease begins in the kidneys, the body has a fantastic ability to compensate and adjust for the loss of function. As the disease progresses, the body continues to adjust and compensate until one day the body is not able to adjust any longer and suddenly clinical signs develop. At this point the prognosis is often poor with marked limitations.

How could early detection of disease change anything?

The goal of treating any disease is to stop the disease process or slow down the progression. The earlier we detect these diseases, the greater the chance we have of accomplishing this goal. Without clinical signs of illness, the only way to detect these diseases is by using diagnostic tests to identity early changes in the body alerting us to the disease processes.The earlier in the process a disease is identified, the greater success we will have with our treatment plan.

How do you test for every possible disease?

It is impossible to test for every possible disease. However we know that 95% of all dogs and cats are going to develop certain diseases as they age. Therefore, we test and monitor for the diseases at wich your pet has the greatest risk factors. Screening and identifying these diseases early before clinical signs develop will allow us to extend and improve the lives of a vast majority of our patients.

What Diseases Are My Pet At Risk For?