Please reach us at mcfallsvet@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
We believe your pet is a cherished member of your family, and their health means the world to you. That's why we gently recommend regular wellness exams. Think of it just like your own family's doctor or dentist visits – when we can catch a tiny health concern early, it's so much easier to help them, often with less stress and expense for everyone.
As the old saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Things like vaccinations, heartworm and parasite prevention, and routine bloodwork are heartfelt ways we can protect your beloved companion. These simple steps can prevent illnesses that are not only heartbreaking and life-threatening but can also become incredibly expensive to treat down the road.
Every pet is unique, and we understand your family's needs are too. Together, we will create a personalized wellness program that's just right for your furry friend, taking into account their breed, age, lifestyle, and overall health. We're here to partner with you in giving them a long, happy, and healthy life.
Vaccines are a small investment that offers huge protection for your pet. While there are many options, we'll talk with you about your pet's unique lifestyle to figure out exactly which vaccines they truly need, and which ones we can safely skip. It's all about keeping your beloved family member healthy and giving you peace of mind.
While some unwelcome guests, like fleas and ticks, are easy for us to spot, other internal parasites – like heartworm and intestinal parasites – are sneaky and invisible to the naked eye. We only see the painful symptoms they cause once their numbers have placed a significant burden on your pet's body, already impacting their overall health.
That's why our 4Dx test is so vital. It's a simple blood test that gently screens for heartworm and three common tick-borne diseases prevalent in our area: Lyme, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis. All four of these can lead to irreversible harm if not detected before symptoms appear. Even for our furry friends on year-round prevention, we recommend this test regularly, as unfortunately, no prevention is 100% foolproof.
Our fecal analysis is another crucial step. We carefully examine your pet's stool for microscopic intestinal parasite eggs and even perform a special DNA test (in simple terms) to detect many more hidden parasites. It's especially important to know that some of these parasites can be contagious to humans, particularly our children and those with weakened immune systems. For the safety and well-being of your entire family, we strongly recommend this test every year.
During each yearly wellness exam, we'll perform a thorough and gentle examination of your pet. We are carefully checking everything from their eyes, ears, and mouth to their heart, lungs, abdomen, skin, and even their muscles and nervous system. Our goal is to catch any early, subtle signs of infection, disease, or changes due to aging. If we discover anything unusual, we'll always take the time to discuss it with you, explore the best options for further investigation, and talk about ways we can treat or slow any progression to keep your family member comfortable and healthy.
To help us understand your pet's unique health story from the very beginning and monitor it over their lifetime, we offer and highly recommend baseline bloodwork on a regular basis. This comprehensive panel includes a complete blood count (which gives us insights into their red and white blood cells, and platelets) and a chemistry profile ((checking the vital functions of their liver, kidneys, pancreas, and even their immune system).
This bloodwork does so much more than just tell us what's 'normal' for your young, healthy companion. It creates a personalized health benchmark and allows us to detect even the smallest, subtle changes that can signal the earliest stages of a disease or infection. When we can catch these concerns early, we often have the best chance to effectively treat them or significantly slow their progression, helping your beloved family member enjoy a longer, healthier, and happier life with you.
At Mechanic Falls Veterinary Hospital, we understand that surgery for your beloved pet can be a worry. Rest assured, we compassionately perform many routine and soft tissue surgeries right here, including common procedures like spaying and neutering, removing troublesome growths or masses, exploratory surgeries for foreign objects, and even gastropexy to help prevent serious conditions.
While we excel in these areas, there are certain highly specialized orthopedic surgeries we don't perform. If your furry family member ever needs an advanced orthopedic procedure outside our scope, we will thoughtfully refer you to one of the many excellent and trusted orthopedic surgeons in our area, ensuring they receive the specialized care they deserve.
Throughout your pet’s time under anesthesia, our highly trained team uses state-of-the-art monitors to maintain a safe and stable anesthetic plan. We prioritize their comfort, making sure your pet remains pain-free and relaxed throughout their entire stay with us.
Who doesn't cherish a warm kiss from their dog or a close, rumbling purr from their cat? Their dental health isn't just vital for the wonderful bond and joyful interactions you share, but also for their physical well-being. Our beloved pets can't exactly brush their own teeth, and even with home care, they truly benefit from routine professional dental cleanings to remove the hidden plaque and tartar that harbor harmful bacteria.
This bacteria doesn't just cause unpleasant bad breath; it can actually enter their bloodstream, potentially causing damage to their heart and kidneys. It can even be inhaled, contributing to lung disease. Dogs and cats with dental disease are more prone to coughing, congestive heart failure and kidney failure, and studies have even shown that cats and dogs with healthy mouths live 3-5 years longer than those without good dental hygiene.
During their dental procedure, we use an ultrasonic cleaner to meticulously remove all that plaque and tartar. We also perform full-mouth dental X-rays and carefully chart their gumline for periodontal pockets. This allows us to thoroughly assess each tooth for any hidden cavities or dental disease lurking below the gumline, problems that are invisible to the eye. With your permission, of course, we'll then thoughtfully take care of any diseased teeth while your pet is comfortably under anesthesia, ensuring they wake up healthier and pain-free.
Navigating the decision of when to say goodbye to your beloved pet is one of the most difficult and heartfelt choices a pet owner faces. To help guide you through this sensitive time, we offer several compassionate approaches.
One supportive tool is our Quality of Life Assessment. This thoughtful questionnaire allows you to reflect on various aspects of your pet's current well-being, providing a framework for evaluating their comfort and happiness.
Another way to approach this decision is to remember the joys that once defined your pet's life. Consider creating a list of the activities they enthusiastically enjoyed when they were younger and more active. As a family, reflect on this list and identify what you consider to be a hallmark of your pet's quality of life – an activity so integral to their happiness that its absence would significantly diminish their enjoyment of life. Then, consider how many other cherished activities your pet is no longer able to participate in before their overall quality of life is noticeably impacted.
Finally, it's also important to acknowledge the impact on your own well-being. Consider any care needs that may be significantly challenging for you to manage long-term, and how these might affect your ability to provide your pet with the loving and supportive environment they deserve.
Our compassionate team is here to support you through this emotional journey, offering guidance and understanding as you navigate these deeply personal decisions.
How to Say Goodbye:
When you reach the difficult decision that it is time to say goodbye, please know that we are here to support you and your beloved pet with gentle and compassionate care. When you are ready, please call us, and we will schedule a peaceful euthanasia appointment.
We understand the importance of this moment and will arrange a time that is convenient for you and your family, while also ensuring a calm and quiet environment within our hospital. Our priority is to create the most peaceful experience possible for everyone involved. The word "euthanasia" itself means "good death," and that is our sincere intention for your beloved pet.
We will ensure their comfort and peace by first administering a gentle sedation, allowing their final moments of awareness to be only of your loving presence. Once they are completely relaxed, we will return to administer the final medication, which will allow them to pass peacefully. You are welcome to stay by their side during this final step, offering your love and comfort for as long as you need. If you prefer, you may also choose to say your goodbyes beforehand.
We can prepare a comfortable space for you and your family, offering a private room with soft blankets and padding. If the weather is amenable, we also have a serene private garden area where you can spend this precious time together outdoors.
While we are unable to provide in-home euthanasia ourselves, we understand that this may be a preferred option for some families. We would be happy to provide you with the contact information for Dr. Flanagan, a compassionate veterinarian whom you may have met here at our hospital, who offers this service.
Please know that our hearts are with you during this tender time, and we are here to support you in any way we can.
Pet Aftercare
Following your pet's peaceful passing, we understand you'll want to consider how to honor their memory. Here are some options available to you:
We recognize that making these decisions during an emotionally challenging time can feel overwhelming. By considering these options in advance, you can alleviate some of the stress when the time comes and focus on cherishing your final moments with your beloved companion.
You can also visit our crematory services company, Final Gifts, to review all options available to you. https://www.finalgift.com/
We know that illnesses will happen, and it's always worrying when your pet isn't feeling well. If your beloved companion needs care, please call us right at 8 AM to secure a same-day sick appointment. We intentionally reserve about half of our daily schedule for these critical appointments. To ensure your pet gets the prompt attention they need, it's really important that you call precisely at 8 AM and stay on the line until one of our client care representatives can assist you. We're here to help.
If your pet has an accident or emergency, call us immediately at (207) 345-3216. Calling ahead helps us prepare. We assess emergencies individually, and in some cases, we will refer you to a 24-hour emergency facility as that will be the best option for your pet’s situation and care. If you have an emergency when we are not open, you can contact one of the emergency facilities that are open when we are not.
The thought of a beloved pet going missing is every family's worst nightmare. That's why we highly recommend and provide AKC Reunite ISO Compliant microchips – a simple yet incredibly powerful tool to help bring your furry family member home. AKC Reunite acts as a trusted national database, safely storing your pet's unique ID number and your vital contact information (like your address, phone numbers, and even alternate contacts). When a microchipped pet is found and reported, this system is designed to swiftly connect you with your lost loved one.
A microchip is tiny, about the size of a grain of rice, and is easily and safely implanted by our licensed veterinarians or veterinary technicians, much like a routine vaccination. It's important to understand that microchips are NOT tracking devices. Instead, each one contains a unique, encoded identification number. The only way to 'read' this number is by scanning over the microchip with a special reader, which is standard equipment used regularly by animal shelters, animal control officers, and veterinary hospitals like ours.
If your pet has a microchip, you need to update your contact information anytime a name, address or phone number changes.
You can go to https://www.akcreunite.orgor
call 1-800-252-7894 and update your contact information anytime.
If your pet was not microchipped by us and you are unsure what database has your microchip information, you can go to:
https://www.aaha.org/for-veterinary-professionals/microchip-search
and type in your pet's microchip number. This website will then give you the contact information to update your pets microchip.
We are very happy to partner with Dr. Gregory at Doppler Effect and provide in-house ultrasound for your pet. As the traveling ultrasonographer, Dr. Gregory performs complete cardiac and abdominal ultrasound studies on cats and dogs. She then connects with imaging and cardiac specialists for a thorough evaluation of the ultrasound to provide diagnostic and treatment recommendations.
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