Services

Your pet deserves the best care possible.

At Bristol Animal Hospital, we know pets are like family.

Our goal is to exceed your expectations by providing the highest quality veterinary care with genuine compassion in a safe and comfortable environment. The special bonds we have with our own pets are our motivation for continuous improvement while also providing an exceptional educational experience for you at every visit. From dentistry to medical or surgical care, we are here to serve you!

Diagnostics & Therapeutic Services

At Bristol Animal Hospital, we always strive to provide the best possible medical care for your pet. We are proud to offer state-of-the-art diagnostic services to quickly respond to your pet’s urgent needs, provide pre-anesthetic testing, or provide routine screening.

Laboratory Testing

We have both in-house and reference laboratory testing capabilities for complete blood count, blood chemistries, urinalysis, cytology, and fecal analysis. We partner with IDEXX Laboratories, the leading diagnostic laboratory in the veterinary industry, to provide reference laboratory testing with high-quality analysis, quick turn-around times, and access to board-certified internists and pathologists for assistance with diagnostic interpretation for difficult cases. All biopsies are submitted to board-certified IDEXX pathologists for histopathology.

Digital Radiography

We have digital radiography services to take high-quality radiographs (x-rays), which limits the amount of x-ray exposure for your pet, helps save time while taking radiographs, and allows electronic transfer of images to a board-certified radiologist for interpretation (provided for all radiographs). It also makes for easy transfer of images to a specialist or emergency hospital, if necessary.

Anesthesia

There are some situations where your pet will need general anesthesia or sedation while under our care (dental services, surgical procedures, some anxious or fearful patients for exams or to perform medical diagnostics).

Anesthesia is a temporary loss of consciousness, where your pet’s level of consciousness is controlled so they don’t feel pain and don’t move.

General Anesthesia

Appropriately administered general anesthesia entails extremely low risk for the patient, as a result of a combination of pre-anesthetic assessment of the patient (including physical exams, blood tests, and any additional medical diagnostics- ultrasounds, radiographs) and our belief in a multimodal strategy (using several classes of analgesic agents which minimizes the depth of general anesthesia required), plus modern anesthetic monitoring equipment. Many patients are awake and standing within 15-20 minutes of completion of the procedure and may go home the same day. Our team is fully trained to confidently assess and monitor your pet’s well being and pain during these procedures.

Oncology

With recent advances in veterinary oncology for cats and dogs, clients and their pets have more options and hope than ever before when it comes to treating cancer. At Bristol Animal Hospital, our clients are able to find the optimal combination of treatment options and compassion that they would expect for themselves and other family members if they were diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

While your general practitioner veterinarian can diagnose and treat many health problems, certain diseases like cancer require the care of a doctor who has had specialized, intensive training in veterinary oncology. We work closely with area board-certified veterinary oncologists to ensure your pet gets the treatment he or she needs.

Dentistry

Why is dental care so important? Recent studies have shown that 70% of adult cats and 80% of adult dogs show symptoms of oral disease. In fact, most pet parents are not away that their pet is dealing with dental issues. Bad breath, plaque build-up, excessive drooling, sore or bleeding gums when eating or chewing, and decreased appetite are signs that your pet’s teeth may require veterinary attention.

Just as it’s important for you to see a dentist regularly, it’s important for dogs and cats as well. Your pet’s oral health is directly connected to their overall health. Signs of dental disease include bad breath, loose, broken, or missing teeth, yellow or brown teeth, red, inflamed, or bleeding gums, difficulty or pain when chewing, pawing at the mouth, and excessive drooling. If you notice any of these symptoms, please contact our team and we’ll be happy to help.

We are proud that we have the most up to date equipment to treat dental disease, including digital dental x-rays. This allows us to detect if there is any disease beneath the gum line that we would not be able to see otherwise. We are often able to see undetected abscesses, broken teeth, resorbed roots, retained roots, and more thanks to dental radiographs.

Our dental services include comprehensive oral health assessments, cleaning, and treatments such as surgical extractions.

Microchipping

Each year, thousands of pets go missing, and many don’t make it back home. Many pets (especially indoor pets) don’t wear collars or tags. Even if your pet wears a collar and identification tag, collars can break off and tags can become damaged and unreadable, so these forms of identification may not be enough to ensure your pet’s safe return. Your pet needs a form of identification that is reliable and can’t get lost, stolen, or damaged. A microchip is a safe, simple form of identification that can significantly increase the chance that your pet will return safely.

A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is placed underneath your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades. Microchip implantation takes only a few minutes and is very safe. Each microchip is unique and carries vital information about your pet—including your name, address, and contact information. When a microchip is implanted, the pet owner is given a registration form to complete. Registering the number on the microchip includes your pet in a national pet recovery database. Veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with special electronic scanners that can detect the microchip and read the identification number. If a lost pet is picked up by animal control or found by a good Samaritan and presented to a veterinarian, a quick scan of the microchip reveals the identification number. A toll-free phone call to the pet recovery database alerts the microchip company that a lost pet has been identified. The pet owner can then be contacted and reunited with his or her pet!

Young puppies and kittens can receive microchips, but even if your pet is already an adult, you should consider microchipping. Even indoor pets can get outside accidentally and get lost, so if you’re relying on other forms of identification, you could be placing your pet at risk. Microchipping is a safe, effective way to help ensure your pet’s return if the unthinkable happens.

Flea & Tick Control

It’s easy to keep your pet protected from parasites like fleas and ticks, and we’re here to help! Why is this so important to us? Fleas and ticks are not only a source of irritation to your pet, but they can also harbor disease and adversely affect your pet’s health. Contact us to make sure your pet is protected from these harmful parasites!

Stay educated on what you’re protecting your pet from.

Fleas are small, jumping insects that live off of the blood of animals. They can carry dangerous diseases and will often cause allergic dermatitis” severe itching” in pets.

Ticks are external parasites that live off of the bodily fluids of animals. They can carry diseases from one animal to another and are the main cause of the spread of diseases such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Behavioral Counseling

Does your pet act out in ways that are annoying, destructive, or just unbecoming? Are you frustrated with certain negative behaviors? Are your companion’s bad habits causing a rift between you and making it difficult for you to embrace them as a part of the family? If you’re struggling with your pet’s behavior problems, you’re not alone! Bristol Animal Hospital offers comprehensive behavioral counseling services to help manage and overcome negative pet behaviors once and for all.

Our team is highly skilled and experienced in animal behavior, and we know that the first step is to identify the root cause of the problem. Many negative behaviors are mere symptoms of a larger underlying problem, and the only way to eliminate the behavior is to address the real issue at hand. For instance, when your pet acts destructive or barks incessantly when you’re away from home, these behaviors could be signs that your companion is really suffering from separation anxiety. We’ll uncover what’s really causing the problem so we can address it and get it under control.

Some of the negative pet behaviors we can help with include:

House training problems
Aggression
Destructive behavior
Biting
Excessive barking
Chewing
And more…

Whatever behavior you’re dealing with that is standing in the way of forming that all-important bond with your pet, we can help. We’ll work with you and your animal companion to get to the root of the problem so we can develop a plan to work toward a solution. Through patience, determination, and proven behavior modification techniques, we’ll arm you with everything you need to overcome negative behaviors and develop your pet into the calm, balanced, and well-behaved member of the family we know they’re capable of becoming.

Surgical Services

We take immense pride in our highly skilled ability to perform veterinary surgeries when your pet needs it most. Our experienced team of doctors and staff make it their number one priority to focus on pain management, patient safety, and employing the most current surgical practices to ensure your pet receives the best veterinary care around.

Our team will be working with you before, during, and after surgery to address any questions or concerns you may have about the procedure, anesthesia, or postoperative care. We will make sure you are equipped with all the knowledge you need in order to make sure your pet makes a full recovery.

When your pet is ready to go home, we will review your postoperative care and medication instructions. If any questions arise after your pet returns home or at any other time during the postoperative period, call us. We welcome your questions and will do all we can to help your pet recover fully. Help is only a phone call away.

Laser Therapy

Laser therapy is a cutting-edge technique in veterinary medicine for managing many conditions, including chronic pain in pets. Class IV (cold) laser therapy is especially effective for treating pets that struggle with osteoarthritis pain whether or not they have orthopedic surgery.

Cold laser therapy is a noninvasive procedure that uses light to stimulate blood flow and increase circulation. It is not a surgical laser that cuts tissue, but a laser with different wavelengths to help heal tissues. The laser may even be used as a part of acupuncture in place of the needles.

Your veterinarian will first assess a pet’s pain management needs to determine whether he or she is a good candidate for laser therapy. It is not recommended for pets with cancer to have laser therapy as it could worsen or spread the malignancy. The doctor will create a custom treatment plan. Dogs and cats generally receive the greatest pain relief benefits from a series of eight to ten sessions, usually starting two to three times weekly, tapering down to weekly appointments.

Treatment sessions are tailored to each pet’s individual needs. Smaller dogs may only need eight to 10-minute sessions. A larger dog that suffers from arthritis in multiple joints may benefit from a longer, 30-minute session. During a treatment session, the pet reclines on a table or may even lie on a blanket on the floor. Some veterinarians will even dim the lights and play soothing music, creating a mini “spa” experience for the pet. Your veterinarian may allow you to be present for these sessions, but you will need to wear special goggles to protect your eyes.

Pets that undergo orthopedic surgery may need up to six months of recovery time. Physical therapy helps the pet to recover and become active again. Laser therapy is a common adjunctive treatment that allows faster healing of the surgical incision, and also helps to relieve the arthritic pain.

Many arthritic pets respond positively to laser therapy. In fact, some pets even fall asleep during treatment sessions as it is the first time they are finally able to relax and not be in pain.

In addition to helping manage arthritis pain, veterinary laser therapy has numerous other applications. Treatment with a Class IV laser may help heal wounds, treat skin disorders such as lick granuloma, and help surgical skin incisions heal faster.

We now possess the Companion Therapy Laser. This is a drug-free, surgery-free means of reducing pain and decreasing healing time.

Radiology

With the advances in digital X-ray technology, we can now manipulate the digital images that we take off a pet’s systems to see what is wrong. This has allowed us to detect things like hairline fractures and orthopedic conditions that were previously not visible. We share these digital images with specialists who consult with us on difficult cases.

Radiology (x-rays) is routinely used to provide valuable information about a pet’s bones, gastrointestinal tract (stomach, intestines, colon), respiratory tract (lungs), heart, and genitourinary system (bladder, prostate). It can be used alone or in conjunction with other diagnostic tools to provide a list of possible causes for a pet’s condition, identify the exact cause of a problem or rule out possible problems.

Our on-site, modern x-ray equipment provides high-quality radiographs to aid in the quick diagnosis of many disorders. We also consult with veterinary radiologists on challenging cases.

How does it work?

When a pet is being radiographed, an x-ray beam passes through its body and hits a piece of radiographic film. Images on the film appear as various shades of gray and reflect the anatomy of the animal. Bones, which absorb more x-rays, appear as light gray structures. Soft tissues, such as the lungs, absorb fewer x-rays and appear as dark gray structures. Interpretation of radiographs requires considerable skill on the part of the veterinarian.

In-House Laboratory

Our pets cannot tell us what’s wrong, and that’s why laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging are so important. But we do more than just offer you state-of-the-art diagnostic tests, we choose the tests that will guide us toward the perfect, tailor-made solution for your pet’s needs.

When we need answers fast, our in-house laboratory facilities provide for serum chemistry, hematology, serology, urinalysis, and parasite testing. We also utilize commercial veterinary laboratories for specialized diagnostics and consultations.

In-House Pharmacy

We maintain a complete inventory of pharmaceuticals, vitamins, shampoos, flea/tick control products, and heartworm preventatives to meet the needs of your pet. We also carry a full line of prescription diets. Our online store has many other products we don’t keep in stock at the hospital as well.

Dietary Counseling

Nutrition plays a critical role in the overall health and well-being of your pet. Your pet’s nutritional needs change with age and activity level. Specially formulated diets can assist in the management of various medical conditions like kidney disease, diabetes, and heart disease. Work closely with your veterinarian to find the right food and the right intake amount for your pet. Every pet is unique and the goal is to find what works best for each individual pet.

Obesity is a common problem among pets, as it can be easy to overfeed a pet that knows how to beg. But being overweight is a serious problem for animals and can cause real health problems as they get older. With proper diet and exercise, all pets should be able to meet their dietary needs and be within a healthy weight range.

A pet’s nutritional needs change as they enter different stages of their lives. The best way to make sure your pet’s needs are being met is to develop a diet made specifically for them and their lifestyle. At Animal Hospital of Hinesburg, we offer nutritional counseling to answer any questions you may have about your pet’s diet.

With so many foods on the market and various nutritional requirements depending on the age and health of your pet companion, we are here to help you make the right choices. We’re ready to serve up the right food recommendations to tackle those stubborn feline urinary problems, overweight dogs, or relentless diarrhea.

Internal Medicine

Your pet’s health includes having healthy functioning internal organs. These organs can become diseased or damaged due to injury or hereditary factors. Veterinary internal medicine is involved with the diagnosis and treatment of your pet’s internal organs.

Being inside the animal’s body, damage and other symptoms of diseased or injured internal organs are often not visible. Plus, our pets are unable to alert us when they are suffering pain or other symptoms of internal organ problems. This is why periodic head to tail preventive care exams and good nutrition, especially in the case of older pets, are an important part of ensuring a long and healthy life for your pet.

Thanks to advances in modern veterinary medicine, we have numerous ways to diagnose and treat internal organ problems in pets. We also have equipment like the endoscope that enables us to examine and view an animal’s internal organs in a non-invasive way. Our diagnostic tools and procedures, along with state-of-the-art laboratory techniques, make it possible to monitor and diagnose what is happening medically inside your pet without having to resort to exploratory surgery.

At our sister hospital, our internist, Dr. Ellen Foster, has specialized training and capabilities to help diagnose and treat critically ill pets. She is available for consultation or referral.