Wellness Care:
Individualized programs are developed based on disease risk evaluations and consultations with pet owners.  Vaccinations, blood work testing, fecal parasite exams, dental examination and preventative medication and diets are recommended after risk based assessments.

Sick or Injured Pet Care:
In house bloodwork can be run to get results very quickly when your pet is sick.  In combination with a physical exam and radiographs, as well as the history provided by the owner, we are able to diagnose and treat many ill animals in one visit.

Routine dental cleaning and treatment of diseased teeth and gums are performed in our dedicated dental station.  A brand new human quality dental machine and lift table make for comfort and cleanliness when your pets’ teeth are treated.  We evaluate each tooth carefully and document gum recession to follow the progress of disease from one visit to the next.  Surgical tooth removal is recommended only if the tooth in question is too diseased to be of benefit to your pet.  We generally remove teeth that are loose, or have substantial root exposure, allowing pockets of smelly debris and tartar to accumulate.

We have patient wards available for every size animal, including an isolation area for those suspected of having contagious diseases.  No overnight supervision is available, and when patients are critical we recommend overnight care at a local emergency hospital.

Routine spay (female ovariohysterectomy) and neutering (male) of dogs and cats is performed daily in our state of the art surgical suite.  Anesthesia is carefully monitored with advanced equipment, and includes blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen levels, EKG (heart electrical activity) carefully tracked using our anesthesia monitor, as well as continuous hands-on monitoring by our outstanding and experienced veterinary technicians.

More complicated surgeries can also be performed such as Cystotomies (bladder stone removal), Enterotomies (stomach or intestinal foreign body removal) and exploratory abdominal surgery.  Orthopedic (bone) surgery can also be performed on a limited basis.

Pain levels are constantly monitored and addressed quickly with a number of different effective medications.

Radiographs (x-rays) are performed and processed on site and evaluated by our doctors.  Orthopedic problems such as bone fractures, dislocations, and growth related problems as well as heart, lung and abdominal are routinely x-rayed to determine the problem and needed treatment.  Consultations with orthopedic surgeons and radiologists can be requested for complicated problems.  Limited ultrasound exams can be performed for selected problems.  Complicated cases requiring ultrasound are referred for board specialist evaluation.

Pre-surgical and emergency bloodwork can be performed in our hospital laboratory or sent out to Idexx  Reference Laboratory for more complete diagnostic evaluation or uncommon tests.  Heartworm, Lyme, Anaplasmosis, and Erhlichia testing for dogs as well as Leukemia and Immunedeficiency virus testing for cats is performed daily in our lab.  We can evaluate fecal samples for parasites in house, but send them out for a more accurate and consistent testing method unless the patient has diarrhea.  Several university laboratories are also used for more detailed hormonal and disease testing, as well as to diagnose exotic species and birds.

Male and female reproductive problems and routine artificial insemination are available.  Timed breeding and surgical insemination are also done in our hospital.  Scheduled caesarian sections and pregnancy diagnosis with x-rays, ultrasound and blood testing allow us to offer a complete array of services to local breeders.

Littlestown Veterinary Hospital maintains a well stocked pharmacy, and  carries prescription diets from Hills, Purina, and Royal Canin.  We also stock Heartgard Plus, and Interceptor for heartworm preventatives, and Advantix and Frontline for flea and tick treatments.  We carry a number of dental care products from CET, including chew, dental rinses and water additives.  The Douxo line of shampoos and ear products have been essential to effective treatment of our allergic pets.  Medications can be administered in Pill Pockets for some pets, or can be formulated into liquid, or occasionally transdermal drops absorbed after being placed in the ear.  We work with a formulating pharmacy to customize medications for difficult to medicate patients.  No prescription products can be dispensed without a physical exam performed on the patient, as Pennsylvania law requires.

We recommend that your pet be microchipped with the HomeAgain microchip system.  This simple procedure can be done during an appointment or surgical procedure, and is very quick.  It leaves a permanent identification which can be traced back to you.  Every humane society and SPCA has a universal scanner to try to get pets back to their own homes.  The microchip also proves your ownership of a pet, should that be a problem.

The following list of contacts: