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Wellness Care


Our hospital is equipped to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services to care for your pets' complete health care needs including puppy, kitten, and yearly physical examinations; vaccinations; flea and heartworm control.

An annual comprehensive physical exam is strongly recommended for all dogs and cats and is required prior to any vaccines or prescription medication.  This exam and discussion of any possible problems or concerns is the most important component of your pet’s yearly appointment, as it can help uncover disease early and give us an opportunity to discuss any procedures or at home care that may help improve or extend your pet’s life.

  • Dogs

    Vaccines/Annual Testing

    Puppy Vaccines consist of a series of shots against DHPP (Distemper, Hepatitis/Adenovirus, Parvovirus, Parainfluenza) starting as early as 6 weeks of age. These vaccines are complete around 16 weeks of age and are repeated again 1 year later. The first rabies vaccine is given around 16 weeks of age. This is always a 1-year vaccine. It is boostered 9 to 12 months later to become a 3 year vaccine.

    Kennel Cough Vaccine is given to protect against a bacterial infection called Bordetella bronchiseptica. This vaccine is commonly required by boarding kennels and groomers in order to lessen the chance of your animal getting this infection. Although we recommend this vaccine be given once a year, some facilities require that this vaccine be given every 6 months. The recommended intranasal version of this vaccine provides the best protection, but there is also an injectable form of the vaccine for animals that dislike the drops in the nose.

    Canine Influenza (or the “dog flu”) is an infection that is becoming more prevalent. This infection was first diagnosed in the Greenville area in the fall of 2009. The vaccine for this infection is recommended for dogs who are at high risk for exposure.

    Lyme Vaccination is a non-core vaccine given to dogs with a high risk for tick exposure since lyme disease is spread by ticks. Animals that spend a good amount of time in the mountains are at higher risk for this disease. It is a series of vaccines that begins at 12 weeks of age and is boostered 3-4 weeks later. This vaccine is then repeated annually thereafter.

    Other non-core vaccines include Leptospiria and Corona virus. Our staff would be glad to discuss these vaccines with you.

    We recommended giving a heartworm preventative every month year round and annual testing to ensure that no infection is present. If left untreated or even if treated with monthly medications, a heartworm infection can cause a tremendous amount of damage to the heart and blood vessels of the lungs. If your pet is tested yearly and has 12 months of preventative medication purchased each year, the manufacturer of the heartworm medication will pay in the ballpark of $700-900 to treat a possible infection with heartworms and/or intestinal parasites (this is not true with medications not purchased through a licensed veterinarian).

    Overall, these preventative/wellness standards are designed as basic guidelines for optimal health and care of your animal. Every animal, however, needs to be evaluated individually and separately to determine their own personal risks and needs in order to individualize a wellness schedule and/or testing protocol.

    We also recommend monthly flea and tick prevention for both dogs and cats (although tick preventative for 100% indoor cats is probably not necessary).


  • Cats

    Vaccines/Annual Testing

    Kitten Vaccines consist of a series of shots against FVRCP (Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia and Chlamydia). The initial vaccines are given between 6-8 weeks of age, and are then repeated every 3-4 weeks until the booster is given at 14 - 16 weeks of age. An annual FVRCP booster is then given again 12 months later.

    Rabies Vaccine is given at the same time as the last kitten FVRCP vaccine at 14 – 16 weeks of age. The first rabies vaccine is always valid for 1 year. One year after the first rabies vaccine, a rabies vaccine labeled for 3 years may be given.

    Feline Leukemia Vaccines are recommended for all kittens. The kitten vaccines consist of 2 shots given 3-4 weeks apart starting as early as 9-10 weeks of age. Boosters for this vaccine are recommended 1 year later for all cats that are at risk for exposure to the infection. For ‘low risk’ patients (e.g. exclusively indoor cats), the annual boosters are not recommended.

    Feline Leukemia Virus and FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) testing is recommended for all kittens that have not yet been tested whether found stray or acquired from a breeder. These are infections that may not show any signs right now, but lead to future health problems and are infectious to other cats.

    Other feline vaccines that are generally not recommended for typical patients of EGAH:

    • FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis)
    • FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus)
    • Dermatophyte
    • Giardia
    • Bordetella bronchiseptica

    Hospital staff would be glad to discuss the potential need for these vaccines in your cat.

    Overall, these preventative/wellness standards are designed as basic guidelines for optimal health and care of your animal. Every animal, however, needs to be evaluated individually and separately to determine their own personal risks and needs in order to individualize a wellness schedule and/or testing protocol.

    We also recommend monthly flea and tick prevention for both dogs and cats (although tick preventative for 100% indoor cats is probably not necessary).