Small Animal Services

Wellness Exams 

These are typically first patient visits to establish care at our clinic. Sometimes breeders require this type of exam within a few days of purchasing or adopting an animal. We are happy to provide a wellness exam for any age; if you have any specific concerns, please mention them when scheduling your appointment. 

Geriatric Consultations 

As our pets grow older, you may notice changes in their mental or physical state. If you have questions or concerns about what is normal and/or what can be treated, please call to schedule a consultation.  

Vaccinations 

Vaccine appointments are typically scheduled in the afternoon and usually take 15-20 minutes. Your pet will receive a full physical exam with our vet prior to being vaccinated. If you have any concerns you’d like to be addressed, please mention them when scheduling/prior to your pet’s exam. 

Available canine vaccines are: DAPPi+C, DAPPi (1 and 3 year), Lepto (annual), Bordetella (annual) and Rabies (1 and 3 year). The feline vaccines we offer are HC2P (1 and 3 year), Leukemia (annual) and Rabies (1 and 3 year).

Dentistry 

We provide routine dentistry for cats and dogs which includes blood screening (depending on age and condition of the animal), general anesthesia, teeth cleaning, polishing, and extracting of any loose or abscessed teeth. We also provide emergency dental services for accidents that involve broken teeth. The cost of dental treatment varies greatly depending on the size and age of the animal, and the severity of the mouth. 

Diagnostic Radiology 

Our modern, digital radiograph machine takes amazingly clear pictures of what is going on inside of your pet. We can now diagnose many problems from enlarged hearts to intra vertebral disc disease to ACL tears to foreign body identification. We also offer OFA certified hip and elbow radiographs.  

Diagnostic Ultrasound 

The ultrasound is a very useful tool when diagnosing a variety of ailments, as well as confirming or denying a pregnancy. It may also be used in emergency situations, such as after an animal is hit by a car and we are wondering about internal bleeding, etc. Dr. Detwiler can also find masses that are otherwise difficult to detect by simply feeling the animal.

Allergy Testing 

We offer allergy testing through Nextmune and it is a simple process involving a small blood draw done in our clinic. The sample is sent off and results are usually available within 7-10 days. The standard allergy testing includes several foods/ingredients/proteins common in dog foods, as well as environmental allergens. If your pet has chronic skin, ear or GI problems, they may have an allergy. 

Surgery 

We spay and neuter cats and dogs, and we do accept MVAS’s certificates. They require you to have a scheduled appointment for surgery prior to purchasing a certificate, and they have a limited amount of them every month. The certificates do not cover extra costs such as vaccinations, pain relievers, etc. We also repair umbilical hernias, and during a spay or neuter is a great time to take care of that. If your male is a cryptorchid (only one testicle has descended), we are happy to neuter him, but the protocol is different from a regular neuter, so we appreciate a head’s up if we have not seen the animal before.

We offer limited orthopedic repairs (ACLs for instance), enucleation, amputation, soft tissue (mass removal), C-Sections, abscess/wound repair, aural hematoma repair, torn toenail removal, quill removal, and more. Please call if you have a surgical question.

In-House Lab Work 

Our new IDEXX blood machines can run in-house diagnostic panels as well as pre-anesthetic panels (required for any animal that is at least 8 years old and is scheduled to go under general anesthesia). We can also test for the following in-house:

Hyper/Hypothyroidism, early renal failure, FIV/FelV, Parvo, heartworm, pancreatitis, liver failure and anemia. We also have access to many other tests through various veterinary labs around the country.

Parvo Treatment 

Please do not bring your canine into the clinic if you suspect they have Parvo! We hospitalize them in an isolation kennel away from our other patients; please call ahead of time to make arrangements.

If we are to treat a Parvo patient, we do require a deposit before admitting them. Parvo treatment and length of hospitalization vary from case to case depending on the severity of illness.

The best way to avoid Parvo is to vaccinate your puppy (with 3 DAP vaccines at appropriate ages and intervals), and do not expose your puppy to unvaccinated canines (wild or domestic) or their stool. The Parvo virus is transmitted through fecal material but can live in the soil for a very long time. Coyotes can shed Parvo virus, for example, and we have lots of those around here!

Parasite Control

We offer a variety of de-wormers for cats and dogs. An accurate weight is needed to dispense any of our de-worming medications.

Ear mites are a common problem and easy to treat if removal if ear mite waste is done first. Depending on the severity of the ears, we may recommend flushing them prior to treatment (so that the medicine can reach the skin of the ear canal which is where it needs to be in order to kill the mites). It is also important to treat all animals in the environment if one is found with ear mites, because they are very contagious.

Fleas and ticks are present in Western Montana, although many of our clients have not had to deal with fleas before and are not sure how to get rid of them. Fleas live in the environment, not on your pet. Because of this, it is extremely important to treat all your animals, as well as the environment (with an IGR fogger). For every one flea you find on your pet, there are at least 10 more in the environment; they get on an animal for a blood meal, and then they get off – they do not live on the animal.

Frontline and Bravecto are the two main flea/tick treatments we currently carry.

Referrals

There are some cases we will refer to a specialty clinic out of the valley (such as the Animal Eye Clinic of Spokane, or Bridger Veterinary Specialists in Bozeman). If we are unable to assist you with an after-hours emergency, we will refer you to an emergency clinic in Missoula or Kalispell where they are fully staffed overnight and on weekends.

Euthanasia/End of Life Care Options 

We do offer in-home or in-clinic euthanasia as a service to our patients. Please call if you have any questions or need to make arrangements.

Mountain View Pet Crematorium in Kalispell provides us with cremation services for your pet if you are interested.

Emergency Services 

During open hours, we try to see all our own patients’ emergencies. We also have limited after-hours services; if we cannot accommodate you, we recommend going to one of the Pet ERs in Missoula or Kalispell; we do not have staff after hours to assist Dr. Detwiler.