Arlington Animal Clinic is a full service veterinary clinic. We can provide all the wellness and preventative healthcare your pet will need throughout their life. We are also ready to help when medical conditions arise.
Below are detailed descriptions of the services we offer. Scroll through to learn more about how we can help your pet. If you have any questions, please call us.
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Dentistry | Dermatology | Internal Medicine | Laboratory | Pharmacy | Radiology | Surgery | Wellness & Preventative Care
Dentistry
Dental disease, also called periodontal disease, is one of the primary killers of pets. When periodontal disease is not addressed, the bacteria in the mouth can get into the bloodstream and attack the heart, liver, and kidneys.
When your pet has a dental cleaning with us, they will be given a full physical exam that morning and will then be placed under general gas anesthesia. This will allow us to perform a thorough oral exam, including full mouth x-rays. After that, a veterinary technician will scale and polish each tooth surface, followed by a final exam by the doctor. Throughout the procedure, your pet will be closely monitored by one of our veterinary technicians.
When you pick up your pet later that day, you will receive a detailed chart of their mouth which will show everything that was found and everything that was done.
Why do we use general anesthesia?
Because it is the best and safest way to care for your pet’s oral health. A dental cleaning is an unsettling experience even for a human. For your pet, it would be terrifying, and dangerous. In order to provide your pet with the best quality dental care, we must be able to look into the entire mouth, x-ray all the teeth to look for fractures and abscesses, probe the gums, scale the tartar and bacteria off of the visible tooth surfaces as well as under the gumline, and then polish all the teeth. Your pet would never allow us to do this while they are awake.
By using general anesthesia, we can perform all these services quickly and effectively. We can also ensure that nothing has been missed. Please be assured that your pet will be constantly monitored by a veterinary technician while under anesthesia.
Dermatology
Itchy dogs and cats are a common reason owners bring their pets to the vet. We understand itching is not only irritating for them, but also very frustrating for you as the owner! The most common causes of itching are fleas and allergies. Fleas can be eliminated by consistently using a good flea/tick preventative such as Nexgard®, or Nexgard Plus®.
Allergies present a bigger challenge. They can result from food, the environment (hay fever, dander, molds etc.), or contact with certain surfaces or fabrics. Our primary goal when dealing with dermatology cases is to make your pet comfortable. We will work with you to determine the cause of your pet’s itching so we can relieve it. We have a number of tools available, including topical therapy like shampoos, supplements such as fish oils, and new advancements in medications. We are here to help your pet “Ditch the Itch”.
Internal Medicine
Our doctors are well equipped to diagnose and treat a number of conditions and diseases: Heart failure, thyroid issues, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, eye issues, and more. We are able to do in-house blood and urine testing, specialized blood and tissue testing (using our reference laboratory), x-rays, and different types of ophthalmic tests. We will be happy to help you through your pet’s health journey.
Laboratory
We have a fully equipped in-clinic lab to help diagnose many conditions during your visit. This will lead to faster treatment and a quicker return to normal for your pet. Our in-house testing includes blood work panels, urinalysis, analysis of ear swabs, skin scrapings, and aspirates of skin masses. For more extensive or specialized testing, we are able to send samples to a reference laboratory. These tests typically take 1 to 3 days to receive results.
Pharmacy
We stock most of the commonly used prescription medications and diets so that your pet can get what they need. We also have an on-line pharmacy (see the link on our home page) so that you can order your medications and have them shipped straight to your home. We have partnered with several different compounding pharmacies to provide products that are less common or require specialized dosing. Medications that are less common can be ordered into our clinic or we can write a prescription so you can have it filled elsewhere. We will do all we can to be sure your pet gets what they need for a happy, healthy life.
Radiology
Diagnosing some issues requires a look inside. We have high-quality digital radiography (x-ray) capability, so we can see a tooth abscess that is under the gums, or a broken bone in the foot, or the engagement ring your dog swallowed. Unfortunately, whatever is ailing your pet may require more advanced imaging, so we may refer you to a specialty center for procedures like echocardiograms, abdominal ultrasounds, or CT/MRI scanning. Whatever we can do to make your pet feel better. 
Surgery
We offer a wide variety of both orthopedic, soft tissue, and elective surgeries in our surgery suite. Our clinic is equipped with gas anesthesia so we can quickly adjust the depth of each patient as well as monitoring equipment and fluid pumps to give us the utmost care and control of your pet. The following is just a sample of some of the routine surgeries we offer:
- Sterilization: also called spaying and neutering, this removes the reproductive organs in an animal, and prevents a wide variety of both medical and behavioral problems
- Soft tissue surgeries include mass removals, both from the skin and internally from the abdomen, surgeries to remove foreign objects from the stomach, intestines, or bladder, and much more.
- Our orthopedic surgeries
include fracture repair with intramedullary pins, femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) for arthritis, cruciate repair using the lateral fabella suture technique, and amputation if necessary.
If your pet is in need of a surgery we do not routinely do, we will refer you to a surgeon at a specialty center so that your pet can have the best expertise possible. We commonly recommend Blue Pearl in Eden Prairie and the University of Minnesota. See our helpful resources page for contact information for both referral hospitals.
Wellness and Preventative Care
Yearly physical exams are very important for our adult pets, as they age much faster than humans. Annual exams help to detect disease processes earlier, leading to faster care and a longer, more comfortable life for them. Puppies and kittens require more frequent exams, every 3-4 weeks until about 16-20 weeks of age, because they grow at such a fast rate and their maternal antibodies wane. Click the hyperlinks for more detailed vaccine schedules. It is also critical that your pet receive their vaccinations on a regular schedule to keep them protected from deadly diseases. Vaccine requirements vary depending on your pet’s lifestyle and age, so it is best to speak with your veterinarian who can make the best individualized recommendation. It is important to note that the rabies vaccination is required by law for most animals .
Parasites are unfortunately very common in our environment and most require treatment in order to keep our pets feeling their best. Internal gastrointestinal parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, are found in the soil, transmitted from dog to dog through feces, and commonly passed through the mother’s placenta to her offspring. Some are transmissable to humans. Your pet may not show any signs or you may see diarrhea, lethargy, weight loss or bloody stool. Another internal parasite is the heartworm, which is transmitted through infected mosquito bites and resides in the heart and pulmonary arteries. Heartworms can be fatal so it is best to keep your pet on preventative products all year round, and test them yearly to ensure product efficacy or if they have missed any doses.
External parasites, such as fleas and ticks, transmit deadly diseases to our pets and are active 
when temperatures are above 32 degrees. Fleas can withstand freezing conditions in their cocoon for up to one year. They cause itching, anemia (blood loss), and can transmit diseases like tapeworms, cat scratch fever, and plague. We recommend giving your pet preventative products regularly to prevent flea and tick infestations, both on your pet and within your home.