Preventive Care

• Dental Care
  Holy Family Veterinary Hospital is a full-service animal hospital and welcomes both emergency treatment cases as well as pet patients in need of routine medical, surgical, and dental care. Dr. Michael O’Connor has years of experience treating serious conditions and offering regular pet wellness care. Beyond first rate pet care, we make our clinic comfortable, kid-friendly, and calm, so your pet can relax in the waiting room and look forward to meeting our Fort Pierce veterinarian.
• Vaccination
  Getting your new puppy or kitten off to a healthy start sets the stage for their lives as healthy adults. Regular physical examinations, core and elective vaccinations, fecal testing for parasites, and deworming are all important elements of ensuring good health for your puppy or kitten. Our knowledgeable staff can help your family learn about potty training your pup, performing nail trims on your puppy or kitten, dietary recommendations, and potential health hazards for your new pet.
• Comprehensive Examination
  Preventive veterinary care is the cornerstone of keeping your pet their healthiest so that you and your pet can have more great years together. Since pets age more quickly than people do, it is critical to have regular physical examinations done to assess your pet’s health. During routine preventive exams, your veterinarian will assess...

Illness Treatment

• Parasites Treatment and Control
  When health problems are identified, a medical plan will be outlined to evaluate the problems in depth. If your pet appears to be healthy enough for routine preventive care, your veterinarian will discuss which immunizations are advised, as well as parasite prevention including heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, and ectoparasites (fleas, ticks, etc.). Annual age-appropriate lab tests, testing for heartworm and/or tick-borne diseases, and fecal tests for parasites may also be recommended for your pet. Finally, your pet’s nutrition, diet, and exercise routines can be assessed and optimized to help your pet be in best physical condition for their lifestyle and age. Remember, keeping up with preventive care for your pet is the best way to keep your pet happy and healthy for life.
• Pain Management
  Your veterinarian may also prescribe some pain relief medication and antibiotics to help ensure that an infection does not set in at the surgery site. We will also schedule a follow-up appointment with you within a few days of the surgery, just to make sure that your pet is healing and recovering well, and that there are no complications.
• Vomiting Treatment
• Diarrhea Treatment

Infection Treatment

• Leptospirosis Treatment
  SNAP tests: point-of-care “snap” tests are available for certain infectious diseases such as Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, Canine Parvovirus, Giardia, and Leptospirosis.
• Parvovirus Infection Treatment
• Feline Retro Virus Treatment
• Bacterial and Viral Infection Treatment
  One of the most common but also frequently overlooked health problems for companion animals is dental disease. By age 3, most pets have some degree of periodontal disease. This occurs as a result of bacterial infection along the gum line, due to the formation of plaque. Plaque is a sticky substance containing millions of bacteria that forms along the tooth surface and gum line. Without frequent removal, plaque eventually hardens into tartar. Left untreated, this leads to gradual destruction of the gum tissue and supportive structures around the teeth, which can result in tooth loss. Not only is periodontal disease harmful and painful because it results in loss of teeth, but it can also cause damage to important vital organs such as the...
• Ear Infection Treatment
  “My pup had an ear infection and I called about 10:30 on Christmas Eve morning. I expected to be turned away until after Christmas or the first of the year. They set me up with an appointment for 11:20. I scooted on down there and I was in and out in about 45mins. They were very friendly to me and my pup. I also expected to pay at least $300 for the visit. They seen me and gave me the meds for about $150. I’m extremely grateful for the staff and the Vet for getting us squared away and will be going back for future visits

Chronic Condition Treatment

• Arthritis Treatment
  These conditions will start to become more prevalent as your pet gets older. For this reason, we recommend twice-yearly veterinary visits for pets over 7 years of age. Your aging pet may be showing early signs of osteoarthritis such as stiffness after rest or play, difficulty going up or downstairs, and reduced activity. Early intervention with joint supplements and prescription arthritis medications when indicated, along with modified nutrition and exercise plans, can greatly improve your pet’s comfort and mobility. Likewise, performing annual screening lab work on your older pet can help identify early stages of medical problems that might go unrecognized, and progress significantly without treatment.
• Heart Disease Treatment
  Heartworm is another important endoparasite, but one which is not zoonotic. Heartworm infections result from pets being bitten by infected mosquitos. The larval form of the heartworm travels through the bloodstream to the heart where it develops into an adult. The adult heartworms live in the right side of the heart and left untreated, result in progressive heart failure and death. In initial stages of heartworm disease, pets may be asymptomatic. As the condition progresses, symptoms may evolve including a cough and exercise intolerance in dogs, and vomiting/coughing in cats.  Treatment of heartworm disease can be very risky for the pet, and very costly.
• Kidney Disease Treatment
  Any pre-surgical testing that is recommended – baseline laboratory testing is beneficial so that there are no surprises on surgery day. Knowing that your pet has normal blood test results can help prevent anesthetic complications or surgical complications such as excessive bleeding, which can occur when patients have low platelet counts or abnormal clotting. When there is liver or kidney disease, this may affect the choices of anesthetic drugs recommended by your veterinarian, to prevent anesthetic complications and promote a smooth anesthetic recovery.
• Periodontal Disease Treatment

Emergency Care

• Poisoning Treatment

Surgery

• Veterinary Surgery
  Pet surgery is often a stressful experience for dog or cat owners. At Holy Family Veterinary Hospital in Fort Pierce, FL, we want you to know that your pet will receive the highest level of care possible if an operation is needed. We have the surgical tools and knowledge to perform most routine types of pet surgery in-house.
• Spaying and Neutering
  Spaying and neutering are additional topics to consider; the appropriate age for the timing of sterilization surgery may vary upon the species and breed of your pet. You may also want to consider Pet Health Insurance – a great way to get your new little family member off to a good start. Last but not least, you’ll also want to consider whether your new puppy or kitten may need preventives such as monthly heartworm prevention and flea/tick preventives. We realize that adding a new family pet can come with lots of questions... but don’t forget, we’re here to help, so please don’t hesitate to call.

Lab and X-Rays

• Laboratory Services
  Laboratory testing for baseline blood counts and organ function tests, or infectious disease. Blood and/or urine samples may be collected from your pet, for point-of-care testing, or reference lab tests. Point-of-care tests are those tests that are done on-site in our hospital so as to be able to determine results and make treatment recommendations in the most timely fashion possible. In other cases, lab samples may need to be sent off to off-site laboratories (reference laboratories) – when the test cannot be performed with in-hospital lab equipment, or when the test results are not needed urgently.
• X-Ray
• Dental Radiology

General Pet Care

• Boarding
• Grooming
• Senior Pet Care
  We love Senior Pets! Senior pets have special needs and benefit from more regular veterinary visits compared to their younger counterparts. Age-associated conditions include...