The Optimum Wellness Plan and information have been provided by Banfield Pet Hospital®; all opinions are my own.
My Pomeranian, Jewel, brings me so much joy. She’s neurotic and goofy and has some of the craziest mannerisms and habits, but I wouldn’t change a thing about her. She’s been my constant companion and office mate since she was a tiny pup.
Jewel’s been a Banfield pup since her first checkup and shots. She and all of her furry siblings, have been covered by a Banfield Optimum Wellness Plan the majority of their lives. We made the mistake of letting her coverage lapse when our Brittany, Blaze, developed bladder cancer two years ago and we chose to take him to Vet closer to home.
When he passed, I struggled with what to do with my girls – move them to the new vet or go back to Banfield. I kept putting off the decision thinking I had time, but my sweet Pomeranian started experiencing some changes in her daily habits that I originally put down to aging, but when her plan was reinstated, I took advantage of the free office visits and took her in for a check-up.
Jewel’s Banfield Pet Hospital Visit
I’d originally planned on getting Jewel her booster shots and heartworm medication at her visit because I was fairly certain she was fine. But within a few minutes of chatting with her new Vet to determine where Jewel was health-wise, he suggested that her symptoms were more likely caused by an infection and bladder stones, rather than old age.
Her new Vet carefully went over the choices for diagnostic testing to confirm his suspicious, as well as what treatment options were available without the tests. I was never pressured into approving tests and I was given pricing information so that I could make a decision that best fit our family.
Instead of getting her routine shots, Jewel ended up receiving a bladder scan as well as an urinalyses. Jewel’s Doctor invited me back to see her scans which clearly showed she was suffering from bladder stones and he described what he found in her urine and what he expected the urinalyses to show.
With this information we determined that it was best to put her on a course of antibiotics and low-protein prescription food (all treatments I verified once I got home and could do an Internet search) for two weeks.
Jewel did great on the antibiotics but it was clear that when the course of meds were complete, and 14 days had passed since she completed the meds, that the UTI hadn’t been cleared completely. In our follow-up visit her Vet did another bladder scan at my request and found that the stone sediment had decreased. He also followed up the next day to let me know her urinalysis showed the UTI was still present. He put her on a 3-week course of antibiotics and then we’ll do another scan that will tell us if this is successful or if we’ll have to decide on surgery.
What I loved about the entire process is that her new Doctor took into consideration her age, weight, and current health before administering any vaccinations. In the end, we’ve held off on them while her body has a chance to fight the infection. He’s worked with me to take the least invasive route to healing her and he understands that at her age, we aren’t going to do surgery that may harm her more than help her. We know that she’s at the top of her expected age range and until now she’s been extremely healthy. In fact, this is the first time she’s been on meds in her life. I think a lot of that can be attributed to her wellness care from Banfield over the last 11 years.
Banfield Optimum Wellness Plan®:
The reason we’ve been a part of the Banfield Optimum Wellness Plan for all of these years are the services they offer. As part of the plan, Heartworm testing can be done during a routine office visit and office visits are always free through Banfield’s Optimum Wellness Plan®. This gives me the freedom to take her in to see her Vet knowing that I won’t be charged for the visit. Banfield provides this service because they believe in preventive care and that’s why they provide unlimited free office visits. They also offer customization to the plans for your specific breed and they combine services and discounts to offer affordable vet care.
Making an appointment is easy. I can request a Banfield Pet Hospital appointment online or give them a call, even after hours. Once I’ve made the appointment, they send out reminders via email and by phone if I request it. The staff at the Renton Landing location are friendly and I love that we can request a specific vet. They have always made us feel warm and welcome and I love that they follow up the day after an appointment by telephone to check on Jewel and see how she’s doing.
Heartworm Disease: Prevention and Testing
When she’s ready, Jewel will be protected against Heartworm disease. It’s a series and potentially fatal parasitic infection that can be contracted from a single bite from an infected mosquito. We’re fortunate that mosquitoes are not an issue where we live and Jewel spends 99.9% of the time indoors with me, so it’s not a pressing need for her, though that’s not the case for all dogs.
Banfield Pet Hospital – Protect your Cat or Dog from Heartworm Disease
It’s much less expensive and painful to protect your dog rather than try to treat it after infection. You can check to see how prevalent heartworm is in your using this interactive map from Banfield Pet Hospital’s State of Pet Health™ 2014 Report. Banfield Pet Hospital recommends that your dog be tested annually and given year-round preventative medicine for Heartworm. They offer ProHeart® 6 which is an injectable preventative after testing.
Protect your pet for $10 off a 6-month injectable heartworm preventative by using this link to print a coupon. You can connect with Banfield Pet Hospital on Twitter or Facebook or find out more about the Wellness Program and Heartworm Prevention on their website.
Working as a Team To Get Jewel Healthy
Jewel and I both adore her new Banfield Vet and I feel confident that by working together, we can get her well. I know she won’t be with me for many more years and I dread the day I have to say good-bye to her. Until then I’m just loving every single minute I have with her.
Is your pup a Banfield pup? Is she protected from Heartworm?
Lots of cute pictures on this post! Thanks for the helpful information.
Your dog is way too cute! We love Banfield too for our pooch.
Way too much cuteness on this page! I love the Pom!
Ah, thanks! My two girls are pretty freaking adorable and they have such different personalities. I adore them.
I have three dogs, and I take them to the vet if they ever look off. You never know. Better safe than sorry!
Aww. It’s always so sad when the puppies get sick. They don’t know what’s wrong. They just know they feel crummy.
Oh, she’s adorable. I’m so sorry to hear she wasn’t feeling well! Little dogs can live for a long time, so you might have more time than you think!
I hope so, but miniature Pom’s have an average life span of about 13 years. But for sure I’m going to do what I an to keep her here.
It’s hard when the pets get older. You see the vitality leaving them, and it’s sad. But they’re still in there. They just need more naps!
I think that’s true for both her and me! 🙂
What a cutie! She is too adorable. I hope she feels better.
Oh poor baby. I hope he feels better soon, what a cutie.
It’s so important to keep pups healthy! We are not banfield pups but we will look into this.
It’s been one of the best things we’ve ever invested in. Just the freedom of knowing I can take her in any time is worth it.
Oh my goodness, she is so cute… i am glad to hear that banfield helped and she is feeling better… I hate when pups are ill
Thanks Shauna – she was doing better, but tonight she’s taken a step backwards again.
OH she is so cute! We need to take some precautions from Heartworm disease, our new area we just moved to has a TON of mosquitos.
Yikes! Then for sure! We were so much better at keeping our big dog protected because he went to the park for walks and he hunted. These two little house fraus never go out unless forced to and then they’re right back in. Spoiled 🙂
How cute is that! My sisters dog would love something like that!
We go to Banfield with my dog Elvis. I love their services and feel completely confident in their care of my baby.
Ah, what a fun name! Good to hear you’ve had great service from Banfield as well!
We don’t have pets anymore, we lost too many and now it’s sad to think of getting another. We love our pets and it’s nice to see a vet that does as well!
We’ve got through that as well – we lost two cats and two dog within 2 years. I thought my heart would break, especially since I accidently ran over one of the dogs. But getting my little Gracie was the only thing that got me through the day. I needed her along with Jewel to help me through it. (((HUGS)))
Awww, she is sot cute. Glad she is well taken care of.
Jewel is SOOO cute. I am glad Banfield is there to take care of her.
That’s awesome that they offer unlimited free office visits. We’ve been thinking about maybe getting a dog soon, so I’m glad I found this post. I’ll have to keep Banfield in mind. Thanks!
All of our dogs have been Banfield dogs from their first visit. They’ve been spayed/neutered there, had teeth cleaned and pulled, and regular check ups. Until our Brittany’s cancer, we never had a need to go anywhere else