Health and Well-Being

Probably the most important thing we do is to help you to preserve the daily health of your pet.  From the initial physical exam to the selection of appropriate vaccinations, from the identification of parasites to discussions about nutrition, we strive to provide the most effective veterinary services available anywhere.

From the moment you enter Sleepy Hollow Animal Hosptial, you are comforted with the obvious feelings of care and compassion by the entire staff. Note our emphasis on cleanliness, the cheerful way you are greeted, the efforts to make your wait as short as possible, and the apologies when emergencies make that difficult.

 We are happy to discuss all aspects of health and well-being with you, and will help you to understand the steps necessary to ensure disease prevention.  The frustrations of housebreaking, the dangers of certain plants and foods, the need for exercise and play, and the importance of routine care will be discussed in a way that will make you understand why we say: "for your pet's health and your peace of mind!"

Diagnostics

When disease strikes, we are equipped to make rapid and accurate diagnosis of your pet's illness.  An in-house blood analyzer gives us extensive information about blood cells (red and white, as well as platelets and reticulocytes), blood chemistries (liver and kidney values, proteins, calcium, blood sugar, pancreas function and more), and electrolytes (sodium, potassium and chloride) for initial diagnosis and monitoring of ongoing treatments.

A nationally recognized reference laboratory is utilized for sophisticated tests not capable of being performed in-house.  In addition, it allows us access to pathologists, cytologists, and microbiologists to obtain more diagnostic information on your pet's condition.  Results are faxed or downloaded several times a day in order to prevent delays in appropriate treatments.

Of course, fecal examinations, ear swabs, skin scrapes, and needle aspirates are evaluated microscopically on a daily basis to aid in the detection of parasites, infections, and certain types of cancers.

Radiology is performed on-site, using the latest in digital equipment to provide instant images. Both regular and detailed contrast studies are performed and evaluated by our doctors immediately.  When necessary, ultrasonography and endoscopic biopsy are available to us by a board-certified internist who makes regular and special visits to our facility for these advanced diagnostic procedures. 

Digital radiology and digital photography allow us to transmit photos of patients, lesions, or X-rays to specialists via email or electronically, and to receive indepth consultations without the need to transport the patient in many instances.

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Medical Treatment

If your pet should fall ill, we are equipped to treat most diseases encountered in our area.  Several types of intravenous fluid therapies are available, as well as colloids, blood and blood elements for transfusion, an extensive pharmacy with injectable and oral medications, and even chemotherapeutic agents on site to help in the treatment of your pet's maladies.

Our staff is highly trained to administer the treatments prescribed by our doctors, and such things as blood pressure, central venous pressure,  EKG's and oxygen saturation measurements are all utilized to monitor therapies for the changing conditions of our patients' diseases.  Specialists are consulted regularly to improve the chances of a successful outcome on the more difficult cases, and when indicated, a referral to these experts is made. 

New state-of-the-art facilities in northern Westchester handle our emergencies and our critical care patients who need overnight monitoring or nursing care, or need the additional expertise of specialists.

Surgery

Surgical procedures are done daily, and while some are extremely common, we consider none to be routine.  At Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital great care is taken that nothing interfere with continued patient monitoring whenever anesthesia or sedation is needed.  We pride ourselves on the record we have established with respect to our surgical successes.

From spays and castrations of young dogs and cats to spinal surgery of a paralyzed patient, from removal of a cyst on an elderly cat to removal of a sock from the intestine of an errant dog, all surgeries are performed with the most modern anesthetics.  Monitoring of all parameters of our anesthetized patients is performed using sophisticated equipment measuring heart rate, internal temperature, and oxygen saturation of the red blood cells, as well as pulse and respiration.  A continuous EKG is also employed for the saftey of your pet undergoing a surgical procedure.

For the more complicated operations such as neurosurgery, orthopedics, or the removal of all or a part of certain organs, board-certified surgical specialists are called in to perform the procedure.

Pain Management

One of our goals is that none of our patients should be in pain.  The areas we feel that we can help the most are as follows:

Arthritis:  Much has been done recently to relieve the crippling nature of this disease in our pets, and restore significant function and comfort to them.  In particular, glucosamine supplements are slowing down the degeneration of the joints, and analgesics are reducing the daily discomfort more potently than ever.  In addition, injectable glycosaminoglycans allow our patients to resume activities they had forsaken because of the discomfort in the aging or traumatized joints.

Surgery:  We firmly believe that no animal should wake up from surgery in pain.  To that end we provide a variety of analgesic alternatives based on the procedure and the likelihood of pain.  Animals who don't show pain might still be experiencing it, and we therefore assume that they are and treat them accordingly.  At our disposal are a large number of agents designed for this purpose.

Trauma:  It is well known that pain leads accident victims deeper into shock, so we assess pain in the same way we assess the rest of the damage done to a wounded individual.  Relief of traumatic pain is among the highest priorities in our initial approach, and maintained throughout the treatment until comfort is restored.

Dental Services

Our technicians have been given advanced training by a board-certified veterinary dentist in modern dentistry and dental procedures.  We utilize cutting-edge dental equipment to provide the most up-to-date treatments to insure the restoration of oral health to your pet.

We routinely perform dental radiography using state-of-the-art digital dental x-ray equipment to determine the extent of disease, including bone loss, periodontal abscesses, and tumors.  While dental scaling, polishing and fluoride treatments are done routinely, the extraction of badly diseased teeth is an important part of the hygiene in some patients.  Obviously, every effort is made to preserve all teeth, but like in people, periodontal disease has significant consequences.

For more extensive disease, or for certain procedures such as fractured teeth, tumors of the palate, endodontics and restorations we refer to a board-certified veterinary dentist.

We provide detailed information to help in the return of good oral health to your pet, as well as distributing products to aid in oral hygiene.  We understand only too well that like other aspects of pet health, much is left up to the caring owner.

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