It’s always exciting to welcome home a new puppy or kitten! Puppies and kittens have many needs and one of them is making sure they are seen by a doctor in order to do a health exam and administer the appropriate vaccines. Ideally, healthy pets are seen at 8,12 and 16 weeks of age. We are currently booking two months out for wellness visits so if you know in advance that you will be taking home a puppy or kitten, we kindly ask that you call our office as soon as possible at (585) 889-8340 to schedule those three visits.

In addition to protecting your new pet, seeing a vet protects you. NYS has a law known as the Pet Lemon Law which is designed to safeguard the public and to ensure the humane treatment of dogs and cats by requiring pet dealers to guarantee the good health of any such animal sold to a consumer. Consumers who purchase an unfit dog or cat may be entitled to a refund, reimbursement for veterinary expenses or a replacement animal. To qualify for a refund or a replacement animal, a consumer must obtain a veterinary certification that the animal is unfit within fourteen business days of the purchase.

In addition to health exams, we recommend starting your pets on preventative medication to help keep them healthy. We commonly recommend Simparica Trio as it protects against heartworm parasites, some intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks. Please note that Simparica Trio is currently out of stock at most online retailers. We still have some supplies available at our hospital but anticipate eventually running out. We will offer Bravecto in-hospital for rapid relief of external parasites and continue to provide other flea & tick preventatives through our online store (https://riversidevh.myvetstoreonline.pharmacy).

For heartworm prevention, we recommend Interceptor Plus as the broadest coverage for internal parasites (heartworms, tapeworms, whipworms, roundworms, and hookworms). Interceptor and others can also be ordered through our hospital’s online store. Keep in mind that your pet must be up to date on their annual heartworm test and annual exam to purchase.

Thank you for understanding and please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions!