We recommend regular routine geriatric wellness checks on any pet older than 7 years, even if they appear apparently healthy. This will include a thorough clinical exam as well as possibly some blood and urine tests to determine baseline values for your pet’s organ functions. We recommend this because so often early detection and early intervention in many of the diseases that affect our older patients can mean so many more months or years of happy comfortable life. All too often by the time our pets are showing obvious symptoms of these diseases, the process is already quite far advanced and our treatment options and prognosis becomes more limited. We can also make dietary recommendations for your geriatric pet.