Laboratory

Full Service On-Site Laboratory

Here at Poquoson Veterinary Hospital, we offer a wide array of diagnostics to help diagnose your pet’s illness. Unfortunately, pets cannot communicate to us in words that they are not feeling well, so it is up to our doctors and staff to find out what is ailing your pet. In addition to our on-site laboratory, we work with many outside laboratories to provide any lab test that will help us diagnose and treat your pet when it is feeling ill. Our on site laboratory testing equipment was updated in 2006.

Our On-site Laboratory is Modern and Complete

• A Complete Blood Count machine that uses a laser to analyze patients Blood cells
• A Blood Chemistry Analyzer to check our patients for kidney disease, liver disease or many other disorders
• A Serum Electrolyte device to diagnose disease and assist us in selecting fluids for sick patients
• Two microscopes for evaluation of your pets lumps and bumps and to identify parasites in stool specimens
• An automated urinalysis reader to detect urinary tract disorders
• Idexx SNAP Test Kits for rapid diagnosis of many bacterial and viral infections
• Also, look at our Radiography and Ultrasound pages to read about some of our other equipment

These machines help to detect anemia, underlying infections and viruses, as well as some blood clotting disorders. They also aid the doctor in diagnosing diseases such as diabetes, pancreatitis, and renal disease along with many others.

We recommend annual fecal checks and heartworm tests. The heartworm test we use also detects exposure to Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis, which are tick-borne diseases. Our on site laboratory also has the capabilities to diagnose feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus and parvovirus. We have the ability to detect ear, skin and urinary infections. Determining what the infection is, whether it is bacterial or otherwise, is vital information needed to decide with which medication to treat.

For those tests we are unable to run within our hospital, we send the specimens to outside labs. After processing our specimens, those labs then transmit the results to our hospital for our doctors’ analysis. Any test results that you are not informed of during your visit will be relayed to you over the phone by one of our doctors.

When should my pet have blood work?

• Prior to anesthesia - blood work helps ensure your pet’s safety by screening for underlying problems.
• Once yearly lab work is important to detect problems before they are severe enough to cause your pet to become ill. Early detection of disease leads to better treatment.
• Senior pets are at greater risk of developing many diseases. A complete panel of laboratory tests is recommended at least once a year.
• When your pet is sick, blood work can provide a wealth of information about their illness and how it should be treated.