At Animal Medical Clinic, we offer complete veterinary and pet health services, including:
- Vaccinations
- Preventative medicine including heartworm prevention and flea/tick control
- Wellness exams
- Geriatric pet health management
- Dermatology
- Internal medicine, including management of diabetes and other chronic conditions such as heart disease and liver disease
- Pain Management
- Surgery
- Dentistry
- Pharmacy
- Radiography
- Microchipping
- In-house laboratory services
- Pet supplies
- Pet foods
We also work with several specialists in the Atlanta and Athens areas to ensure that your pet receives the most complete care possible.
At Animal Medical Clinic of Forsyth we offer a variety of veterinary services and products to meet all of your pet's health needs while practicing high quality medicine and performing through diagnostics. We have state of the art equipment and high quality products for your convenience. Our hospital is equipped to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services to care for your pet's complete health care needs. Most importantly, we provide our services with the love, care, compassion and tenderness that you should expect from your veterinarian.
DENTAL CARE
Dental disease occurs when bacteria and food particles form tartar on the enamel. Over time tarter build up can cause bad breath, tooth loss, abscesses (infections), pain, and potential damage to the heart, liver, and kidneys. Routine dental cleanings involve anesthesia, ultrasonic scale, and polish to remove harmful tartar to provide great oral care and prevent the above conditions. Most pets need a dental cleaning every 1-2 years depending on breed, age, and type of food fed. One sign that your pet might need a dental cleaning is that he or she does not want to eat their food. Most of the time the food aversion is because the teeth/mouth are painful.
RADIOLOGY
We offer the highest quality of digital x-rays available in veterinary medicine. Our images take merely seconds to process and are immediately sent to an iPad for your viewing convenience. Because of the high quality images, Dr. Pinson is able to make very accurate diagnoses and determine the best course of action to treat your pet.
DERMATOLOGY
Pets suffer from a wide range of skin problems. Just like us, animals have sensitive skin and are sensitive to many different types of allergens. Itchy red skin, hair loss, discomfort and pain are all signs of a skin condition or irritation and should be treated by a veterinarian. Dr. Pinson can provide just the care your pet needs by determining exactly what is causing the skin problem and developing a customized plan of treatment to get your pet looking and feeling healthy again.
NUTRITION
How much should your pet weigh? Which food should your pet be eating or not be eating? What exactly is in my pet's food? These are common questions many pet owners have and with so many products on the market it's no wonder there is much confusion. Dr. Pinson can help you determine which food and treat products will best suit your pet. He can provide guidance regarding your pet's nutritional needs for each life stage, including dietary requirements for growth, weight maintenance and performance. Consulting a veterinarian about your pet's nutrition is a great way to ensure your pet lives the longest and best life possible while saving you time and money in the long run. You won't be playing guessing games in the pet food aisle and wasting money on products that aren't beneficial to your pet's health. We carry a full line of high quality pet food products to meet the dietary needs of your pet.
MICRO CHIPPING
Micro Chipping is a permanent implant that will help identify your pet should they ever become lost or stolen. This can result in a rapid return of your beloved pet. The Forsyth Police Department, Animal Shelter and AMCF all have scanners for micro chips.
EMERGENCY & AFTER HOURS CARE
If you have an animal emergency after business hours, please reach Middle Georgia Veterinary Emergency Clinic at 478-997-6677
WELLNESS EXAMS & VACCINATIONS
A wellness examination is a routine medical examination of a patient that is apparently healthy, as opposed to an examination of a patient that is ill. A wellness examination may also be called a 'check-up' or a 'physical examination'. The focus of a wellness visit is the maintenance of optimal health. Wellness exams should be performed annually on young pets, and semi-annually on older pets. As your pet ages it is important to consider labwork, or bloodwork, to have on record as a starting point for the future as health declines. At AMCF, wellness exams are performed during a pet's visit for his or her annual vaccinations.
IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA, RABIES VACCINATIONS ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE CURRENT.
Annual vaccinations for dogs include: rabies, distemper-lepto-parvovirus, heartworm tests, fecal exams, bordetella (kennel cough). Heartworm tests and fecal exams are important for detecting and preventing intestinal parasites and heartworm disease.
Annual vaccinations for cats include: rabies, feline upper respiratory, feline leukemia.
SPAY & NEUTER
Spaying and neutering is important for a number of reasons. Population control is a very important reason. Spaying and neutering reduces the number of unwanted/neglected animals and reduces euthanasia. Another very important reason is to promote animal health and longevity. Spaying and neutering decreases the chances of your pet getting uterine, mammary, prostate and testicular cancer. It also reduces the amount of homeless animals and the spread of infectious diseases. Spaying and neutering can also help eliminate and/or prevent unwanted behaviors such as roaming, aggression, hyperactivity, and more.
At AMCF, we offer same day service, meaning that you can drop your pet off in the morning for his or her surgery and pick up that same afternoon. The recovery is rapid and Dr. Pinson is an excellent surgeon.
SURGERY
Dr. Pinson is an experienced surgeon who enjoys performing a variety of surgeries including both soft tissue and orthopedic surgery using cutting edge techniques. Dr. Pinson is also skilled in emergency surgery situations as well. We utilize the safest available anesthetics to provide an extra margin of safety, especially for our older or high-risk patients. Using the most modern equipment, the patient's vital signs are monitored during all anesthetic procedures. We also have close relationships with skilled surgical specialists in the state when referral is best.
While the anesthetics that we use are extremely safe for your pet and therefore minimize risk, if a pet is not completely healthy then potential complications can occur both during and after the anesthetic procedure. Pre-anesthetic blood work can alert us to any hidden problems that your pet may have. With this knowledge, we may elect to forgo the anesthetic/surgical procedure, modify the anesthetic regimen, or change your pet’s medication. While performing blood work cannot guarantee that your pet will not have any problems with the anesthesia or surgical procedure, it can significantly minimize the risk to your pet and give both of us peace of mind. With this knowledge, we highly recommend pre-anesthetic blood work for all patients scheduled to undergo surgery.
LABORATORY
Our in-house laboratory facilities are state of the art and provide comprehensive chemistry, complete hematology, pre-anesthetic testing, serology, urinalysis, parasite testing as well as each of the following with results in just minutes:
- BUN, CREATININE, and PHOSPHORUS—kidney
- ALT, ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE, and BILIRUBIN—liver
- AMYLASE and LIPASE–pancreas
- TOTAL PROTEIN and GLOBULIN—immune system, dehydration
- GLUCOSE—diabetes, insulin tumor
- CHOLESTEROL—hypothyroidism, cushings disease, pancreatitis
- CALCIUM—kidney disease, hyperparathyroidism, some tumors
- ELECTROLYTES—endocrine diseases, kidney, and dehydration
We also utilize commercial veterinary laboratories for specialized diagnostics, biopsies and consultations.
Why is blood work important? Blood work gives us a means of checking your pet’s internal functions in a non-invasive manner. Pets of any age can have problems with their internal organs. Many young purebred cats and dogs can have congenital liver, kidney, and heart problems. As pets age, their immune system and health begins to decline and they can have multiple organ problems. A normal result on blood work is great! We now have a baseline for how your pet is doing at this time. If future blood work reveals changes, then we can tell how long the problem has been going on and are assured that we are indeed catching the problem early. Normal blood work results give both of us peace of mind that your pet is doing well.
PHARMACY
We maintain a complete inventory of high quality pharmaceuticals, vitamins, shampoos, flea and tick control products and heartworm preventatives to meet the needs of your pet. We also carry a full line of prescription diets. Our knowledgeable staff can answer any questions you may have about a prescription or how to give it. We are happy to give you guidance on the most effective way to administer each medication.
Please call us prior to picking up prescriptions so we can have these items ready for you when you arrive. In certain cases, an exam may be needed prior to filling a prescription. Federal Law requires there to be a patient-doctor relationship in order to prescribe medications for your pet.
Safety: Any prescription medication purchased from our hospital has been approved by the FDA. Medications purchased online may have been purchased outside the United States and have different labeling than U.S. products. If approved by the FDA, the label will say "Caution: Federal law restricts this drug to be used by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian".
Guarantee: Pharmaceutical manufacturers will only honor product guarantees when purchased by and from the pet's veterinarian. Internet and mail order catalogs do not qualify for these guarantees.