At Dr. Jamal Toler’s Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery, we know pet owners struggle with finding high-quality veterinary services as well as affording the care. Our Lithonia, GA veterinary practice is dedicated to caring for animals and making their care accessible to pet owners. Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery offers a variety of affordable pet care services, including spaying and neutering, vaccinations, dental treatment, laser surgery, microchipping, and even grooming and boarding! There is a lot involved in caring for your pet, and there can be a lot of costs as well. Our Well Pet Plans encourage you to keep up with regular, preventative care.
Well Pet Plans are not insurance coverage. The purpose of these plans is to provide your pet with a regular, comprehensive care plan and keep your responsibility to one low monthly payment. This isn’t just about saving money—regular care helps pet owners keep their animals well to avoid more complex health issues (which will end up costing more for care). A Well Pet Plan includes preventative care while providing special discounts, reduced rates and interest free payments. We love to see our continued care lead to many healthy and happy years with the pet your family knows and loves!
Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery provides pet owners peace of mind through excellence in pet care, while offering manageable monthly payments through Well Pet Plans. Dr. Jamal Toler, DVM, runs Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 884 South Deshon Road, Lithonia, Georgia, 30058. To schedule an appointment, call 770-482-7816 or visit DeshonAnimal.com and fill out a contact form.
Friday, January 25, 2019
Comprehensive Physicals
A lot of health problems are more responsive to treatment if they’re caught early. That’s as true for animals as it is for people, which is why we at Deshon Animal Hospital encourages our clients to bring their pets in for regular comprehensive physicals. Some of an animal’s issues may not be recognizable even to a loving owner, and some may have unexpected causes, but our combination of hi-tech imaging and expert tactile inspections will help us identify any problems.
Checking a dog or cat’s skin is vital to determining whether there are external parasites such as fleas and ticks. But the texture and sheen of an animal’s fur is also a major indicator of whether they’re getting the right nutrition. Dr. Toler and his assistants will need our pet owners to be able to describe what their animal is eating. Many dogs and cats suffer from brittle fur as a result of not getting enough meat. Skin inflammation can also be a sign of allergies (animals get them, too) which could require medications to treat. Symptoms of allergies may also be found inside an animal’s ears, so we’ll want to examine them with an otoscope.
Another important aspect of a physical is checking the animal’s eyes and eyelids. Bumps on the eyelids and difficulty blinking could indicate a blocked gland, as could red, watery eyes. Cloudiness could be a sign of cataracts, and small tumors might be visible under a bright light. We’ll look into an animal’s nose for physical barriers or discharge from infections and examine its mouth for signs of gum disease, dry mouth, or lesions, as well as broken or infected teeth.
These examinations are largely done visually, but we’ll want to do a tactile examination to determine whether an animal’s joints are in working order. We’ll also want to know whether their lymph nodes are swollen, since that could be a sign of infection or leukemia. Listening to an animal’s heart and lungs will give us a clue about the functioning of their internal organs, and oddities can be further examined with ultrasounds, an electrocardiogram, or a xray.
We’ll ask the pet owner about their animal’s general disposition and habits. We are able to conduct blood tests in house, and pet owners will be informed ahead of time if we will need to examine an animal’s stools for parasites. But it is important for pet owners to keep regular appointments, which may mean monthly for puppies and kittens, and binannually yearly for adult animals.
Jamal Toler, DVM, runs Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 884 South Deshon Road, Lithonia, Georgia, 30058. To schedule an appointment, call 770-482-7816 or visit Deshon Animal and fill out a contact form.
Checking a dog or cat’s skin is vital to determining whether there are external parasites such as fleas and ticks. But the texture and sheen of an animal’s fur is also a major indicator of whether they’re getting the right nutrition. Dr. Toler and his assistants will need our pet owners to be able to describe what their animal is eating. Many dogs and cats suffer from brittle fur as a result of not getting enough meat. Skin inflammation can also be a sign of allergies (animals get them, too) which could require medications to treat. Symptoms of allergies may also be found inside an animal’s ears, so we’ll want to examine them with an otoscope.
Another important aspect of a physical is checking the animal’s eyes and eyelids. Bumps on the eyelids and difficulty blinking could indicate a blocked gland, as could red, watery eyes. Cloudiness could be a sign of cataracts, and small tumors might be visible under a bright light. We’ll look into an animal’s nose for physical barriers or discharge from infections and examine its mouth for signs of gum disease, dry mouth, or lesions, as well as broken or infected teeth.
These examinations are largely done visually, but we’ll want to do a tactile examination to determine whether an animal’s joints are in working order. We’ll also want to know whether their lymph nodes are swollen, since that could be a sign of infection or leukemia. Listening to an animal’s heart and lungs will give us a clue about the functioning of their internal organs, and oddities can be further examined with ultrasounds, an electrocardiogram, or a xray.
We’ll ask the pet owner about their animal’s general disposition and habits. We are able to conduct blood tests in house, and pet owners will be informed ahead of time if we will need to examine an animal’s stools for parasites. But it is important for pet owners to keep regular appointments, which may mean monthly for puppies and kittens, and binannually yearly for adult animals.
Jamal Toler, DVM, runs Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 884 South Deshon Road, Lithonia, Georgia, 30058. To schedule an appointment, call 770-482-7816 or visit Deshon Animal and fill out a contact form.
Monday, November 12, 2018
Pet Dental Month
Your pet is like your child, and like any child, you want to do what is best for them. Your pet’s dental health is as important as their overall body health. When you take your pet in for their routine checkup, you should probably do a dental cleaning for them as well. If left untreated your pet could suffer dental damage that could go into the rest of their body. In addition to bad breath it can lead to kidney, heart, liver and bladder disease. Dr. Toler at Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery explains the importance of dental health for your pet and how often you should be doing a dental check up.
Did you know that February is Pet Dental Month? Periodontal disease doesn’t just affect humans; it’s a major deal in pets as well! Plaque is an issue for most pets, and it comes from the saliva, and food they eat. If it goes untreated, the plaque builds up on their teeth and gums leading to tooth decay and gum inflammation. This can lead to bone, tissue and eventually tooth loss. Pets, however, are conditioned to hide pain, so you may not know if your pet has tooth decay or gum disease unless you see your veterinarian.
Your pet’s teeth should not be taken lightly! If it’s been awhile since your pet has gotten their teeth cleaned, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn more about the conditions we treat and the services we provide at Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery visit www.deshonanimal.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Toler in Lithonia, GA, call 770-482-7816. Nutritional Counseling for Pets
Nutritional counseling is one of our specialties at Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery. The holidays present some unusual challenges for everyone’s waistlines, and pets are no different. Many common decorations can also be a hazard for them, so to prevent your cat or dog from experiencing an emergency this Christmas/Chanukah and New Year’s, we’ve put together a guide for holiday safety.
If this is your first winter as a pet parent, you may not yet have been made aware of how easily Christmas trees tip over. Brightly colored baubles and edible garlands are impossible for cats to resist jumping on and dogs from yanking on. Not only could the tree fall on them, but the ornaments could break into sharp pieces. Of course, the ornaments on the tree aren’t the only ones animals will want to push and poke at. Don’t leave anything breakable on ledges your cats can reach, and don’t leave lit candles unattended or close enough to the edges of tables that they will fall to the floor if the table leg is struck by a wagging tail. Be wary of tinsel, too, since it will have to be surgically extracted if eaten, as will pine needles and the confetti from New Year’s poppers.
If you have a natural tree, be aware that sellers often put antifreeze in the base which could poison your pet if drunk. There are also a number of people foods that are often left unattended over the holidays or are offered to pets by well-meaning guests which could make them very ill. Chocolate can kill cats as well as dogs, as can onions and garlic, grapes (including raisins), caffeine, and the sugar substitute xylitol, which is often found in gum. And while dogs may enjoy cheese as a treat, cats are lactose-intolerant.
Humans don’t usually consume enough poinsettias, holly, lilies, or mistletoe to get kidney failure or diarrhea, but animals can do so very quickly. The same is true of seemingly innocuous amounts of table food with spice, salt, and fat which quickly add up to pancreatitis. ,Mint and oregano upset cats and dogs’ stomachs. Make sure mischievous guests know it’s not funny to give pets drugs; a small amount of marijuana will make them extremely nauseous and chilly, and a few teaspoons of alcohol can be deadly to a five-pound animal. In the worst case scenario, the ASPCA’s poison control number is 1-888-426-4435.
Cats and dogs can easily feel stressed in crowded houses with, to their ears, very high noise levels. Provide them with retreats they can flee to, and teach children to respect when animals need alone-time and don’t want to play rough. On the flip side, keep track of where your pet is so it doesn’t accidentally get stuck behind a shut door. Lots of animals love to be the center of attention. With reasonable safety precautions and knowledge of differences between what we can eat, the holidays can be a fun time for pets, as well.
Jamal Toler, DVM, runs Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 884 South Deshon Road, Lithonia, Georgia, 30058. To schedule an appointment, call 770-482-7816 or visit DeshonAnimal.com and fill out a contact form.Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Ear Cropping
For dog owners interested in ear cropping, the veterinary options may be limited. However, at Dr. Jamal Toler’s Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery, we believe that there is still value in cropping the ears of certain breeds when done in a safe, responsible manner. Elective surgery should still be regarded as major surgery, and owner compliance with the doctor’s instructions is crucial to ensure their dog recovers fully, but there are reasons to consider both ear crops and tail docks.
Ear crops are performed on puppies between twelve and sixteen weeks old, whose ears lack mature muscle and cartilage. The surgery is done on certain terriers and terrier-derived breeds, including pit bulls, Staffordshire terriers, schnauzers, and Doberman pinschers, as well as working dogs such as Perro de Presa Canarios (Canary mastiffs). Cropping into various shapes is a normal part of preparing a number of breeds for shows.
Dr. Toler fully anesthetizes puppies before cropping their ears, and prescribes antibiotics which are to be used regularly during the recovery process. While the ears are healing, they will be sutured and held upright with splints. When the splints and sutures are removed, the dog’s ears will remain permanently upright in an attractive, traditional shape.
Proper aftercare requires attentive owners who constantly monitor their puppy’s ears for signs of infections. But most people interested in cropping are committed lovers of their dogs’ breed, which is why they want to preserve its traditional appearance and function. The American Kennel Club endorses ear cropping as a means of maintaining the purpose for which terriers and related breeds were created, which required excellent hearing and the elimination of weak points which were exploited by burrowing pests such as foxes. To lovers of animals which are often unfairly stereotyped, ear cropping is part of preserving the positive history of the breed and the benevolent intention behind its creation.
Jamal Toler, DVM, runs Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 884 South Deshon Road, Lithonia, Georgia, 30058. To schedule an appointment, call 770-482-7816 or visit DeshonAnimal.com and fill out a contact form.
Ear crops are performed on puppies between twelve and sixteen weeks old, whose ears lack mature muscle and cartilage. The surgery is done on certain terriers and terrier-derived breeds, including pit bulls, Staffordshire terriers, schnauzers, and Doberman pinschers, as well as working dogs such as Perro de Presa Canarios (Canary mastiffs). Cropping into various shapes is a normal part of preparing a number of breeds for shows.
Dr. Toler fully anesthetizes puppies before cropping their ears, and prescribes antibiotics which are to be used regularly during the recovery process. While the ears are healing, they will be sutured and held upright with splints. When the splints and sutures are removed, the dog’s ears will remain permanently upright in an attractive, traditional shape.
Proper aftercare requires attentive owners who constantly monitor their puppy’s ears for signs of infections. But most people interested in cropping are committed lovers of their dogs’ breed, which is why they want to preserve its traditional appearance and function. The American Kennel Club endorses ear cropping as a means of maintaining the purpose for which terriers and related breeds were created, which required excellent hearing and the elimination of weak points which were exploited by burrowing pests such as foxes. To lovers of animals which are often unfairly stereotyped, ear cropping is part of preserving the positive history of the breed and the benevolent intention behind its creation.
Jamal Toler, DVM, runs Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 884 South Deshon Road, Lithonia, Georgia, 30058. To schedule an appointment, call 770-482-7816 or visit DeshonAnimal.com and fill out a contact form.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Flea Prevention
Having a pet in your home is one of the most enjoyable experiences for most people. One of the biggest problems plaguing pet owners is managing to keep fleas at bay. These creatures can spread and multiply quickly within your home and make things very difficult for pets and people alike. Flea prevention is essential to the overall health of your pet as well. Jamal Toler, DVM with Deshon animal Hospital and Laser Surgery in Lithonia, Georgia can help you to get on the road to a flea free home.
Potential Treatment for Flea Prevention
The best way to treat and prevent fleas is with a monthly flea and tick prevention. We will prescibe a oral flea/tick prevention called Nexgard. Along with the itching and hair loss that a pet can experience from fleas, illness is also a possibility. Keeping fleas away doesn’t have to be a major undertaking and you can find answers with the help of our office. Call us today at 770-482-7816 for information about how we can help you. We look forward to meeting your fury friend.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Keeping Your Pet Safe with Vaccinations
Just as you protect yourself and your children from illness with vaccinations, you should also protect your family pets as well. Although you are probably aware that pets need to be vaccinated against rabies, distemper and other common diseases, you may not be aware that there are other vaccinations available for your pet.
Canine Influenza
One pet vaccination that can protect your dog is the canine influenza vaccine, which is much like the flu shot humans get before flu season starts. Canine influenza is caused by a specific type of virus known to infect dogs. Humans cannot give the virus to dogs nor can dogs give the virus to humans, but it can be spread between dogs. A dog with canine influenza may have a runny nose, cough and fever, but may display no symptoms at all. However, the virus can lead to pneumonia and death if not treated. To protect your dog from the illness, Dr. Jamal Toler, DVM, of Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery, recommends having your dog vaccinated against the illness.
Feline Leukemia Virus
Feline leukemia is a retrovirus that is spread through the body fluids of cats infected with the virus. The virus is more prevalent in cats that remain or go outside where they may come in contact with an infected cat. Kittens are more susceptible to the virus than adults. The disease is the most common cause of cancer in cats and can lead to blood disorders or immune deficiencies. Cats who spend time outdoors should be vaccinated as should indoor cats, although they are not as at risk as those that go outside.
In addition to these important vaccinations, Dr. Toler recommends other vaccinations designed to keep your pet healthy. In order to learn what vaccinations your pet may need, contact Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 770-482-7816.www.deshonanimal.com
Canine Influenza
One pet vaccination that can protect your dog is the canine influenza vaccine, which is much like the flu shot humans get before flu season starts. Canine influenza is caused by a specific type of virus known to infect dogs. Humans cannot give the virus to dogs nor can dogs give the virus to humans, but it can be spread between dogs. A dog with canine influenza may have a runny nose, cough and fever, but may display no symptoms at all. However, the virus can lead to pneumonia and death if not treated. To protect your dog from the illness, Dr. Jamal Toler, DVM, of Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery, recommends having your dog vaccinated against the illness.
Feline Leukemia Virus
Feline leukemia is a retrovirus that is spread through the body fluids of cats infected with the virus. The virus is more prevalent in cats that remain or go outside where they may come in contact with an infected cat. Kittens are more susceptible to the virus than adults. The disease is the most common cause of cancer in cats and can lead to blood disorders or immune deficiencies. Cats who spend time outdoors should be vaccinated as should indoor cats, although they are not as at risk as those that go outside.
In addition to these important vaccinations, Dr. Toler recommends other vaccinations designed to keep your pet healthy. In order to learn what vaccinations your pet may need, contact Deshon Animal Hospital and Laser Surgery at 770-482-7816.www.deshonanimal.com
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