Senior Pet Care at Veterinary Hospital in Goleta and Santa Barbara

At Airport Animal Hospital, we understand that aging pets have special needs and are ready to provide senior pet care for pet owners in the Goleta and Santa Barbara areas. Like people, pets are more vulnerable to illness and disease as they age and require care from a qualified veterinarian. Our Goleta veterinary hospital has a team of compassionate professionals who can guide your pet through their older years.

Cleaning Dogs Teeth, Wellness Exams and Senior Pet Care

Proper dental care is extremely important. Keeping your pet’s teeth clean prevents plaque and tartar build-up that can lead to serious health problems. Our skilled veterinary staff can help by brushing your pet’s teeth and providing scaling or other dental procedures if necessary. Aging teeth may become infected or need extraction, two of many conditions our veterinary hospital is prepared to deal with to help your pet.

Senior pets are more susceptible to health problems, which is why it is important for your pet to have regular wellness exams. During an examination, a qualified veterinarian can often discover lumps or lesions that pet owners may have missed, and routine pet care helps determine whether your pet is gaining or losing too much weight. Regular pet care creates a medical history on your pet that helps the veterinarian diagnose problems that arise later in life.

Senior pets need more frequent exams due to their increasing vulnerability to disease. Problems, such as arthritis; cancer; liver, kidney and heart disease; and infection occur more frequently in aging pets. Vision and hearing problems are also more common in older pets but may be confused with a behavioral problem that is similar to Alzheimer’s in humans.

Our compassionate veterinary staff can determine the cause of your senior pet’s changing behavior and guide you through the process of accommodating any of your pet's special needs. Some pets act old but have a medical problem; others appear to be having problems but are simply aging naturally. We will work closely with you and your pet to determine if they are having any issues and to prescribe any necessary treatments.

What changes have you noticed in your pet as they have grown older?