Specialty & Referral Services
Our talented team of board-certified specialists and veterinary therapists offer a wide range of minimally invasive surgical procedures and pet rehabilitation services so your furry friend can feel better faster.
- TPLO Surgery to repair CCL tears
- Orthopedic Surgery
- General & Soft tissue surgery
- Internal Medicine Diagnostics & Minor Procedures
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Veterinary Endoscopy
- ️Ultrasound
- ️Biopsy
- Hydrotherapy
- Behavior Modification and Training
- Pet Blood Bank
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Cold laser & Thermotherapy
- Acupuncture
Pet Surgical Services
We care about your pets as much as you do, so we’ve built a team of talented veterinary surgeons that are passionate about helping pets feel better. Our surgical specialists are certified by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, and are supported by a passionate staff of highly trained surgical technicians. We opt for laparoscopic procedures wherever possible, so your pet can heal quickly and get back to doing what they love.
Our team performs a multitude of laparoscopic surgeries, including:
- Stomach surgery
- Bladder surgery
- Liver biopsy
- Kidney biopsy
- Spaying
- Bone and ligament repair
We are confident that through either our traditional surgical services or our laparoscopic and arthroscopic surgeries, we’ll provide for your pet’s surgical needs in the safest, most comfortable way possible.
Feline & Canine Internal Medicine
Our Veterinary Internal Medicine team can treat a wide range of conditions, including allergies, cancer, chronic kidney disease, endocrine disease, heart disease, hypertension, immune-related diseases, liver disease, pancreatitis, and Valley Fever, among many others.
We are proud to utilize many state-of-the-art diagnostic tools to diagnose your pet and design a treatment plan, including ultrasonography, pet endoscopy, CT, echocardiography, digital radiology, and Electrocardiography (ECG).
Veterinary internal medicine procedures we offer include:
- Blood pressure monitoring
- Abdominal and thoracic ultrasound
- Bone marrow evaluation
- Chemotherapy
- Diabetes monitoring
- ECG Holter and event monitoring
- Echocardiography
- Enteral nutritional support
- Feeding tube placement
- Pericardiocentesis
- Respiratory therapy
- Total parenteral nutritional support
Pet Rehabilitation Therapy
We offer a variety of rehabilitation services to help injured, sick, and elderly cats and dogs increase their mobility, reduce pain and inflammation, and recover more quickly. No matter the cause of the problem, our goal is to help your pet return to whatever it is they love doing – walking, running, playing fetch, or snuggling up to human friends – as soon as possible.
Our modern clinics in Mesa and North Valley can provide many types of rehabilitation therapy to and pet pain management, including:
Our board-certified specialists have spent 3-4 years in an intensive internship and residency, conducting and publishing original research, and passing an extensive multi-day examination. Board-certified specialists are at the highest level of specialization possible in veterinary medicine.
1st Pet Blood Bank
Our growing network of local animal blood donors (called the Paws of Life team) helps to ensure that pets in the most critical conditions have the blood they need, when they need it. Their gift to fellow canines and felines helps save the lives of critically sick or injured pets and give them a chance to recover. Cat and dog blood banks, like the 1st Pet Blood Bank, are able to keep up with the demand for blood through voluntary donors. Let a staff member know if you and your pet would like to get involved!
Get a Referral to 1st Pet
Following a visit with your regular veterinarian, the doctor may decide that your pet’s condition warrants evaluation from a specialty service provider. This referral may be written or verbal instructions to seek specific care, or they may call us directly. Whatever the case, a referral should also be accompanied by a copy of your pet’s current medical records.
Client Success Stories
New Patients Are Welcome at 1st Pet!
Does your pet need surgery care or emergency medical attention? 1st Pet Veterinary Centers is accepting new patients and referrals for our emergency and specialty services. As the most comprehensive network of veterinary clinics in central Arizona, we’re proud to be our community’s go-to choice for advanced veterinary medicine since 1989.
Specialty Care & Referral FAQs
Rehabilitation Therapy
Similar to Physical Therapy for humans, Rehabilitation Therapy is an individualized treatment plan to help your pet have improved mobility, healing, and function when sick, injured, recovering, or aging. Sometimes these services are also referred to as Canine Rehabilitation, Veterinary Rehabilitation, Canine Physical Therapy, or Physical Therapy for Pets.
Rehabilitation treatments are highly individualized to the specific needs of each pet and based on your availability. The rehabilitation therapist will perform a thorough exam before treatment begins to make sure that the treatment plan is tailored to provide your pet the best possible chance for recovery.
Rehabilitation Therapy is a great option for effective pet pain management. Most pets experiencing pain or difficulty moving as the result of sickness, injury, illness, or aging can benefit from some type of Rehabilitation Therapy. No matter the cause of the problem, our goal is to help your pet return to whatever it is s/he loves doing – walking, running, playing fetch, or snuggling up to human friends – as soon as possible. Prior to beginning treatment, your pet will be examined to determine if s/he is a good candidate for therapy.
The following are some common conditions treated by Rehabilitation Therapy:
- Post-Surgery: Rehabilitation Therapy can reduce the amount of pain and recovery time following your cat or dog’s surgery. Your pet’s treatment plan will help cuts and bruises heal more quickly, reduce pain and inflammation, improve muscle retention and rebuilding for immobilized limbs, and prevent further injury for animals that might try to return to full activity too soon.
- Chronic or Degenerative Conditions: Rehabilitation Therapy can help pets with degenerative and chronic conditions enjoy life with fewer limitations. Our therapeutic treatments can reduce the amount of pain, tension, inflammation, and muscle spasms that your pet experiences. Treatment can also improve your pet’s strength, balance, flexibility and range of motion, allowing you and your pet to share more good moments together.
- Broken Bones: Broken bones can cause significant pain and restrict your pet’s ability to run, jump, and enjoy life. When these injuries are not promptly treated, it can lead to significantly increased recovery time or permanent damage. Rehabilitation Therapy can help maximize your pet’s recovery speed and reduce the pain that your pet experiences, helping them return to full activity sooner.
- Muscle Injuries: When muscles or tendons are damaged, they begin to break down quickly and make it difficult for your pet to regain their full mobility. 1st Pet Rehabilitation Therapy can slow down or reverse muscle loss, restore range of motion, and decrease the pain and inflammation that your pet experiences, helping your pet recover faster.
- Neurological Disorders: Brain and nervous system disorders can result in pain, muscle weakness, and immobility for your pet. Rehabilitation Therapy can slow the progression of these diseases and help your pet maintain the most function possible. If your pet is suffering as the result of a neurological disorder, proper treatment can result in reduced pain, improved strength and balance, and increased mobility.
- Chronic Pain: Whether your pet’s pain is the result of a surgical procedure, illness, injury or aging, Rehabilitation Therapy can help reduce the pain through a combination of treatments tailored to their unique needs.
- Obesity: Overweight pets can have difficulty moving around, making exercise nearly impossible. Our Rehabilitation Therapy services can provide an individualized weight loss plan and dietary counseling as well as therapeutic treatments like hydrotherapy to build up strength, endurance, and mobility, so your pet can become more active and achieve a healthy weight over time.
- Aging: Many pets experience painful or weakened muscles, stiff joints, and a general loss of energy as they enter the later years of life. These changes can affect even the most common activities like getting back up after lying down. Rehabilitation Therapy can help minimize the effects of aging by increasing strength and flexibility and decreasing pain and inflammation, helping your pet enjoy an improved quality of life during their advanced years.
Veterinary Internal Medicine
Veterinary internists are specialists in feline and canine internal medicine. Their specialized training focuses on the body’s internal body systems and on non-invasive treatment and diagnosis.
Internal medicine involves the treatment of internal body systems. Our internal medicine team frequently provides chronic disease management (IBD, Cushing’s disease, Addison’s disease, renal disease, liver disease, heart disease, Lymphoma, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA), immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (ITP), valley fever, and immune mediated diseases).
- Medical Records: If this is your first appointment and your pet receives regular veterinary care somewhere besides 1st Pet, please ask your referring veterinarian’s office to send over medical records related to your pet’s condition (exams, lab work, x-rays, etc.). If we have treated your pet before but additional lab work or diagnostics have been done outside of 1st Pet, please have those records sent over as well.
- Fasting: In most cases, your pet should be fasting prior to internal medicine appointments. If you are unsure or your pet is diabetic, please call us for further instruction.
- Medications: Bringing all the medications that your pet takes helps ensure that everyone is on the same page about the medication name, strength, and formulation.
Pet Surgery
Veterinary internists are specialists in feline and canine internal medicine. Their specialized training focuses on the body’s internal body systems and on non-invasive treatment and diagnosis.
Referral
You and your pet may be directed to one of our referral services for a number of reasons. For example, you may have requested or your doctor may have been interested in a second opinion about a diagnosis that is difficult to isolate or a pet treatment plan that has multiple options.
Also, your regular veterinarian may be too busy to accommodate your pet’s treatment needs in the timeframe that would be best for your pet’s health, requiring assistance from outside services. Finally, your regular veterinarian may feel that your pet’s condition would be treated more effectively by a veterinary specialist who has more practice treating certain conditions or performing certain procedures.
If your regular veterinarian is at 1st Pet, we already have your records in our system. If your regular veterinarian is outside of 1st Pet please ask the office team to fax or email the records. Alternatively, if these electronic options are not available, you can bring paper copies of your pets records with you.
We will work as part of your pet’s medical team, in cooperation with your primary veterinarian, for as long as your pet is with us. When we discharge your pet (and frequently while your pet is with us), either to you or to your primary veterinarian for further care, we will provide all medical records and discuss your pet’s condition with your primary care veterinarian.