Services

wellnessexams Wellness Exams

Veterinarians recommend regular wellness exams for the same reason your physician and dentist recommend them – if you can detect a problem in its early stages, it's more likely to be treated and resolved with less expense, less difficulty and better success.

Vaccinations, year-round parasite prevention and appropriate blood work are important components of wellness care and can prevent diseases.


sick-pet-exams.png Sick Pet Exams

At North Paws Animal Hospital, we are problem solvers. When your pet is ill or injured, you want a veterinarian that listens to you, identifies correctly why your pet is ill and then gives you options and explanations that help you to make the best decision about how to best care for your special pet. We see our doctor and pet owners as a team that needs to communicate effectively to create the best outcome for each ill or injured pet that comes through our door.


medicine-and-surgery.jpg Avian Medicine and Surgery

Dr. Becker always says, "It takes a special kind of crazy to be a bird owner" so it only makes sense that she is the proud mom to 2 macaws named Olive and Millie. Dr. Becker is not a boarded avian veterinarian, but she has a lifetime of experience and continuing education in avian medicine and surgery. She, Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Mumma provide wellness exams, sick exams, surgical services, behavioral consultations, wing trims, nail trims and beak trims for pet bird species from finches to macaws to ducks and chickens. 


diagnostic-testing.jpg In-house Diagnostic Testing

North Paws Animal Hospital has a fully equipped in-house laboratory including comprehensive chemistry panels, hematology, urinalyses, and heartworm and tick disease screening. We also work closely with an outside laboratory that provides more extensive testing including intestinal parasite testing, specific disease testing, culture and sensitivity testing and pathology consultations all with quick turn-around times for reporting.


soft-tissue-surgery.png Soft Tissue Surgery

We are skilled in soft tissue surgeries including routine spays and neuters, as well as a long list of advanced soft tissue procedures that many general practitioners refer to specialty hospitals. Some of the more advance soft tissue procedures that we perform at NorthPaws include exploratory laparotomies (abdominal surgery), cystotomies (bladder surgery), splenectomies (spleen removal), perineal urethrostomies (surgery to permanently relieve urethral obstruction in male cats), ingluviotomies (crop surgery for birds), etc. During any anesthetic procedure, your pet's heart rate, pulse rate, respiratory rate, oxygenation, blood pressure and temperature will be monitored minute by minute by our skilled medical team.


orthopedic-surgery.jpg Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Becker uses the Securos system to perform extracapsular repairs that stabilize the stifle (knee) following rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (a "torn ACL"). She also repairs luxating patellas (slippery knee caps) and repairs many types of fractures. We take time to individualize the care for your injured pet by discussing options for treatment, expected outcomes and aftercare needs so that you know what to expect and how to care for your loved pet as he or she recovers from orthopedic surgery.


radiology.jpg Radiology

At North Paws Animal Hospital, we have in-house computed radiology (x-ray) services that provide us with crisp, detailed, fast digital images to aid in the prompt and accurate diagnosis of your pet.


ultrasound.jpg Ultrasound

We are equipped with a state of the art ultrasound machine and doctors that know how to use this technology to provide you and your pet with advanced imaging that goes beyond a 2D image.


therapeutic-laser.jpg Therapeutic Laser

Laser therapy is the non-invasive use of laser light energy to generate a photochemical response in damaged or dysfunctional tissue. Laser therapy can alleviate pain, reduce inflammation and accelerate recovery from a wide range of acute and chronic clinical conditions. As rehabilitation specialists know, the main goal of treatment for many when treating painful, debilitating conditions is to facilitate improved function, comfort and mobility. Laser therapy is a drug-free, surgery-free technique to help make that goal a reality.


denstistry.jpg Dentistry

Good oral health is an important part of good general health for your pet. Our annual wellness exam includes a thorough oral exam and a discussion about options to maintain or improve upon your pet's oral health. When appropriate, we are able to provide your pet with a safe anesthetic dental cleaning including scaling, polishing and extractions when and if needed.


behavioral-consultations.png Behavioral Consultations

We understand that a well-behaved confident pet can be taken most anywhere so they can participate in and enjoy any of the family’s activities. We also know that inappropriate behavior is the number one reason pets are abandoned or euthanized. Most behavioral problems of dogs and cats can be effectively managed with appropriate advice. Sometimes medications can be helpful to relieve anxiety and fear. At North Paws Animal Hospital, we are able to provide behavioral counseling to head off problems in pet behavior and provide pet owners with the tools they need to gently and efficiently train their pets.


microchipping.jpg Microchipping

A microchip for your pet can mean the difference between being lost and found. Although tags and collars are important, they can tear or slip off. In order to place the microchip, our veterinarian injects a tiny computer chip—about the size of a grain of rice—just under your pet’s skin, between the shoulder blades. The microchip number is entered into an international database, which can be read by a microchip scanner if your pet is lost and picked up by an animal hospital or humane society. If your contact information is up-to-date, the hospital or humane society that found your pet can contact you and reunite you with your pet.

A microchip is your pet's ticket home. Does your pet have his? If not, we can help. It's fast, easy and affordable and you'll never regret the decision!



gray kitten

Our appointment book is computerized, which allows us to efficiently make appointments for you and your pet. Our receptionists and team will attempt to accommodate all requests to the best of our ability. If you feel your pet is having an emergency, please call us immediately, our staff can advise you on whether it would be best to seek care at the emergency clinic.

Emergency & Urgent Care

After regular business hours, we refer to dogs and cats:

Mountain View Animal Emergency                                             

Phone: 301-733-7339

18501 Maugan's Avenue Suite 105
Hagerstown, MD 21742

For our avian and pocket pets:

Pender Veterinary Center

Phone: 703-654-3100

4001 Legato Rd                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Fairfax, VA 22033                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

We have a veterinarian and personnel on duty five days a week who are trained and equipped to handle any urgent care your pet has. Usually an emergency team consists of at least one veterinarian and several technicians working together to save a pet's life. Emergencies can be things such as accidental ingestion of rat poison, hit by car, and chocolate ingestion. 

Types of Pets Seen

At North Paws Animal Hospital, we can care for many types of pets:

  • Dogs
  • Cats
  • Rabbits*
  • Ferrets*
  • Guinea Pigs*
  • Mice*
  • Rats*
  • Gerbils*
  • Hedgehogs*
  • Turkeys, Geese and Chickens*
  • Parrots and Other Birds*

*Select veterinarians only. Call us for more information.

Discounts

North Paws Animal Hospital offers 5% discounted services to senior citizens and active & retired Military. Please call us for more information.