PET HEALTH: Love your pet? Time for its checkup!
By Jonathan Cox | Photographed By Darl Bickel

It's often too easy to get so accustomed to our daily routines with our pets that we take their well-being for granted—unless Fido won't fetch or Puss is sleeping 23½ instead of 22½ hours a day, we assume they're feeling all right and will live forever. Meanwhile, the postcard reminders from the vet are piling up in the mail basket.

But of course, an annual exam allows the vet to monitor your pet's vital stats and condition, including weight and dental health, from year to year—not to mention that an annual rabies vaccine is legally required. Other vaccinations, against such things as distemper and feline leukemia, will keep your companion protected against animal-borne diseases, while medications can keep your pet free from dangerous parasites like heartworm, ticks and fleas. The last, as everyone knows who has ever suffered from an infestation, can be as painfully annoying for you as for your pet.

Last week saw the return of spring, when Mother Nature wakes from her dormant winter state and begins her annual spectacle of blossom and bloom; and our animal companions, however much we think of them as domesticated, are still naturally inclined and instinctually in tune with spring's abundance of new life. Although it gets said often, it's never said enough: if your dogs or cats are not fixed, have them spayed or neutered, particularly if they spend time unmonitored outdoors. You never know who will make friends with your pet in the neighborhood.

By making sure your pets are up to date on all their vaccinations and wellness check-ups, you'll be ensuring that they—and you—will be living more happily and, perhaps, a little longer.