FAQ’s About Laboratory Work
By Dr. Karen Burgess

Why should laboratory work be performed on a pet?
There are many reasons to perform testing on a pet, some of the more common include:

• As part of a wellness examination-our goal with annual labwork is to prove that a pet is healthy and not find abnormalities. The idea is to establish a baseline so that if and when a problem develops there is a “normal” reference point to refer back to.  This becomes increasingly important with age, thus why it is recommended that senior pets have labwork done twice a year.  In some situations a pet may seem healthy and an unknown medical condition may be identified thus allowing earlier intervention and possibly a better prognosis.
• With illness-labwork allows further evaluation of the sick pet in an effort to further isolate the problem, assist with treatment, and provide prognosis.
• Prior to anesthesia-the key to safe anesthesia is to plan ahead. A key component of this is preanesthetic labwork which helps to determine safe drug and dose selection.

How are labwork samples obtained?
Bloodwork is performed on a blood sample.  This sample is drawn from a neck or leg vein using a syringe and needle.  Urine is either collected in a clean container while a pet is naturally voiding or while being restrained using a syringe and needle.

Where are blood tests performed?
Bloodwork can be done either by an automated analyzer in the hospital providing results within the hour or at a commercial laboratory yielding results within a day or so.  Urine evaluation is done by automated analyzers and under the microscope visually.   Some samples are also evaluated by trained personnel under the microscope.