Services

We are happy to provide comfortable boarding care for dogs, cats, and other small animals in a clean and attentive environment. Dogs are generally walked outside three times a day, and cats have warm blankets in a separate boarding area. While we do not board large numbers of animals, we have found this allows us to offer more personal attention. Trained staff looks after our boarded patients 365 days a year, and the advantages of a doctor’s ready availability makes leaving your pet in our care more worry-free. The kennel staff is happy to e-mail or text updates or photos at your request. Special-needs boarders, including diabetic animals that require insulin, are no problem for our experienced team. If you want your pet to be bathed or have more extensive grooming, we can easily provide that service during your pet’s boarding stay. We are happy to give a tour of your pet’s accomodations at your request. Please note that holidays and school breaks are times that fill up early, so be sure to contact us as your travel plans are known.

Behavioral disorders in pets are very common and can be challenging and upsetting for many people. Dr. Risser has taken a special interest in diagnosing, counseling owners, and treating pets suffering from issues ranging from housesoiling (inappropriate urination/ defecation) to anxieties and aggression issues. Many behavioral cases can be managed with behavioral modification and, sometimes, additional prescription drug therapy.

Diagnosis and therapy for many tumors and cancers is available. Chemotherapeutic drugs can be administered in-house for cancers such as lymphoma/ lymphosarcoma and mast cell tumors. We can work with you in decisions such as referral to a board-certified oncologist, surgery, and other treatment options. While care of cancer patients may involve surgical and medical options, sometimes it may be just appropriate efforts to provide comfort and the best quality-of-life for as long as possible. Hospice care may be a good choice for some patients as well. We will work with you to accurately diagnose cancers, determine a prognosis, and provide clear options, while also helping you navigate the emotional aspects of your pet’s illness. Advanced settings.

Emergencies are given first priority at our office. If your pet is seriously ill or injured, and it is during normal business hours, please contact our office if at all possible as you bring your pet in. We may have special instructions for the safe transport of your pet. Critical care services include IV fluid therapy support with automatic fluid pumps, blood transfusions, management of shock, oxygen therapy, incubation, and advanced monitoring in our intensive care hospitalization area. For after-hours emergencies, please contact 317.336.8900 for instructions. The following emergency clinics are available if your pet is seriously ill or injured after hours or on holidays:

While none require appointments, it helps them to know when you will be coming so they can prepare, so phone ahead if possible. If you have concerns about your pet going into an evening, weekend, or holiday, please phone or e-mail the office while we are still open, and we can very often offer options to contact or be contacted by the doctor after-hours. Dr. Risser sometimes covers holiday and weekend Emergency / Critical Care shifts at VCA’s West 86th Street Animal Hospital and is readily available to see your pet or answer questions.

We take dental health seriously, so we offer preventative services, such as ultrasonic dental scaling and polishing, to keep teeth and gums healthy. We offer digital dental radiography that can be beneficial in diagnosing and treating unseen dental disease. We also have capabilities for minimally-traumatic oral surgery and extractions. Oral surgery and periodontal procedures like gingival flaps, root planning, and curettage are available. Some dogs may benefit from a vaccine for a common bacterial cause of periodontal disease called “Porphyromonas,” that, combined with other dental care strategies, can cut down on plaque-causing bacteria. Please feel free to discuss this with the doctor or one of the technical staff.

Appropriate care of skin disease in pets involves effective therapy to alleviate symptoms and provide relief, and reaching a diagnosis to provide long-term solutions for often-frustrating skin and ear infections and disease. We have extensive experience and interest in management of many skin conditions. Especially with allergic skin disease, reaching a definitive diagnosis is extremely important in controlling itching and discomfort. With serum allergy testing and appropriate diets to diagnose and treat food allergies, we often can get to the “root cause” of a problem without repeated visits that treat only symptoms. Also, many patients have skin infections that are also itchy, and contribute to chronic problems that don’t seem to resolve. Diagnosing and treating these infections effectively, including ear infections, can make an immense difference in the success with dermatologic cases.

As our pets live longer, they become an even greater presence in the lives of their human companions. Advances in veterinary medicine allow us to deal with the unique challenges of growing older. We take a strong interest in the early recognition and treatment of diseases that impact senior and geriatric pets. From options in screening bloodwork, dietary considerations, and behavioral challenges, to pain management and difficult end of life choices, we put a special focus on outstanding care of the geriatric pet. Because organ systems age more rapidly in our senior pets than they do in ourselves, we recommend complete physical examinations at least every six months when pets become seniors. This allows us to pick up on disease earlier, before it becomes more difficult to treat or creates discomfort in your pet. We also offer hospice care, where nursing staff or the doctor can make visits to your home for comfort care or evaluations of pets facing serious or terminal diseases. The difficulty of transporting pets, and the stress they may experience in the face of illness, can often add to the burden for the patient and family members alike. Please contact the office for more details about hospice care options.

Have you been noticing changes in your pet’s behavior? This checklist will help you decide if one of our Senior Wellness packages is for your pet. Click here for a printable version of this checklist to bring to your appointment with you.

We are fortunate to have the talents of excellent pet groomers/stylists at Fall Creek Veterinary Medical Center! Camryn, Jamie, and Corynne are all experienced groomers that will provide safe and caring grooming services, and leave your pet looking and feeling their best! We encourage you to choose the groomer that you prefer, but know you will be happy with the finished product.

All grooms include a bath, haircut if desired, nail trim, expression of the anal sacs, ear pluck and clean, a “potty patch”, and a seasonal accessory. Medicated shampoo is available upon request. There are distinct advantages to grooming your pet under the same roof as a full-service veterinary hospital. The doctor is available to address any medical concerns your pet may have while here being groomed, and each groomed pet receives a complementary doctor check of skin, eyes, ears, anal sacs and teeth. We offer early drop-off and late pick-up options, please call us for availability!

Grooming prices are determined by the groomer based on the size, coat condition, and temperament of the individual pet.

Pets must be up to date on vaccines and fecal parasite screening, and have been examined at Fall Creek Veterinary Medical Center in the past year.

Drop-off for grooming is between 7:00 to 8:00 AM. If you are unable to arrive by 8:15 AM, we will have to automatically cancel your appointment and reschedule at a future date. Grooming appointments must be cancelled or rescheduled by no later than 4 p.m. the prior business day. The first missed groom appointment will be charged for 50% of the price of the groom. Repeat missed groom appointments will be charged for 100% of the price of the groom.

NOW OFFERING CREATIVE GROOMING SERVICES!

We are pleased to begin offering creative grooming services as of May 23rd, 2022. These services could include fun dye colors, feather hair attachments, fancy bows, bandanas, and more! The brand of dye they will be using is OPAWZ, which is pet safe, non-toxic, and long lasting. If this is something you’re interested in, please give us a call to schedule.

​Please discuss creative grooming with your groomer directly prior to scheduling or at drop-off, pictures are very helpful!

We offer in-house laboratory services, such as fecal, heartworm, feline infectious disease, urine, and cytologic analysis, and contract with excellent outside laboratories for the full array of clinical pathology services. Rapid Complete Blood Count (CBC) results are available from our IDEXX Lasercyte analyzer, offering accurate red cell, white cell, and platelet counts. Our Abaxis VetScan II rounds out the in-house laboratory, with complete blood evaluations for presurgical patients, and rapid monitoring for patients with liver or thyroid disease, or those on anticonvulsant or pain management medications. Fecal examinations are performed by centrifugation analysis, providing the most sensitive and accurate results for your pet. All laboratory results are kept in your pet’s electronic records, for easy and permanent access. We constantly update our capabilities to use laboratory testing to diagnose and manage illness and monitor response to therapy.

We are excited to be one of a small number of veterinary hospitals in the Indianapolis area to offer therapeutic laser therapy. This technology, called “Class IV Laser,” uses light photons from specific wavelengths (red and near-infrared) that achieve an effect called “photobiomodulation.” Therapeutic effects, for which there have been many published studies, include improved healing time, increased blood circulation, and decreased swelling. While especially useful for animals with pain from arthritis, spinal discomfort, or other sources of chronic pain, we have also found it useful for wound healing.

Virtually all of our surgical patients receive the benefits of the laser before discharge, and we have seen quicker recovery times and faster incision healing as a benefit. This is included at no additional cost for our elective surgeries (specifically spays and neuters). We have also seen benefits with return to normal function after orthopedic surgeries and other procedures.

Most patients with chronic pain or arthritis receive an initial series of six sessions, all of which take only few minutes (less than 10) and allow you to remain with your pet the entire time. These are divided into three treatments the first week, two the second, and one the third. Most show notable improvement right away, and go to maintenance sessions every three to six weeks as needed. This doesn’t require hair clipping, is needle-free/ drug-free, and actually allows for better tissue penetration of medication you are already giving your pet. Several pets have been able to discontinue one or more of the medications they have been taking.

Please contact us if you would like more information on the potential benefits of this safe and effective therapy for your pet!

In addition to offering a wide range of regular and prescription diets, we offer nutritional advice on diets appropriate for various life stages and specific medical conditions. Several options are available for pets suffering from food allergies and other adverse reactions to food. Also, information, guidelines, and recommendations for weight management in pets are available. Among the brands of food routinely stocked are Hill’s Prescription Diets, Purina ProPlan, Royal Canin/ IVD Limited Antigen Diets, and Purina Prescription Diets.

We have a complete in-house pharmacy stocked with nearly all common and many less common veterinary drugs, dietary supplements, eye and ear medications, therapeutic shampoos, and dermatologics. This offers the convenience of “one-stop” shopping for your pet’s prescriptions and more affordable prices for many drugs that might not be stocked in a human pharmacy. When available and appropriate for your pet, less expensive generic drugs are provided. We also have a full line of safe and effective heartworm, flea, and tick preventatives, including Interceptor, Heartgard, Revolution, Sentinel, Frontline, and Advantage. We are always glad to advise you on the product or products that are the best match for your pet’s needs.

Preventing disease is the most important thing we do. With comprehensive wellness examinations, heartworm and other parasite preventatives, and specific recommendations appropriate to each stage of your pet’s life, we work with you to catch illness early or, preferably, prevent it altogether. We give vaccines appropriate to the exact needs of your pet. Whenever possible, we give vaccines that provide immunity for 3 years and avoid the common tendency to “over-vaccinate.” Our veterinary team is dedicated to educating you on practical, common-sense preventative care for your pet, from the pediatric to geriatric stage.

The increased affordability of blood screening has made annual wellness testing more popular. You can choose the appropriate profiles from a menu of options. These early-detection tools provide excellent baseline values for comparisons if pets become ill in the future, and can catch illnesses that may still be undetectable otherwise. Some options include:

Wellness Profile – This panel includes a “spot-check mini-chemistry panel that evaluates kidney and liver function, blood sugar, electrolyte, and thyroid levels, as well as a “Complete Blood Count” (CBC), which counts red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Comprehensive Profile – This panel includes a comprehensive blood chemistry panel that measures kidney and liver function, blood sugar levels, electrolytes and protein levels. Also included is a CBC, tests evaluating thyroid function, and for cats, a Feline Leukemia test.

Early Detection Profile – This panel includes everything in the Comprehensive Profile (with the exception of the Feline Leukemia test in cats), plus a complete urinalysis, including a “microalbuminuria assay”, the most sensitive early indicator of kidney disease.

Our Hudson HDS digital radiology unit is among the few of its kind in Indiana, with unique computer technology once found only at referral facilities. It offers numerous advantages over traditional x-ray units. Chief among them is the quality of the images produced. Digital technology allows sharper clarity and better detail, plus the ability to magnify selected parts of the image, and so diagnosis of problems becomes more accurate. X-ray images are permanently saved electronically, without the risks of damage or decay of radiographic images on film. Additionally, images can be sent as an e-mail or message to your computer or other device if you would like a disc of your pet’s images.

Ultrasound is fast becoming a standard of care in veterinary medicine. It serves as an additional diagnostic tool, along with radiology, to look at specific organs and whole sections of the body. Masses or tumors, or areas of inflammation, can be identified with this non-invasive technology. Added in 2017, our ultrasound unit provides excellent images and the ability to permanently save them.

The complexity of many cases, and the frustration that can accompany the diagnosis and treatment of such cases, may cause many people to seek a second opinion. While we are not a specialty center, we will gladly examine your pet, discuss with you any previously-done tests, and offer our assessment. If referral to a specialist is warranted, we have the ability to help you with your referral. We are also happy, at your request, to contact your veterinarian to discuss our thoughts on your pet’s case.

Our doctors have extensive experience in a wide range of surgical procedures, including elective surgeries such as ovariohysterectomy (spay), and neutering, as well as abdominal, upper respiratory, and ophthalmic soft tissue procedures. Additionally, orthopedic procedures, such as cranial (anterior) cruciate ligament and patellar luxation repairs are done in the practice. Sterile surgical technique is practiced to the level required by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) in the surgical suite.

Pricing for elective surgeries are inclusive of things we consider important, and not “extra-cost add-ons,” like medication to alleviate pain before and after surgery and intravenous fluids during surgery, that improve blood pressure and help ensure kidney function. Information about anesthesia is available under that heading.

We are happy to provide a complete treatment plan for surgical procedures with estimated fees. Please contact the office for a full list of surgical procedures offered. We are happy to do a quick consultation at no charge to discuss surgical options, or you may want to schedule a fuller evaluation to determine the best specific approach to take.

For some surgeries requiring a specialist, we have excellent working relationships with several local and university board-certified surgeons.