I see dogs and cats for a lot of routine reasons, such as wellness and geriatric exams, vaccines, heartworm tests, and such, I strive to give every pet a complete and thorough physical examination. I am a huge believer in preventative medicine, and I think we can save our pets from a lot of potentially painful and disastrous disease conditions by having them seen by a veterinarian twice a year. Since our pets age a lot faster than we do, 6 months is the equivalent of a few years for us.