A visit when nothing’s wrong,and everything matters.

Wellness exams and annual checkups at The inFURmary in Scripps Ranch, San Diego are calm, specialist-guided visits that help prevent illness, uncover hidden pain, and keep your pet healthy at every stage of life.

What is a pet wellness exam?

A wellness exam is a yearly checkup that keeps your dog or cat’s health on track. It’s where we look at the full picture—how they’re eating, moving, resting, and aging—and make a plan to keep them comfortable long before problems show up.

These visits aren’t rushed. They’re a chance to ask questions, review what’s changed, and make sure your pet is actually doing as well as they seem. Our clinic serves families across Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, and greater San Diego, making it easy to keep your pet’s care consistent close to home.

Why annual checkups matter

Pets age faster than we do. What feels like a small change—some stiffness after naps, less jumping on the bed—can point to something deeper. Regular checkups catch these shifts early, when they’re easier (and cheaper!) to treat.

They also give us space to focus on prevention instead of panic. No emergencies, no stress—just good medicine done thoughtfully by an independently owned San Diego veterinary team that knows you and your pet.

Why annual checkups matter

Pets age faster than we do. What feels like a small change—some stiffness after naps, less jumping on the bed—can point to something deeper. Regular checkups catch these shifts early, when they’re easier (and cheaper!) to treat.

They also give us space to focus on prevention instead of panic. No emergencies, no stress—just good medicine done thoughtfully by an independently owned San Diego veterinary team that knows you and your pet.

What happens during a wellness exam

Every checkup at The inFURmary follows a protocol designed by Dr. Johnson, a boarded specialist in general practice. That means you’re getting a general-practice team that thinks like a specialty hospital—without the expensive price tag. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Review

We review your pet’s history, habits, and home life

Exam

We do a full nose-to-tail exam—eyes, ears, mouth, skin, heart, lungs, and joints

Recommendations

We recommended certain screening tests customized to your pet to catch disease early

Goals

We talk through diet, weight, and lifestyle goals

Plan

We build a plan that fits your pet and your life

Pain and prevention go hand in hand

Most pets won’t tell you they hurt—they’ll just move less, hesitate to jump, or nap a little more.  Every wellness exam here includes a pain assessment, an area where our team’s advanced training truly stands out

We look at joints the same way we look at organs: something worth protecting before it fails. Catching pain early keeps pets mobile, comfortable, and happy longer, and keeps you from playing catch-up later. If you’re in central San Diego, we’re one of the few practices with fellowship-level pain-management expertise available in a general-practice setting.

Common Questions We Hear from Pet Owners About Wellness Visits

Once a year for most healthy adults, twice if they’re older or have ongoing issues. Puppies need a few quick rounds early on for vaccines and growing pains. Think of it like maintenance. The more consistent you are, the fewer surprises down the road.

Cats are professional actors. They hide pain better than anyone. Even if they seem fine, they still need a yearly checkup, and older cats should come in every six months. Those “she’s just getting old” moments often turn out to be arthritis, dental pain, or something we can actually fix.

That’s the best time to come! Wellness visits are calm, not crisis-driven. We can slow down, talk through questions, and spot things early instead of reacting when your pet’s already miserable (and you’re already panicking). Preventive care is just medicine with less stress.

Because “fine” isn’t the same as “healthy.” We see dogs every week who’ve just started “slowing down” or cats who’ve stopped jumping on the windowsill—both are often in pain. An annual exam gives us a chance to find what your pet isn’t telling you and keep it from becoming a bigger problem.

Our exam fee is $82. From there, we’ll talk through anything else your pet might need—vaccines, bloodwork, heartworm tests, whatever fits their life stage. Our goal is to ensure you’re informed and consulted at every step in the process—you’ll always know what we recommend, why we recommend it, and what it costs.

Sometimes, yes—and that’s a good thing! The goal isn’t to create problems; it’s to catch them whil+ e they’re small. Maybe it’s a heart murmur you’ve never heard, a cracked tooth, or early joint pain. Finding it now means less suffering (and usually less money) later.

Don’t wait for something to be wrong.

Most of the problems we find at annual exams started months before they were obvious. If it’s been a while, don’t worry—we’ll meet you where you are and get your pet back on track. We see patients from Scripps Ranch, Poway, Rancho Peñasquitos, and surrounding San Diego neighborhoods. The sooner we see your pet at our veterinary clinic, the sooner we can keep them feeling good and save you from the stress (and cost) of a preventable emergency.