We offer a wide variety of veterinary/pet services catering to Cleveland, OH and the surrounding areas. Our goal as veterinarians at Sandstone Animal Hospital is to provide the best pet health care treatment options for a variety of health conditions.
A thorough examination is part of every routine checkup. Our experienced doctors evaluate each body system from nose to tail. Our registered veterinary technicians help to educate owners about nutrition, animal behavior, parasite prevention, and dental care. The doctors and staff of Sandstone Animal Hospital have completed a low stress animal handling class taught by Dr. Sophia Yin, who is a veterinary behaviorist and trainer who emphasizes positive reinforcement. We want your pet to enjoy his or her experience with us, so we offer lots of treats and praise in the examination room. Please alert us if your pet is on a special diet or has a food allergy.
We use the highest quality and safest vaccines available to protect your pet from infectious diseases. We also have a reminder system that notifies you when your pet is due. Vaccination schedules are tailored to your pet’s individual lifestyle. All dogs and cats in Cuyahoga County are required to be vaccinated against rabies. We offer the following vaccines:
What are vaccines?
Vaccines are health products that trigger protective immune responses in pets and prepare them to fight future infections from disease-causing agents. Vaccines can lessen the severity of future diseases and certain vaccines can prevent infection altogether.
Is it important to vaccinate?
Yes! Pets should be vaccinated to protect them from many highly contagious and deadly diseases. Experts agree that widespread use of vaccines within the last century has prevented death and disease in millions of animals. Even though some formerly common diseases have now become uncommon, vaccination is still highly recommended because these serious disease agents continue to be present in the environment.
Does vaccination ensure protection?
For most pets, vaccination is effective and will prevent future disease. Occasionally, a vaccinated pet may not develop adequate immunity and, although rare, it is possible for these pets to become ill. It is important to remember that although breakdowns in protection do occur, most successfully vaccinated pets never show signs of disease, making vaccination an important part of your pet’s preventive health care
Are there risks?
Although most pets respond well to vaccines, like any medical procedure vaccination carries some risk. The most common adverse responses are mild and short-term, including fever, sluggishness, and reduced appetite. Pets may also experience temporary pain or subtle swelling at the site of vaccination. Although most adverse responses will resolve within a day or two, excessive pain, swelling, or listlessness should be discussed with your veterinarian.
Rarely, serious adverse responses occur. Contact us immediately if your pet has repeated vomiting or diarrhea, whole body itching, difficulty breathing, collapse, or swelling of the face or legs. These signs may indicate an allergic reaction. While vaccination is not without risk, failure to vaccinate leaves your pet vulnerable to fatal illnesses that are preventable.
Why do puppies and kittens require a series of vaccinations?
Very young puppies and kittens are highly susceptible to infectious diseases. This is especially true as the natural immunity provided in their mothers’ milk gradually wears off. To keep gaps in protection as narrow as possible and to provide optimal protection against disease for the first few months of life, a series of vaccinations are scheduled, usually 3-4 weeks apart. For most puppies and kittens, the final vaccination in the series is administered when they are 16 weeks old.
Which vaccines should my pet receive?
We will discuss your pet’s lifestyle, access to other animals, and travel to other geographic locations, since these factors affect your pet’s risk of exposure to disease. Not all pets should be vaccinated with all vaccines just because these vaccines are available. “Core” vaccines are recommended for most pets in a particular area. “Non-core” vaccines are reserved for pets with unique needs.
We will spay or neuter your pet as early as 4-6 months of age. We also offer a variety of other procedures, such as declaws, growth removals, laceration and ear hematoma repairs, intestinal explorations, foreign body removals, splenectomies, and urinary bladder surgeries. Our in-house laboratory machines allow us to analyze preanesthetic bloodwork on the morning of surgery. Since your pet’s comfort and safety is our top priority, our registered veterinary technicians use state of the art equipment to continuously monitor each animal’s heart rate and rhythm (EKG), respiratory rate and oxygenation, blood pressure, and temperature. We feel it is important that each patient benefits from pain management as well as intravenous (IV) fluids to maintain perfusion of the liver and the kidneys during anesthesia. Toe nail trims are included free of charge with each surgery. It is also a good time to have your pet microchipped.
We are equipped to clean your pet’s teeth with an ultrasonic scaler and polisher. Advanced dental extractions can be performed at the same time as the teeth cleaning if necessary. We recommend C.E.T. dental products, such as chicken-flavored toothpaste, chew treats, and water additives to prevent tartar buildup.
We are sensitive to the needs of our clients with senior pets (over 7 years old). We know what conditions can occur with advancing age and can prevent many medical problems before they become life threatening for your animal friend. Supplements or arthritis medications may enhance your pet’s quality of life.
X-rays
All of our Xrays are immediately evaluated by our doctors in-house and then sent to the board-certified veterinary radiologists at Vet-Rad in Akron for a thorough consultation, which includes a written interpretive report.
Pet Blood Tests
Wellness screening bloodwork can be performed on apparently healthy pets to obtain a baseline for your individual pet. Detecting disease before there are outward symptoms leads to early intervention, which can prolong your pet’s life. When your pet doesn’t feel well, bloodwork can help us identify the underlying problem.
Blood tests can be used to diagnose the following conditions:
Blood tests are also used to monitor the dosage of chronic medications and screen for possible side effects.
Stool Sample Analysis
The Companion Animal Parasite Council recommends that veterinarians conduct fecal examinations two to four times during the first year of a pet’s life and one to two times per year in adult pets. Puppies and Kittens are usually born with worms. Most of the time people will not see worms in the stool. It is the microscopic eggs that are harvested in the hospital or at the laboratory that will confirm the diagnosis. Different types of worms require different types of dewormers.Some intestinal parasites are transmissible to people. Routine veterinary care, picking up stool in the yard, scooping litterboxes daily, and routine hand washing can prevent the spread of disease.
Urinalysis and culture
Analyzing a pet’s urine sample can provide copious information about kidney function, hydration status, diabetes, infection, inflammation and irritation caused by microscopic crystals. Occasionally, cancerous cells can be detected. A urine culture will reveal if a bacterial infection is present, and if so, which antibiotic is the best choice to cure that particular infection.
Glaucoma Testing
Glaucoma causes blindness in pets. Sandstone Animal Hospital has the award winning Reichert TONO-PEN AVIA VET tonometer to take accurate eye pressure measurements. There are 42 breeds of dogs that are classified as predisposed to glaucoma, as well as mixes of the breeds. For these breeds, it is good medicine to establish baselines on these pets. Monitoring of these pets on an annual basis is recommended by ophthalmologists. Other indications for glaucoma screenings would include all “red eye” cases, all head and eye trauma cases, and screening of all “senior pets” starting at 6-7 years of age. Glaucoma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled. The only way to control glaucoma before it causes blindness is by early detection.
Heartworm is a deadly disease transmitted by mosquitoes. We recommend giving a pill or topical treatment once a month year-round or an injection lasting 6 or 12 months to help prevent heartworm. To correct a flea problem and protect your home and family, we offer flea medication and treatment options for your pet. Combination flea, tick and heartworm meds kill internal and external parasites that can carry disease (i.e. ticks and Lyme Disease). They can be effective against:
If a pet runs away, we worry about the uncertainty of their return and whether they are ok. Pet microchipping provides an additional way to identify your dog or cat if their collar falls off. The microchip can be inserted between the shoulder blades during a routine appointment. Within the microchip is a pet ID code that belongs to your pet for life. When scanned, your pet can be easily identified and returned home.
If your pet is in their last stage of life, or suffering from a serious illness, we offer peaceful pet euthanasia. We begin with a sedative to ensure a smooth, painless procedure. Within minutes, your pet is able to pass on in a relaxed manner. A memorial clay paw print impression is included.
We also offer pet cremation services. Owners have the option of either common or private cremation. With common cremation, the ashes of multiple pets are buried together in an unmarked grave. Private cremation is the cremation of your individual pet separately, with the ashes returned to you about a week later in a wooden urn.
MedVet Cleveland West
14000 Keystone Pkwy.
Brook Park, OH 44142
We accept several types of pet insurance.
Payment Options: Cash, Check, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or Care Credit. Payment is expected at the time of service.
