We have a brand new Online Store for easy, convenient home delivery of your pet supplies and medications. To learn more about this new service click on the Shop Online link under the Menu.

We have a new Doctor on board our team! While the summer of 2005 sadly involved the loss of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Holland from the practice, we had plenty to cheer about when Dr. Paul M. Ramsey joined us!! Stop in to get acquainted, and read his biographry in the Staff section.

The facility has a new roof! You may have seen the work in progress this last summer. We didn't ignore inside progress, either. Our lower level floor has a new type of coating, which is gorgeous, shiny, and non-slippery--not an easy thing to achieve!!

We now have a SURGICAL LASER to make surgery safer and less painful for your pet! Our 20 watt CO2 laser, a Cutting Edge product, reduces bleeding, seals small nerve endings during surgery, reduces post-operative swelling, and sterilizes the surgical site. It is very helpful with all surgeries, from tiny wart removals to huge tumors.

Want to hear the latest scoop on poop??? At the West Geauga Veterinaray hospital we use the latest techniques to diagnose intestinal worms. We use the centrifugation method, which concentrates the lighter , microscopic worm eggs and coccidia one-celled parasites and makes diagnosis easier. It is a messy, and more time consuming technique, which requires an extra 10 minutes to spin the sample in an expensive centrifuge machine, but it is worth it to help keep your pet worm-free!

Especially dramatic is the increased comfort cats show after LASER DECLAWING, compared to traditional techniques! Many cats don't even need bandages, and are moving about and grooming and eating the same day as surgery! Some surgeries, such as soft palate reduction or large mouth tumors we wouldn't even attempt before we purchased the laser, are now made routine. Now fewer surgeries need to be referred to specialists, because the laser makes them possible. Eyelid growths can be removed often without removing a wedge of the eyelid itself, making for a more cosmetic appearance. Some tiny warts can even be removed without shaving, just using a local anesthetic. All surgeries are made more humane and safer by opting for the laser, by reducing pain and bleeding. Doesn't your pet deserve the best?

December, 2003 Santa brought the clinic a brand new 300 MA x-ray unit, and a new floor for the laboratory room. The x-ray can take images ranging from a tiny parakeets broken leg, to a 200 pound mastiff's hips. It can angle for dental radiographs, or take a "standing lateral" view of a pet that is having too much trouble breathing to lay on its side for the traditional view.

New dental care products make home care choices easier! ORA-VET is a new dental health product. It is a sticky, tasteless product that coats the teeth to dramatically slow plaque and tartar formation. A veterinary product is applied as the final step in a dental cleaning, and lasts 1-2 months. A different home care product, Ora-vet gel can be swiped on the teeth's outer surface every week or two. This is espectially great for those of you who find the idea of daily toothbrushing exhausting! A new dental chew product, CET Dental Rewards, given weekly cut tartar formation. They look like "Greenies", but do even more. For those of you who don't want to reach in your pet's mouth, An oral hygiene product, Oxyfresh, can be added to your pet's drinking water to reduce plaque easily.

URINALYSIS is an underdone test that reveals loads of information about your pet's health. We look at the concentration of the urine, look at the Ph, look for the presence of protein, blood, white blood cells, infection, or sugar. Now a new tests, the Early Renal Detection system, or ERD for short, looks for microscopic amounts of albumin, a protein, an early indicator of renal disease. A regular urinalysis is good, but can miss the very early signs. The earlier any problem is picked up, the more help can be given to your pet.

Do you hate fleas?? You can bet your pet agrees, too! Thankfully they are several newer flea preventatives to pick from that are safe, and easy on you and your dog or cat. ADVANTAGE is a great monthly, spot on application that kills fleas for a whole month on cats, as well as ear mites and roundworms. ADVANTIX is a great monthly spot on application that kills and repels fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes on dogs. Ticks can transmit Lymes disease, Erlichia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and other diseases. Mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus, as well as heartworm disease. If you use Advantix on your dog, remember to keep him separate from your cat for several hours, so the product doesn't rub onto kitty!

REVOLUTION is another spot-on application that controls fleas and heartworms for a month. In cats it also controls earmites and roundworm intestinal parasites. In dogs Revolution also controls ticks and sarcoptic mange.

Growth regulators control fleas by stopping the flea egg from developing. Cats can have an injection of PROGRAM, that for a whole 6 months will sterilize any flea that bites them! Dogs can take SENTINEL heartworm pills, and have fleas sterilized, also. That way you never get the population expolosion from 1 to 100 to 1000!

A new pill CAPSTAR will kill any flea on your pet within 4 hours for 1 day, leaves no pesticide residue, and can be used on tiny puppies and kittens and pregnant or nursing pets.

If ticks have you worried, use REVOLUTION or ADVANTIX for your dog, or purchase a PREVENTIC collar, to kill and detach the ticks before they have a chance to transmit Lymes disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, or Erlichia. If your pet relies on REVOLUTION for heartworm control, you can pick up a PREVENTIC collar for free, courtesy of the hospital! The FRONTLINE PLUS TOPSPOT product line for dogs and cats also controls fleas and ticks, and is available at our online pharmacy.

Infected moquitoes can bite your pet and transmit nasty diseases. Heartworm is a terrible, preventable disease carried by mosquitoes. It affects dogs, cats and ferrets. Check out the website www.heartwormsociety.org for great information and details of the disease and treatment. All dogs, both indoor and out, should be on heartworm prevention, such as INTERCEPTOR, SENTINEL, HEARTGUARD, REVOLUTION. All cats, both indoor and out, should be on heartworm prevention, such as HEARTGUARD chewable tablets, oral INTERCEPTOR, or REVOLUTION monthly spot on products. On dogs you can also repel mosquitoes by applying ADVANTIX. You could also spray daily with OVITROL to repel mosquitoes on dogs and cats. Ferrets are at risk for heartworms, also, and feline Heartguard or Revolution are effective and safe, although extralable.

We now run you dog's annual screening HEARTWORM TESTS in- house, instead of sending to an outside lab. This simple in- house test takes only 8 min. to run, and uses only about 3 drops of blood. You'll have the answer to your pet's test before you leave your appointment! In addition to the heartworm test, 2 other diseases that are transmitted by ticks are tested for. Lymes and Erlichiosis are screened for as well, all with the same few drops of blood!

IS YOUR PET SENIOR?? Recent studies have shown that most pets can be considered "senior" at age 7. Dear Abby's rule of 7 dog years to 1 human year isn't very accurate. Stop by our clinic and check our neat chart that converts your pet's age to people years.

If your pet is 7, you should schedule a physical twice a year, instead of just once when the vaccinations are due. At the extra visit we can check his eyes, ears, heart, lungs, lumps,bumps, and haircoat. We'll ask questions about any changes you have noticed in behavior, activity, thirst, or stiffness.

At the senior screening visit, Dr. Pappas and Dr. Ramsey will recommend certain screening tests to establish healthy baseline values in the blood, urine, heart rhythym, and eye pressure, and blood pressure. The tools to run the test are right in the clinic, and results can be available within a half hour.

New drugs help dogs suffering from separation anxiety and senility. Ask us about Clomicalm and Anipryl!

The TONOPEN tool lets us check your pet's EYE PRESSURE in seconds to rule out Glaucoma, and the P.A.M. ECG machine works in seconds, without clips to check your pet's heart rate and rhythym. Our new VETSPECS monitor allows us to non-invasively screen for BLOOD PRESSURE, also. High blood pressure is common in pets with kidney disease, as well as cats with ever-active thyroids. In the past blood pressure monitoring was uncomfortable and invasive, now it is just a cuff and band on the leg or tail!

Did you know 1 pet in 3 is lost during its lifetime? Permanent identification can eliminate alot of the risk and heartache. The Avid Microchip is injected, just like a vaccine, to offer a lifetime of identification protection. A unique barcode can be scanned by the veterinarian, emergerncy clinic, police or shelter that finds your pet.

All the staff have been busy with new CONTINUING EDUCATION. At recent staff meetings we have heard professional speakers on new facts about heartworm disease, Lymes disease, peridontal problems, and senior screenings. Janauary 2005 all the staff will took adult and child CPR. This will enable us to help each other and clients, in case of injury, not just pets!

Dr. Johnson had a fabulous continuing education learning experience in the Galapagos Islands, communing with iguanas, tropical fish, sea-lions, sea turtles, albatrosses, blue footed boobies and more June, 2004. Dr. Holland attended a great lecture and wet lab on Laser Surgery, held in Columbus, Ohio Oct. 2004. Dr. Pappas attended the Association of Avian Veterinarian convention in New Orleans, LA August 2004, including a wet lab on diagnostics. The opportunity to network with other veterinarians, and see the exhibits of new tools and technologies is a fringe benefit of CE, also.

Dr. Pappas travelled to the Midwestern States Veterinary Meeting in Columbus this Feb., and the staff are attending an upcoming workshop on exotic pet medicine, including intensive care and surgical monitoring. Dr. Pappas and Kelly McGurer attended a seminar on inventory management this past summer. The staff also recently learned from a Cleveland seminar on nursing care, instrument care, and surgical emergencies and came back with lots of fresh ideas. Every other Thurday we close the hospital for 2 1/2 hours for an educational staff meeting, as well. It takes a lot of time and travel to keep up with the latest and greatest, but we're willling to do it to keep up with the best of care for your pets!