Avon Lake Animal Clinic

BAD EXPERIENCE. Unfortunately all this clinic cares about is getting your money. They do not care about your pet, only how much they can up-charge you. They overcharge for office visits, testing, X-ray, surgery. You would think because you are paying top dollar you would get great service - WRONG! The staff is rude. Would NOT recommend this clinic to anyone.…

Hudson_Coleman. My beagle, Hudson, unfortunately could not resist a dark chocolate bar. This incident, of course, happened on my way to work early one morning. I was not really sure what to do. I mean, we do call Hudson the “garbage disposal.” That beagle nose of his has gotten him in much trouble the past 8 years. I reluctantly went to work with much hesitation of what I would walk into later on that day. My husband left work early due to being sick. Bad for my husband, but I was very happy that someone would be able to be home with Hudson.

I got home from work to find Hudson not acting like his usual self. He was not howling as I walked in the door and was lying in odd places in the house. I felt his heart racing and I just knew that he needed medical attention. I called out to my husband to call our vet to see what to do. My husband in a sickened daze called the vet.

I spoke with Dr. Huppe on the phone and was told to meet her at the office in 20 minutes. I went to our vet and waited and waited. During this time, I am in tears, telling Hudson my goodbyes and what a great dog he has been, despite many objects being chewed to bits, but I left this part out. After 45 minutes of waiting, I called my husband for the phone number. As I was getting ready to call, my husband tells me “I called the wrong vet.” I was livid at my husband. I felt horrible for my dog and even more so for Dr. Huppe who was waiting on us. My husband called Dr. Huppe back to explain the confusion and she agreed to see us.

Once we finally arrived, I was instantly put at ease. Dr. Huppe was so gentle, kind and compassionate. Hudson responded very well to her and allowed her to do her examination. During the exam, Dr. Huppe turned Hudson’s neck and he yelped (I don’t think dogs can scream but if they could, this would be a loud one!). Through Dr. Huppe’s accurate assessment, our beagle was in a lot of pain, and the symptoms he was experiencing were most likely to his neck pain, not his dark chocolate eating party. I left Hudson overnight to get fluids and IV pain medications. Hudson has never stayed overnight at the “doggy hospital”. I was very nervous but again I was put at ease by Dr. Huppe. I was also a little upset that I would not have my cuddle buddy that night!

The next day, Dr. Huppe called me as soon as she got in with an update and to discuss the next steps in Hudson’s care. The treatment plan was agreed upon and I was set to get Hudson later that day. Once Hudson walked into the room, I knew that he was feeling better. Now Hudson is finishing his dose of steroids and is back to being his old beagle self.

It is because of the care of Dr. Huppe and the other staff members at Avon Lake Animal Clinic that Hudson will now call this place his vet!…

Wonderful place in our Community. I would like to thank you on behalf of my family and most importantly, Scooter, our golden retriever for the excellent healing and care you have provided. You have done an excellent job with Scooter from the moment we rushed in the door with two torn ACL's.

Your surgery was a success and the after care was compassionate and supportive.

In the year after Scooter's surgery, he struggled to regain his walking power. Under your guidance and suggestions we walked regularly to strengthen up the surrounding muscles, but going up the stairs was still quite an undertaking. He is such a people dog that he has to be in every room I'm in all day long, but his difficulty going up the stairs kept him on the ground floor for quite a while. I know it was very hard for him to be separated from us all night long. Eventually he gained enough strength to make it up the stairs, but he allowed himself only the one time, at night when the last person had finally gone up for bed.

When Dr. Letosky suggested water therapy for Scooter, we thought it was a unique and quirky way of getting a dog to excecise, but we trusted her dedication to making Scooter the best that he could be. So one year later, when the program was up and running, Scooter hopped into the tank. Jodie was wonderful!

You can tell how much she and everyone else at this establishment loves what they are doing. With Jodie's help and the water therapy, within 6 sessions Scooter showed noticeable improvement. If I had not been right there every step of the way. I would have thought there was some trick, but the water therpy worked miracles with him. Today Scooter is running after rabbits in the yard, going up and down the stairs and playing tug of war with our daughter. He still isn't 100% on the stairs, seeing as all the weight is centered on the back legs during that process, but going up them is more like a slight limp to him rather than a huge undertaking.

All in all Scooter is a hugh success story for the Avon Lake Animal Clinic. Everyone involved with his care was, and still is, amazing. We are very grateful we have found this wonderful place in our community.…

Experiences Worth Taking with You!. I have a Toy Fox Terrier & Beagle mix that I have always taken to the Avon Lake Animal Clinic. Recently we moved to Connecticut and we welcomed an adorable 6 week old American Bulldog puppy into our family! She is sweet, playful, silly, learns new things by the day,and is super curious. Along with her sill, playfulness and curiosity came a tumble and fall from the bed when she was 8 weeks old. She was crying and I was crying. I knew something was wrong and she was hurt. I was so scared and upset, I rushed my baby girl to the closest veterinarian emergency clinic. At that clinic I learned that when she fell she had broken her leg. It broke my heart to see my little puppy hurting. At that clinic my puppy was taken in for x-rays and the vet stated that they showed that the growth plate was not involved, and he applies a splint that didn't seem to fit very well, and she was able to chew at it. I asked if he was going to give her any pain medication or if I should ice it since it had already started to swell by her paw. He told me I should "put aside my motherly insticncts and nurturing, she was just a dog!' I was very upset with this comment and knew he didn't care about my puppy as much as I do. She's NOT "just a dog", she is a part of my family. She is my 8 week old baby girl. This was not the kind of treatment or comments I have been used to hearing for the 5 years I went to The Avon Lake Animal Clinic with my Toy Fox Terrier. I was not going to except this now. After going home to think it over and calm down I decided to take my puppy for a second opinion. I was on a search fo find an animal hospital that was going to treat my puppy and me with the respect, care, and compassion I am used to receiving while in Ohio at the Avon Lake Animal Clinic. I was able to find an animal hospital (VCA hospital) that treated me and my puppy very well. They sent me to an orthopedic vet to assure that the break really hadn't disturbed the growth plate, which was only determined by a second x-ray from a different angle. At that time a molded cast was put on her leg to make sure that the bone was stabilized, and they fitted her for a no-chew collar. She is now 10 weeks old and healing very well. Today she got her cast removed and her leg x-rayed for the final time. The vet assured me that all is going to be fine, and in just the short time she had the cast on, her leg had grown. We are very grateful for the care our puppy recieved, and extremely happy that her leg is growing and all is well. The Avon Lake Animal Clinic truly sets the standards for what should be expected from other animal hospitals. In the event that it is necessary to find a new vet and clinic when you move, having the positive experiences from there makes it easy to determine the "O.K." from an execellent facility.

S.M. from Connecticut formerly of Sheffield Lake…