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 Photo Photos By Elliott Burr/Town Crier Michelle Strobach, above, a lab technician at Los Altos’ Kindness Pet Hospital on First Street, cleans 9-year-old poodle Ingrid’s teeth as Glynn Echerd, DVM, who has owned the hospital for 20 years, observes.
Warning: The following paragraphs could be upsetting to household pets. If they are present, please turn the paper over and remove them from the room.|
Just as a family physician made house calls once upon a time at the turn of the 20th century, veterinary medicine has drastically changed in the past 20 years. Long gone are the days when vets merely vaccinated, spayed, neutered, distributed antibiotics and euthanized.
Today’s veterinarians are called on to diagnose and treat complicated illnesses and diseases once relegated to human medicine – only their clients can’t explain their symptoms.
Pet owners have evolved, too, depending on which part of the country they live in.
Glynn Echerd, DVM, described pet owners in Texas from his earlier days.
“If they had a $5-dog and a $10-problem, that animal was in trouble,” he said.
But if you’re a pet living in Los Altos, you’re probably not a $5-dog and your owners can afford a $10-problem.
“Here, pets are like children,” said Brian Maxwell, DVM. “There’s an incredible amount of stress that comes with that.”
Maxwell is one of four co-owners and 23 practicing vets at Adobe Animal Hospital on First Street in Los Altos. Echerd is sole owner and a practicing vet at Kindness Pet Hospital – next door. It’s a David and Goliath scenario without the weapons and animosity.
After more than 40 years of co-existence separated by a mere fence, the veterinarians, divided by buildings and practices, share a basic philosophy: Their patients come first.
A niche
Echerd purchased Kindness in 1991 – he’s the office’s third vet since the business was established 50 years ago.
“It’s always been a one-man practice,” Echerd said. “We kind of like it that way. I know my people – I see them in Safeway.”
With more than 60 veterinary technicians and office staff in addition to its vets, Adobe has expanded in the 12 years Maxwell has practiced there.
“We’re kind of between a general practice and specialty practice,” Maxwell said.
“Specialty” takes on different meanings in the veterinary world. Beyond the meat-and-potatoes-type pets of felines and canines that typically reside in 33 percent and 39 percent, respectively, of U.S. households, Americans increasingly invite hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, rats and other small mammals into their homes.
“There’re chinchillas everywhere,” said Summer Holmstrand-Irmiter, Adobe’s office manager. “Pretty much, it has to fit through our door here to be treated.”
With 23 veterinarians, Maxwell said, Adobe doctors are familiar with a wide variety of animals and their illnesses.
“One-quarter (of the doctors) have a level of experience with small exotics,” he said.
Collaboration is key at Adobe – otherwise, “It gets very difficult to manage those patients without having to refer those things out,” Maxwell said.
If one doctor is stymied by an animal’s symptoms, chances are there’s a doctor there who isn’t.
Though a horse won’t make it through the door, an alpaca has, as well as chickens, geese, potbellied pigs and even a kangaroo.
Next door, Echerd’s solo practice focuses on preventive patient care for cats and dogs for clients who “want to see the same doctor.”
And with the advent of computer-available resources, Echerd said, advice from other veterinarians is just a click away.
“With the Internet, it’s no longer a big deal to be by myself,” he said.
Echerd sees approximately 10 patients each day, working from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“He serves a niche that Los Altos needs,” Maxwell said of Echerd. “It works well.”
And when a sick patient needs overnight monitoring, Echerd hasn’t shied from asking Adobe’s vets to take care of his client.
“They are collegial and professional,” Echerd said of Adobe docs. “They are fantastic.”
But when an animal presents with cancer, kidney failure or other fatal disease, both Maxwell and Echerd refer their patients to specialists located nearby in Campbell and as far away as UC Davis.
It’s always about what’s best for the patient.
Takes on tech
It’s no secret that the MRIs, CAT scans, radiation and chemo treatments, kidney transplants and stem-cell therapies available to the two-legged species are now offered to the four-legged.
“All of our advances really come from human medicine,” Maxwell said. “Soon, cancer and genetic treatments will become par.”
But par comes at a price.
For Echerd, purchasing tech-heavy diagnostic machinery pre-supposes its consistent use in order to afford it.
“Technology has gone up exponentially in the last 20 years,” he said. “But there’s a correlation between bad outcomes and high expense.”
Still, he’s assimilated some high-end technology into his practice – when his clients are “under” on the table, they’re hooked up to anesthesia monitors, as well as machines that measure blood pressure, blood oxygen and the heart’s rhythm/rate.
“If you gave too much (anesthesia), you gave too much,” Echerd said. “Animals rarely die on the table – 35 years ago, that wasn’t true.”
Maxwell said Adobe has the patient base and need, as well as several vets who have the knowledge and experience to operate advanced diagnostic equipment, such as an ultrasound and digital X-ray, or perform endoscopies.
Moreover, Maxwell said, pet owners expect vet high-tech.
“With the Internet, some people come in and they know they want to get a specific test,” he said.
But there is no substitute for the basics in veterinary medicine, according to Maxwell.
“You can never replace the physical exam and what the owner says – the history is hugely important,” he said.
Mirroring human health care
Maxwell and Echerd studied veterinary medicine for nine years to earn their doctorates of veterinary medicine – Maxwell at UC Davis and Echerd at Texas A&M. Specialists generally study an additional two years.
A vet career isn’t as lucrative as some might imagine.
“Nobody gets into veterinary medicine for the money, I can assure you,” Echerd said.
Because Adobe is open 24/7, Maxwell puts in long hours – you won’t find him on a golf course on Fridays, he said.
Part of the expertise he offers is stem-cell infusion, a regenerative therapy for arthritis that uses stem cells extracted from fat cells.
“It’s very new,” he said. “We use it a lot when we have no other options.”
And options are what Maxwell and Echerd offer pet-patients’ owners – from wait-and-see and conservative therapies to outside referrals to specialists – most often determined by what the pet owner can afford.
Specialists in veterinary medicine include nutritionists, neurologists, cardiologists, urologists, oncologists, radiologists – the list goes on as it would for a listing of medical health-care specialists, with one major difference – a human heart specialist won’t see a patient who’s complaining about a foot problem. Echerd sees patients suffering from heart disease and others with paw problems.
On many levels, veterinary care surpasses health care for humans.
When his son broke a leg playing soccer, Echerd said, his son waited in pain at Stanford Hospital’s emergency department for six hours.
“No cat or dog sits in my room for six minutes without getting pain medication,” Echerd said.
The Stanford visit cost $60,000.
“We deliver high-quality care for a fraction of the cost,” he said. “Our challenge is more to get the quality up, because our clients want that.”
On the other hand, medical doctors must grapple with malpractice insurance, HMOs, PPOs and clients who can talk and complain.
Vetting the future
Similar to the decline of practitioner practices in favor of conglomerate medical-clinic organizations in human health care, Echerd sees a downtrend for solo veterinary careers.
“Practices like mine are going to go away,” he said. “It’s the reason why Marcus Welby is no longer around.”
As vets become more specialized, pet insurance policies are increasingly available – often more for animals than humans – and affordable. Quotes vary, but a “pets basic” policy for an 8-year-old Alaskan malamute cost approximately $30 per month from Pets Best Insurance.
Adobe’s Web site contains links to pet insurance companies, but be sure to study the fine print – like human health insurance, there are clauses for preconditions.
Echerd also encourages pet owners to investigate insurance policies.
“Not because of what I do, but what a specialist can do,” he said.
Finally, when all options are exercised, vets have options M.D.s don’t.
Unlike their human counterparts, veterinarians have the humane option of discussing euthanasia with pet owners.
“We call it quits when your animal is miserable,” Echerd said.
And the technological advances offer veterinarians and pets so much more – a greater understanding of animal anatomy and increased longevity for four-legged friends.
“I’m really in the golden age of veterinary medicine,” Echerd said. “I welcome all the changes that have come.”
Contact Mary Beth Hislop at
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Photos by Elliott Burr/Town Crier
Michelle Strobach, above, a lab technician at Los Altos’ Kindness Pet Hospital on First Street, cleans 9-year-old poodle Ingrid’s teeth as Glynn Echerd, DVM, who has owned the hospital for 20 years, observes.
Local DVMs embrace new trends in veterinary medicine
2 Comments
2"Los Altos Dog Mom"
at Thursday, 04 February 2010 09:23
My Siberian Husky was a patient at both Adobe and Kindness Pet Hospital. Adobe wasn\\\'t for me when it came to routine appointments so I asked my dog\\\'s trainer who referred me right next door to Dr. Echerd. You have to love and respect a veternarian who will sit on the floor and allow your dog to lick him all over! Adlobe however was where my dog would go literally being walked over by Dr. Echerd when she needed access to more specialized equipment. The best of both worlds!
1"Mom"
at Wednesday, 03 February 2010 22:05
Adobe is a wonderful hospital for emergencies and specialty medicine. However, it\\\'s very difficult to get last minute appointments (even one or two days out). They always offer the walk-in option but that only adds to the bill and you might have to wait several hours. Smaller vets don\\\'t seem to have this problem. Like us, several of our friends who have been at Adobe for years have started taking their business elsewhere. Why not leave a few spots open each day for last minute appointments?
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