Our Services

Preventative Care

• Preventative care is your pet’s first line of defense.
  Annual head to tail exams help by preventing, diagnosing and treating disease in its early stages, often before any noticeable symptoms begin. 

• Vaccinations are highly effective against preventing potentially detrimental or deadly diseases like rabies, distemper, feline leukemia, parvovirus, lyme disease, rabies, and bordatella.

• Diseases can be detected and treated through routine annual labwork. We encourage and have the ability to run in-house heartworm/tick transmitted disease panels, FELV/FIV testing, diagnostic bloodwork and urinalysis, fecals, and more-in depth tests which are sent out to reference laboratories. 

• Proper parasite control can help prevent and eliminate intestinal parasites (which humans can contract also) along with fleas and ticks that can infest our homes and spread infectious diseases.

Dental Care

• Dental disease affects approximately 85% of pets over the age of four. Not only can dental disease cause pain, eating problems, and tooth loss, but as it progresses bacteria can also spread to the kidneys, liver and heart and cause severe organ disease.

• It’s important to start your pets on dental hygiene routines when your pets are still young. Routine dental cleanings at Stuga North Veterinary Care should be done in conjunction with daily at-home care, like toothbrushing. Caring for your pet’s teeth improves your pet’s longevity and quality of life. 

• Stuga North offers a wide variety of pet dental services, including:

  • Routine dental cleanings

  • Polishing

  • Exodontics (extractions)

  • Periodontics (treatment of periodontal disease)

  • Treatment of oral cancers

  • Treatment of severe gingivitis, and stomatitis

  • Digital dental x-rays, which allow us to see dental disease beneath the gumline

Surgery

Surgery is an effective way to treat many serious injuries and disorders. We are proud to offer state-of-the-art surgical facilities and equipment. Our hospital provides a large number of surgical services ranging from standard spaying and neutering to more advanced procedures including soft tissue surgery, ophthalmic procedures, dentistry, cesarean sections, foreign body removal, bladder stone removal.

Health Certificates

• Preparing your pet for travel can be an involved process. It’s important to be aware of exactly what will be required for your animal companion to make the trip, no matter if you’ll be traveling internationally or across state lines.

• For pets, both international and domestic travel often require an official CVI (certificate of veterinary inspection)–also referred to as a health certificate. While the certificate must be prepared by a USDA-accredited veterinarian, the requirements for entry are established by each individual country, state or territory. 

• To keep travel with your pet as stress-free as possible, please consider the following steps:

  Research the most current requirements for your destination on the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) page from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) site. We recommend that you print all pertinent information and forms and bring these to all appointments for your pet prior to your travel day.

  Alert our front desk that you are scheduling an appointment for a health certificate and please provide your specific destination. This information will allow us to be prepared to advise you regarding specific requirements and to schedule necessary future appointments.

  Expedite the completion of required forms by providing us, via email, with important details of your travel, such as destination address, travel date and medical history (including vaccinations that were administered elsewhere). Arrive early to your appointments to complete important forms and allow us to confirm your needs.

• Plan to schedule your pet’s final pre-travel exam at the first possible date within the travel window required by your destination authority. For most destinations, a veterinarian must confirm current health status by performing a complete physical exam within 10 days of travel and completing this step as early as possible will ensure that your International Health Certificate will be completed in time. This appointment will involve completing the forms that you must then send to the USDA/APHIS office (out of state) for final endorsement, typically via overnight/FedEx/ 

• Please note that your airline may have different travel requirements than your destination. Check with your airline for specific requirements for your flight (e.g. pre-flight arrival times, travel carrier specifications, etc.).

Microchipping

• Nearly 1 in 3 pets will become lost during their lives. Microchip implants are an incredibly simple, inexpensive and effective way to find lost pets, keeping them out of  animal shelters and back where they belong. These tiny chips serve as a permanent pet identification system that cannot be removed or damaged, reuniting you and your pet quickly. 

• The microchip is contained in a biocompatible capsule smaller than a grain of rice, ensuring that the device is non-toxic, hypoallergenic and completely safe. An easy, nearly pain-free procedure then places the transponder just under the skin where a special biopolymer keeps the device in place. These microchips are rated for 25 years, meaning they never need to be removed or recharged during your pet’s lifetime.

• The transponder works by passively transmitting radio waves with an animal-specific tracking number that, when connected to the central database, displays the pet’s name and owner contact information. Should your pet run away or get lost, a simple scan of the chip will allow the proper authorities to determine the owner’s identity and return the animal accordingly.

Senior Animals

• Just like people, the medical needs of senior animals change over time. In fact, pets age at nearly seven times the rate humans do. As your cat or dog gets older they require different nutrition programs, exercise routines and are prone to a variety of new diseases.

• Common age-related diseases Stuga North can help in diagnosing and treating include:

  • Kidney and liver disease

  • Intestinal disorders

  • Endocrine disease including diabetes and hypothyroid

  • Bone and joint disease

  • Cardiovascular and pulmonary disease

  • Advanced periodontal disease

  • Cancer

Behavior

While pets can’t tell directly us what is wrong, observing their behavior can reveal underlying issues that may need to be addressed. Behavioral problems are often a result of social, environment and medical conditions. Unwanted pet behavior can often be improved through pet education and consistent training. We have such a rich resource of trainers and behaviorists in our community that we regularly refer many patients to regularly.

Advanced
Diagnostics

• Stuga North features some of the most advanced veterinary diagnostic technologies in the Upper Peninsula. Our facilities include:

• Laboratory. We have an in-house laboratory in which we can perform many blood tests within minutes. In the event of an emergency, this can give us the necessary information on how to proceed with treatment. Major blood exams are sent to various laboratories including Idexx, Michigan State University, and others. 

• Advanced imaging

  • Ultrasound: Ultrasonography is a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique that enables us to see soft tissue and organs under the skin. Our state-of-the-art imaging allows us to interpret in-house but also send in for ultrasonographic interpretation. 

  • Digital x-ray: We use our full-body along with more detailed dental machines to instantly detect skeletal fractures, soft tissue damage, foreign bodies and dental disease.

  • Therapy laser: Our class IV medical Summus laser combines wavelengths, pulsing and power to achieve unparalleled therapeutic effects including reduction in pain, accelerated cellular recovery and increased circulation.

Emergency

We offer 24/7 emergency care to our patients. We have a direct number to our veterinary team that we share with all clients on their first visit so we can provide personalized, reliable care.