The Amherst Small Animal Hospital was originally started by Dr. Clair Joslyn in 1939. The central core of our present building was constructed at that time. Dr. Joslyn passed away shortly there after and his widow sold the practice to a previously retired veterinarian, Dr. Charlie Danforth in 1942. Dr. Danforth nurtured the “Danforth Animal Hospital†for 7 years until a new graduate from Cornell’s Class of ’49 named Jack McCormick negotiated the purchase of the Hospital for the then large sum of $10,000.00. The practice was renamed the Amherst Small Animal Hospital. Dr. Danforth worked for Dr. McCormick for 4 more years before seriously retiring in 1953.
Dr. McCormick guided this practice through many changes. Numerous rebuilding projects were needed to expand the size of the facility to keep pace with the growing clientele. Originally, like many practices of the time, Dr. McCormick’s family resided in the upper floor of the hospital building. Gradually the living space was converted to Hospital work space as the needs of the practice grew. Our spacious operating room, for instance, used to be Dr. McCormick’s living room when he lived here. Many of our area veterinarians gained their start as an associate of Dr. McCormick’s.
It was in ’79 that Dr. Mick Weirich, then a long time associate with the practice, took the reins. Dr. Weirich, a graduate of Michigan State University in the late 1960s, maintained the facility as a full service practice, providing boarding and grooming, until his departure in 1989.
It was in 1989 that Dr. Bob Stein took ownership of the Amherst Small Animal Hospital. Dr. Stein graduated from Michigan State University in 1980, finishing second in his class. The MSU Faculty awarded Dr. Stein the prestigious American Animal Hospital Association Senior Student Award given to the student demonstrating the best overall proficiency in small animal medicine and surgery. Spurred on by his interest for more knowledge, Dr. Stein decided not to enter practice directly. He chose instead to apply to the highly selective Veterinary Intern Matching Program. To Dr. Stein’s good fortune, he was selected by The University of Minnesota for their Surgical Internship. During the Internship, Dr. Stein studied advanced internal medicine and surgery under the watchful eye of nationally renown specialists.
In 1983 Dr. Stein came on staff at the Amherst Small Animal Hospital. In 1989 he took over full ownership and immediately began to modernize the practice from the ground up. Appointments times have been quadrupled to allow for more client education and true owner involvement in the health care decision making process. A computerized records system was installed to improve the accuracy and timeliness of our reminder system. Equipment purchases in all areas of the Hospital were added to strengthen our in-patient diagnostic capabilities and treatment programs. Included were new X-ray equipment, state of the art anesthesia equipment including university level anesthetic safety monitors, surgery lights, intravenous infusion pumps for precise delivery of IV fluids, a fiber optic endoscope for internal examinations without surgery, extensive in-house laboratory equipment, cutting edge dental equipment, and much more.
The newest addition to the hospital is The Animal Pain Management Center,
which Dr. Stein created as a referral center to improve the quality of life for
pets with chronic and post surgical pain
We hope that you find the newest Amherst Small Animal Hospital a modern, pleasant setting for the health care needs of your pet. We hope to continue in the tradition of excellence set by past owners as we look ahead to the future.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Stein, D.V.M.
Hospital Director