Animal Care Centre’s new location open for business

Times Reporter     

 

After months of anticipation the new Animal Care Centre facility is finally open. The staff at the centre is inviting the public to come out and see the new facility on Sept. 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a BBQ, door prizes, clinic tours and activities for the kids.

The Animal Care Centre has been a staple in Strathmore since 2007. It was late last month that the Centre officially moved and opened the doors to its new 10,000 square foot facility. 

The new location is just a few kilometres west of Strathmore on Highway 1. Thanks to the increased space the centre is now able to offer more services to their clients. 

“We have been just as busy as ever, lots of people are coming by. Our clients are wonderful, they’re so supportive and I really appreciate their patience through our move because we were closed for a few days,” said owner and veterinarian Jodi Viste.

“Now we can offer better services…(and) a large animal facility to be able to do everything in especially when it gets cold out. 

“I can provide just that much better service and my staff can have just that much better of an environment to work in and that is huge for me.”

Anyone who has joined the centre’s team has loved it and continues to work there today. Viste hopes they all plan to stay on with her well into the future. 

“Jodi is a spectacular vet and the front end staff is amazing. Between having some good veterinarians on board and having good support staff, and good reception staff that’s what makes this place run,” said Chelsey Chevrier who has been with Viste since the beginning.

“I’ve been a tech for seven or eight years now, I would say it’s pretty unbelievable, I wouldn’t have ever thought we would move to a 10,000 square foot building, it’s pretty amazing, but like I say it’s our staff that make it work.”

When the centre first opened in 2007 there were four staff members. Today there are five vets, four registered animal health techs, three tech assistants and three receptionists, and then cleaning staff and bookkeepers. Viste’s parents, who help with bookkeeping, have been a strong support system that helped her turn her centre into what it is today. She doesn’t think she could have done this without the support of her family and her husband. 

“It’s neat to have family involvement and do it together, it was a huge experience for my parents and I,” said Viste. 

Besides being a bigger facility, some of the services that can be offered at the Animal Care Centre include X-Rays for equine lameness, which are digital and portable and ultrasound capabilities for equine and bovine pregnancy. There is an in-house pharmacy, in-house laboratory, emergency services, isolation ward, digital radiology, five examination rooms for companion animals and a grooming salon run by Prairie Paws. 

With the new facility staff are able to offer soft tissue surgeries, spays, neuters, orthopedic surgeries, eye surgeries and dentistry – in addition to routine vaccinations, examinations, ear and eye exams and additional kennel space.