In 1985, Dr.
Steve Barten and I took a huge leap of faith and bought a business called
Vernon Hills Animal Hospital. The
practice was the neglected child of the previous veterinarian-owner. He was busy with his other two practices, so
this one was open only a few hours a day. It had dated, beat-up medical equipment;
homely linoleum floors; decor dating to the early disco era; and a very short
client roster. But both of us badly
needed a change and wanted to be our own bosses, so we plunked down our
hard-earned money and took out some loans.
Sometimes, naiveté is a good thing!
There was an
atmosphere of excitement when I rallied the troops, those being the two
employees of my mobile veterinary practice and some employees with whom Dr.
Barten and I had worked in our previous jobs.
Elation soon
gave way to a certain degree of dismay as we gathered to clean up the
place. The building housing the clinic
was a single-family home, built in 1952 and showing all of its 33 years. Mouse poop was ubiquitous, even scattered in
the rattletrap drawers and cabinets.
One exam room was huge, but there was no good way to convert it into two
rooms, as we had planned to do. And the
medical records were written on 5-by-7-inch cardstock, circa 1960.
With lots of
elbow grease and determination, we scrubbed until the place was clean and
sanitary, and we painted the walls. We
replaced the obsolete medical record system and bought computers to generate
invoices. Over the years, as we could
afford it, we purchased all new medical equipment. They say you can’t make a silk purse out of a
sow’s ear, but that never stopped us from trying!
Old and new
clients alike made appointments, and we were off and running. Now we’ve been in practice long enough that
we’re seeing the fourth generation of pets belonging to our longtime clients,
and we even see their children’s and grandchildren’s pets.
I still
fondly recall many of our original patients, who have since passed away. Sadly, we’ve also seen the passing of some of
the clients themselves, as well as two employees. I think of them often, especially with the
approach of a milestone at VHAH: our 30th
anniversary. April 15 is the big day, and
to honor present and past patients and their people, I’d like to have photos —lots
of photos! We’re always happy to see
great pictures of your current critters, but we’d also like to remember the
ones who are no longer with us.
Please send
me pictures of your pals via either snail mail (we’ll return ’em) or email (MMcCulloughDVM@gmail.com), and include a
short description (50 words or fewer). We’ll
post them on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or our bulletin board for everyone to
enjoy. Your photo will serve as an entry
in regular prize drawings that will take place through the remainder of this
anniversary year. Each month, one person
will win a gift basket and two more will win $20 VHAH gift certificates.
Our
clients have helped make our animal hospital a success, and we are grateful to
you all. Thank you for helping us
celebrate this occasion!
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