
The Absolute Joy of a One Room Clinic
-Helen Morrison, Board President
Imagine, if you will, a simpler time.
Imagine, if you will, a time when vets practiced in small, warm rural hospitals.
Imagine, if you will, when those vets knew every owner and animal by name, their history, their struggles, their joys.
And now, imagine, if you will, a return to that gentler, sane, quiet, personable practice of caring for animals....right in a deliciously bright and sunny and very well-equipped one room clinic….right in our very own Kingdom Animal Shelter for our very own, very precious cats.
For years, St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital and Western Ave Vet Clinic have served Kingdom Animal Shelter with love and care and skill. But Kingdom Animal Hospital could no longer give us the daily intake care we needed. They were just too busy. And so, one of our volunteers, Andrea Chiesa, a CVT (certified vet technician) spoke with Dr. Sally Schlueter (retired vet from East Haven Veterinary Service) about setting up a one room clinic in Kingdom Animal Shelter’s Medical Suite. And a beautiful, joyous journey began, a journey that gives the best of care and attention and love to our incoming new cats and our resident cats.
So, let me take you on a little bit of that journey. I have been present over the past weeks, watching Dr. Sally and Andrea give their best to wee kittens coming in, treat kittens that have a serious illness, make plans for some of our elder kitties with heart issues or kidney disease. I have watched them plan and organize and set up an amazing one room clinic, complete with almost all the meds and supplements one would need, and the equipment any good small clinic would have...an autoclave, a centrifuge (donated by the Cabot School), surgical table, surgical equipment, all the tools they need. They have the capability now to send out our own lab work, blood and stool sampling, do physicals, vaccinations, test for FeLV/FIV. Dr. Sally has wonderful connections with various suppliers and labs that will help KAS save money.
Andrea is very excited by this new adventure. She has been a vet tech for many years, but was getting burned out in the day to day business of veterinary care, the stress and tension, yet she didn’t want to give up on caring for cats. And she knew that the Shelter was having difficulty recently getting the care needed for the cats. This became the perfect solution...an in-house shelter clinic, working with Dr. Sally.
Dr Sally immediately jumped into action, setting up accounts with suppliers, making lists of what would be needed. Our financial guy, Fred Saar, did all that was necessary to get the ball rolling and the dream quickly became a reality in front of our eyes.
It is all unbelievably exciting. To be present with Andrea and Dr. Sally in our clinic is like being in the warm sunlight, with joy and love and calmness all around. It is obvious that they love being in this one room clinic, whether it is working on something very serious or doing something fun like giving our new cat, Peaches, a much needed lion cut.
As Dr. Sally said of our new clinic:
“Yes, the calmness and centered feel of a one room practice is what fits my veterinary passion…so nice to be taking care of one client, the Shelter, and focus on medical attention and preventative care for cats that just need a home and a break! I had at one point in my career thought a cat only practice would be my best way to enjoy being a veterinarian …I must have put that out in the universe!
And, what a joy to reconnect and work with Andrea, we’re a great team!!!”
And indeed they are a “great team”...they are the very best.
-Helen Morrison, Board President
Imagine, if you will, a simpler time.
Imagine, if you will, a time when vets practiced in small, warm rural hospitals.
Imagine, if you will, when those vets knew every owner and animal by name, their history, their struggles, their joys.
And now, imagine, if you will, a return to that gentler, sane, quiet, personable practice of caring for animals....right in a deliciously bright and sunny and very well-equipped one room clinic….right in our very own Kingdom Animal Shelter for our very own, very precious cats.
For years, St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital and Western Ave Vet Clinic have served Kingdom Animal Shelter with love and care and skill. But Kingdom Animal Hospital could no longer give us the daily intake care we needed. They were just too busy. And so, one of our volunteers, Andrea Chiesa, a CVT (certified vet technician) spoke with Dr. Sally Schlueter (retired vet from East Haven Veterinary Service) about setting up a one room clinic in Kingdom Animal Shelter’s Medical Suite. And a beautiful, joyous journey began, a journey that gives the best of care and attention and love to our incoming new cats and our resident cats.
So, let me take you on a little bit of that journey. I have been present over the past weeks, watching Dr. Sally and Andrea give their best to wee kittens coming in, treat kittens that have a serious illness, make plans for some of our elder kitties with heart issues or kidney disease. I have watched them plan and organize and set up an amazing one room clinic, complete with almost all the meds and supplements one would need, and the equipment any good small clinic would have...an autoclave, a centrifuge (donated by the Cabot School), surgical table, surgical equipment, all the tools they need. They have the capability now to send out our own lab work, blood and stool sampling, do physicals, vaccinations, test for FeLV/FIV. Dr. Sally has wonderful connections with various suppliers and labs that will help KAS save money.
Andrea is very excited by this new adventure. She has been a vet tech for many years, but was getting burned out in the day to day business of veterinary care, the stress and tension, yet she didn’t want to give up on caring for cats. And she knew that the Shelter was having difficulty recently getting the care needed for the cats. This became the perfect solution...an in-house shelter clinic, working with Dr. Sally.
Dr Sally immediately jumped into action, setting up accounts with suppliers, making lists of what would be needed. Our financial guy, Fred Saar, did all that was necessary to get the ball rolling and the dream quickly became a reality in front of our eyes.
It is all unbelievably exciting. To be present with Andrea and Dr. Sally in our clinic is like being in the warm sunlight, with joy and love and calmness all around. It is obvious that they love being in this one room clinic, whether it is working on something very serious or doing something fun like giving our new cat, Peaches, a much needed lion cut.
As Dr. Sally said of our new clinic:
“Yes, the calmness and centered feel of a one room practice is what fits my veterinary passion…so nice to be taking care of one client, the Shelter, and focus on medical attention and preventative care for cats that just need a home and a break! I had at one point in my career thought a cat only practice would be my best way to enjoy being a veterinarian …I must have put that out in the universe!
And, what a joy to reconnect and work with Andrea, we’re a great team!!!”
And indeed they are a “great team”...they are the very best.