Kingdom Animal Shelter
(802) 473 - 3377
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​A Tribute to St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital
 
-Rod Lauman, Board member
 
A couple months ago, I featured Western Avenue Vet Clinic in the Shelter newsletter.  Western Avenue Vet Clinic was one of the two clinics that KAS worked with primarily over the years to get our cats checked into the Shelter.  They also got those cats that needed it back to good health.
 
This month, I would like to talk about St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital. This clinic was owned by Dr. Rob and Kris Hoppe.  It functioned for many years at the foot of the Portland St. Bridge in St. Johnsbury.
 
When cats come into our Shelter, their needs vary greatly. Some are kittens and have very different needs than middle-aged or older cats. Dr. Rob Hoppe and Dr. Shawntel Sechrist were always so helpful and tried their best to help everybody. Some situations were very involved and they always gave of their time to assist with each medical situation.
 
Many of the readers of this newsletter have probably taken their cats to this clinic for many years. I got my first cat from St Johnsbury Animal Hospital in April of 1994. At that time, there were no shelters in the area and Western Ave and St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital were the de facto shelters for the area. The white cat I adopted, Victoria, had been thrown off the Portland St. Bridge along with her litter mates. The party that threw them off had come by to surrender them. When they were told there was no space for the kittens, they just threw them off the bridge. Victoria and a couple others made it and a good Samaritan brought several of the kittens to the clinic.
 
Many that went there will recall the wonderful staff that worked there for many years. Besides Dr. Hoppe and his wife Kris who was the office manager, the front desk was always staffed with familiar faces. Longtime staff included Jill, Billie, Marie White, Stacey, Felicia and, of course, Debbie. Some folks will still remember Dr. Pat and Dr. Carol as well. They all gave the clinic a very personal hometown feel, knew everybody and truly cared about the animals and the clients.
 
I had a chance to sit down and chat with Debbie Locke recently. She was the one you would call in a panic with a sick animal and she would make you feel better and get you an appointment as needed. She would give good advice about behavioral problems and knew just what to do for kittens. She came with the property, so to speak, and worked there for the vet that owned the practice before Rob Hoppe did. She had many fond recollections of her many years working there. She started with Dr. Hoppe in 1990. They taught her all the necessary skills including surgical and client relations.
 
Debbie said she really enjoyed working with KAS and especially all the behind-the-scenes volunteers that came in with the cats. She said that without the shelter there would be many cats out there not being taken care of.
 
I always brought all my cats there over the years, and still have the sympathy cards from them for each one of my cats that has passed. They were very caring that way and it was a piece in time that will be missed by all the clients that went there and by KAS.

Kingdom Animal Shelter
1161 Portland St.
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819


Kingdom Animal Shelter is a non-profit
certified 501(c) (3),
animal rescue organization. 
Please contact us at [email protected] for our 501(c)(3) ID.

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