Monday, March 01, 2010
Vet on wheels: Furry Friends Veterinary Clinic
Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times
Kathren Tucker holds Beth Foye's dog Tusker before examining it for heartworms.
The traveling clinic contains an X-ray machine, a surgical unit, lab and computer equipment behind its latched white cabinets.
Dr. Melanie Crovo (left) and veterinary assistant Kathren Tucker draw blood from Mike Harper's dog Guinness at the Furry Friends Veterinary Clinic.
Nona Nelson, The Happy Wag
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If you've ever had to finesse a feisty feline into a carrier, calm a panicked pooch in a waiting room or manage traffic with multiple critters in your car, you know that a trip to the veterinarian's office can be a dreadful experience.
Some pet parents choose to avoid most of this drama by having the veterinarian's office come to them.
Dr. Melanie Crovo, 43, takes her practice on the road with the Furry Friends Veterinary Clinic, a 26-foot-long rolling medical office that combines modern veterinary technology with old-fashioned house calls.
From what I observed accompanying Crovo and her assistant Kathren Tucker on a few home visits, they make a visit from the doctor less stressful and almost fun for the patients and the clients.
Making house calls
Stormy is a 5-month-old, gray-and-white kitten who lives on Roanoke's east side. He eyed Crovo and Tucker suspiciously, and despite their gentle care and soft-spoken reassurances, he loudly protested during most of his examination.
But within minutes of getting his vaccines, he was happily back inside his house, watching the mobile unit back its way down his narrow street.
For Stormy's owner, Dana Boyd, having the vet come to her is valuable service.
"This is absolutely wonderful," she said. As the owner of two businesses, she said the convenience of the mobile clinic helps her manage her schedule.
Crovo said Furry Friends has a mixed bag of clients. Families with very large or very nervous pets, or pets who don't fare well in waiting rooms, appreciate not having the stress of transporting the patient.
The three dogs of Beth Foye and Mike Harper fit those descriptions. Guinness is a Newfoundland and Australian shepherd mix, and while he is playful, "he is not necessarily good with other dogs," Foye said.
Stella, perhaps a hound/spaniel mix, and Tusker, likely a Chihuaua/dachshund mix, are both shy and apprehensive. The couple found the pair wandering the Blue Ridge Parkway last summer.
Getting all three dogs tested for heartworms, and getting three negative results, in front of the couple's home in Roanoke's Old Southwest neighborhood made things easier for everyone.
Going mobile
Crovo decided to untether her practice from a traditional office in May 2008, when a proposed rent increase at her former Stewartsville location inspired her to look for another space.
Since then, she is a doctor with broad borders, treating dogs and cats all over Roanoke, Salem and Vinton as well as parts of Botetourt and Bedford counties.
The cleverly decorated exterior of the rolling office serves as a billboard and has proven an effective advertising tool. Crovo said once a new client called for an appointment while following the unit in traffic.
The mobile unit, made by the Ohio-based company LaBoit, feels more spacious than it really is. Only 8 feet wide, the traveling clinic contains an X-ray machine, a surgical unit, lab and computer equipment behind its latched white cabinets.
There are very few procedures that Crovo can't do in her mobile office, but she does not offer overnight care and refers patients who need hospitalization to other doctors or the emergency veterinary service.
Most surgical procedures, she said, can be done on an outpatient basis, and she feels the animals are more comfortable recovering with their families.
"I'd rather they be home where someone will be with them overnight," she said.
Crovo relies on her assistant Jennie Hampton to plot the logistics of each day's appointments. Hampton said she usually can work out a smooth flow, but Crovo does see patients on an emergency basis as well, so the day on the road may not follow a linear path.
The harsh winter has presented only a few challenges. Appointments had to be rescheduled only once during the worst of this season's snowstorms.
More personal care
By not juggling multiple exam rooms as she once did in her 3,000-square-foot office, Crovo said she feels the cozy mobile unit "allows us to be more personal and efficient."
"I'm not distracted or pulled in 100 different directions."
The clinic is on the road four days each week and is parked on Wednesdays at a storefront that Crovo rents on Stewartsville Road in Bedford County. This allows Furry Friends a place to sell pet-related items, accept supply deliveries and still see patients not far from where the former office was located.
Crovo said she retained most of her clients when she moved the practice into the clinic-on-wheels.
"Some were worried how it was going to go, but they seem to be satisfied with the service."
Nona Nelson's column runs every other Monday in Extra.
