HILLSBURGH – Graham Animal Hospital is celebrating three decades of veterinary service to the pets of Hillsburgh and surrounding areas.
The clinic was opened in May of 1995 by Dr. Carol Graham. With the help of veterinary technician Michelle Cullis, Graham worked to deliver excellent veterinary care and client service, with a small-town feel and sense of community.
“We are one of the few privately owned practices,” said manager Allison Rice.
“More and more clinics are being owned by corporations and we are committed to staying privately owned; that’s something that’s really important to us.”
The clinic has remained in the same location, 98 Trafalgar Rd. N., since its opening.
“We went through a big expansion (in 2019),” said Rice.
“When the Wellington County library was gifted a property in Hillsburgh, kind of around the corner, they moved from talking over half of the building that we’re in and so at that point we were able to expand the clinic.”
While the clinic does offer typical veterinary services for cats and dogs, it also specializes in small animal reproduction, drawing in clients from as far as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and parts of the U.S.
“We assist people with everything from breeding of dogs and cats [and] C sections,” said Rice.
“We will take on referral cases from other clinics for reproductive health concerns and things that other clinics may not be equipped to handle.”
The clinic also offers 24/7 emergency care for clients.
“If you’re a client of ours and you have an emergency in the middle of the night, we’re not going to send you away to a clinic that you’re not familiar with,” said Rice.
“Our technicians are on call to deal with your emergency.”
“You have to be a special person to be willing to stay on call and be willing to drop everything, wake up in the middle of the night and come into the clinic,” she continued.
Clinic founder Dr. Graham still practices and officials say clients from all over the country and the U.S. make the trip to Hillsburgh in search of her expertise.
The clinic faced a plethora of challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The clinic was forced to perform “roadside care” and the staff was divided into two groups to ensure the clinic could always operate, even if someone was exposed to the virus.
“I think it spoke a lot to the way that we are with our clients that they stuck with us through it,” Rice told the Advertiser.
She added the clinic is proud to share its knowledge with the next generation of veterinarians.
“We often have students coming through our clinic, either veterinary students or technician students,” said Rice.
“We’re really proud of our willingness to share our knowledge and grow the next generation of veterinary people.
“It speaks to our commitment to the whole industry.”
