Vets Around the Corner

by Dan Cearns

SCUGOG: For veterinarians Dr. Devon Barnes and Dr. Lindsay Patterson, the focus is on creating a comfortable and “fear free” environment for pets at Vets Around the Corner in Port Perry.

“We treat every pet like it is our own,” Dr. Barnes told The Standard.

Their website describes the services at the local clinic as “individualized, collaborative, and compassionate care.”

“Our goal is to be warm and inviting at every stage of a client’s visit. Our team members who greet everyone up front are quite good at that. We want people to feel welcome. We want them to feel heard when they’re in appointments with us and have concerns about their pets,” Dr. Patterson stated.

Dr. Barnes encourages clients to always ask questions and to have an open conversation with their veterinarian.

When the pair were first setting up the business, there was a focus on making sure they could offer a plethora of services in house. To reach this goal, they brought in state-of-the-art lab equipment, an ultrasound machine and an x-ray machine as well.

Including their high school experiences, Dr. Barnes brings 18 years of experience and Dr. Patterson brings 21 years of experience to the job.

“I had the opportunity in Grade 11 to do a co-op position at the vet clinic across the road from my school and I just fell in love with it. That was it for me,” Dr. Patterson explained.

Dr. Barnes stated she “really liked the variety that comes with veterinary medicine” such as working with different species of animals.

Dr. Patterson likened veterinary medicine to the television show ‘House’, with every case being a puzzle to solve. “I like the puzzle the animals bring to it. Every pet is different. All the various animals are different, and they can’t tell us what’s wrong.”

Dr. Barnes called it “very rewarding” when they find the “answer to that puzzle.”

Both veterinarians have found that they work really well together on these cases. They had met at a previous clinic. “In the first couple of days we worked together, we both just kind of clicked,” Dr. Patterson said.

Along with most of their team, the two hosted a grand opening for Port Perry’s newest pet clinic, located at 14990 Simcoe Street, on a gorgeous day in September.

“It was just a beautiful example of Port Perry. We felt really welcomed. There were so many people who came to meet us and tour our hospital, including the “staff only” areas,” Dr. Barnes said. “What we’re trying to move away from is this scary feeling where you come to the vet and go into an exam room, and if your pet has to be taken away for any reason, you don’t know where they’re going. Or if you’re dropping them off for surgery, you have no idea what that looks like. So really getting that opportunity to tour people through was great so they can see what our treatment room looks like, what our kennels look like, what the surgery suites look like so the visit doesn’t have that element of unknown.”

For more information on Vets Around the Corner, go online to vetsaroundthecorner.com or call 905-985-5600.