Fred is a 17-year-old cat and he hates visits to the veterinarian.
He also despises leaving the house, which is his entire world and kingdom, for any reason at all.
When there's an attempt to get him into a cat carrier, he completely loses his mind and yowls non-stop, and with such painful emotion. He gets terrified and his little heart races.
It can be heartbreaking to have to subject him to such drama at his age and there is worry that the high stress will contribute to shortening his life.
And then a solution was stumbled upon.
Enter McLean House Call Veterinary Services, a mobile vet clinic that rolls right up to your home.
Outfitted with an array of equipment and tools found at a regular vet clinic, it's staffed by Dr. Felicia Uriarte, a veterinarian of 27 years, and her trusty assistant Tammy Kidd.
The large converted bus has an exam table, fridge to store vaccines, storage for medications, a weigh scale, a blood pressure machine, and more. They can take blood, collect urine, do a physical, and offer nutrition consultations. Any task that is done in the front office of a veterinary clinic, in most cases, can be performed here as well.
If more delicate or complicated work needs to be carried out, then the operation shifts to a veterinary clinic here in Barrie.
“I work one day a week at Baywood Animal Hospital. If I have a dog that needs a dental procedure or spay or neuter, nothing emergency-wise, then I book it into Baywood on Thursdays when I’m there,” Uriarte says.
Uriarte purchased the mobile operation from Dr. Glen McLean in 2008 when he retired from the business.
Kidd, meanwhile, manages all the scheduling and appointments, as well as co-ordinating the different geographical areas where the day’s appointments have been booked so that visits to clients is mapped out efficiently.
“I bought her with the business,” Uriarte says with a laugh. “She worked for Glen for 15 years prior to that.”
The clients and their pets have an experience that's much different than at a regular bricks-and-mortar vet clinic.
“I find clients open up to you more, because you’re driving right to their driveway. They come out in their pyjamas or pool clothes. We then take the animals into our space in the mobile clinic, because they generally behave a little better than inside their own house. And, of course, we do sometimes go into a home when a dog or a cat can’t get up for whatever reason,” Uriarte says.
“Animals get stressed going to a vet. I think that not having that car ride, for a lot of cats especially, is key," she adds. "Our goal is to have clients and their animals to have a less stressful experience.”
And Uriarte is right.
Fred is carried out and set down onto the steel exam table. And as he looks around the large, open space inside the vehicle, he is weighed, has his heartbeat checked and all without a whimper from him or the usual yowling that happens with a full-on, strapped-in-a-car trip across town to be set down in a waiting room with dogs barking and the like.
Fred’s as cool as a cucumber.
After a few minutes of discussing his ailment and a blood sample taken for diagnosis, which later turned out to be hyperthyroidism, an easily treatable malady in a cat of his age, he’s picked up and whisked back into the house where he's king again. All is well.
A happy furry patient also means a happy human client.
McLean House Call Veterinary Services is well-established with just over 1,000 clients. The patients are made up of approximately 600 dogs and 450 cats. The territorial area they service runs north to Elmvale, west to Angus, east to Hillsdale, and south to Gilford.
They can be reached by calling 705-722-7911 or emailing [email protected].
