A doggone lasting legacy: Vet clinic marks 75 years

Blanchard Valley Veterinary Clinic is celebrating 75 years in business this year. Dr. Tony Fuller, veterinarian and owner of the practice, said when the clinic opened in 1946 it treated mostly large animals, as at that time there were a lot of dairy cows in Hancock County. Shortly after he bought the practice in March 2011, Fuller realized it had outgrown its space. In 2015, the clinic moved to its current location at 1611 N. Main St. But it continued to grow. "We need more space, even now," Fuller said. He said the practice has grown in part because of the foundation of all the veterinarians who have helped built it over the years. He said he feels a sense of "standing on the shoulders of giants." While the clinic had primarily seen animals for wellness visits and minor illnesses earlier in Fuller's tenure, today it functions — despite the "clinic" name — as more of a hospital in some regards. The facility operates as sort of an "urgent care" later in the day, Fuller said. Fuller has been a veterinarian for 23 years, and has seen some families through the lifespan of multiple pets, from kitten or puppy to old age. He called following an animal throughout its life "one of the biggest joys" of the profession. His own family includes a Lhasapoo, a Yorkie, three cats and a bearded dragon. And, while the pets are the patients, the veterinarians also get to know their patients' humans. Fuller noted that the team can't care for pets well without getting information from their owners. He emphasized that the clinic's entire staff plays a role in providing good care for pets. "It's absolutely not me. … It is the whole team that makes Blanchard Valley what it is," he said. The clinic has a staff of about 20, and Fuller said each of the veterinarians has clients who ask specifically for them. He noted that Dr. Tyler Fields, for example, has a passion for exotic animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs and gerbils, as well as birds. People bring these animals to Fields from as far away as Bowling Green, Wapakoneta, Lima and Fremont. And Fuller shared one recent story of a dog who had made an emergency visit due to a bloated, twisted stomach. Fields diagnosed the problem and Dr. Kara Schmidt performed surgery. Fuller noted that the two younger veterinarians, who started at the practice in 2018, didn't need to ask Fuller questions, even though it was a complicated case. The nurses, too, "just know what to do," he said. The practice recently added a new veterinarian, Dr. Chelsea Naylor. Fuller said he encourages everyone to pursue what they love to do. Schmidt, for example, has a passion for laparoscopy and endoscopy, so they have added some of these services to the practice. Just as with surgery on humans, it's now possible to do some types of surgery on animals laparoscopically with just a small incision. It makes recovery from, for example, being spayed easier on the animal, he said. In spring 2020, the practice shifted to providing curbside care. A member of the clinic's staff would meet the pet owner in the parking lot, take the pet inside the clinic, then bring it back to the car where the owner had been waiting. (An exception was that, if an animal was being euthanized, the owner could be present.) Fuller said some pets get "very, very nervous" when they come in to the vet. The animals were less so when they came in without their owners, the veterinarians found. He said dogs, for example, tend to want to "protect the space around the pack," and when their humans aren't there, it becomes less of an issue. The veterinarians also found communication with the owners was in some ways easier with curbside care, perhaps because owners weren't distracted by trying to calm a wiggly dog and could just listen attentively. Fuller said that, though the practice is now providing in-person care, they hope to use what they learned during the pandemic to improve this communication going forward. The clinic was kept busier during the pandemic because so many people adopted new animals, seeing 15 to 20 new pets each week at one point. Fuller said his goal for the future is that the clinic remains locally owned. This face, he said, "still means something" to people in Findlay. Arthurs: 419-427-8494