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Area Vets Unite to Open Emergency Animal Clinic BREWER — A group of area veterinarians is teaming up to open Greater Bangor’s first after-hours emergency clinic for pets. The Eastern Maine Emergency Veterinary Clinic, slated to open soon at the Twin City Plaza on Wilson Street in Brewer, will offer medical treatment for pets on weekends, nights and holidays, when traditional veterinary practices are usually closed, according to documents submitted to the city.All patients, namely small animals, will be transferred out of the facility during regular business hours. While a first for this area, the Brewer-based emergency clinic would be the third of its kind to set up shop in Maine. First to be established was the Animal Emergency Clinic in Portland, which opened two years ago, while Lewiston’s Animal Emergency Clinic of Mid-Maine became the second when it opened two years ago. Dr. David Cloutier of the Veazie Veterinary Clinic, president of the limited liability corporation formed to establish the facility, expects the clinic to be up and running by May or June. The tentative office hours are 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. weekdays and around the clock weekends and holidays, he said. According to Cloutier, a consortium of about 25 veterinarians from several practices, including the Brewer Veterinary Clinic will operate the clinic. While most of the vets are from Greater Bangor, the corporation also includes members from as far away as Mount Desert Island, Belfast, Bucksport, Lincoln, Blue Hill, Gouldsboro and Corinth. Others may join later, he said. The group expects to draw patients from a wide area extending at least to Waterville. Cloutier said the group had many reasons for wanting to establish the emergency clinic. “Our clients expect a higher level of care,” he said. “They often don’t want to wait until morning [for treatment for their pets or answers to medical questions.” Cloutier said the group’s intent was to hire a veterinarian specializing in emergency services, or one with a talent for and strong interest in emergency cases. He added, however, that participating veterinarians might occasionally put in shifts at the clinic. The clinic’s opening is contingent upon site plan approval from the local planning board, which will take the issue up during its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, city planner Linda Johns said Friday. Also required is an ordinance amendment that would result in a definition of animal emergency clinics and the addition of such clinics to the list of permitted land uses in the city’s General Business zone, Johns said. The proposed changes were the subject of a recent public hearing of the City Council and planning board, which yielded no opposition. Some differences between a traditional veterinary clinic and the proposed emergency facility, Johns said, are that the emergency clinics do not house patients for extended stays and do not require outdoor accommodations such as kennels and runs. According to the veterinarian group’s application to the city, the clinic expects to provide emergency care to one to five patients on weeknights, with the highest volume expected on weekend days, when the practice projects up to 10 patients per day. Johns also noted that the Twin City Plaza site was suited to such a practice because it is handy to several major roads and it is easy to locate, which will be a benefit to those who aren’t familiar with the area. This is a copyright article written by Dawn Gagnon of the NEWS
Staff that appeared in the Bangor Daily News, Saturday, March 30, 2002.
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