“But I feel like we’re going to keep this
up for the next few months. I know if we can
do this in the summer, we can do it in the
winter,” he says. In addition to the heat of
summer, many days required umbrellas and
rain coats to keep staffers and pets dry.
Preparing for the future
Thrown in the mix of caring for animals
and a steady stream of clients was a major
expansion project which had started several
months before Jousan or others had heard
of coronavirus. Plans had been in the works
for several years to move forward with
expanding the clinic and in November 2019,
construction started.
The clinic is going from about 900
square feet to about 3,000 square feet.
“We’ll be a lot more efficient,” Jousan
says. “We’ll have our own dental room, our
own surgery suite, our own surgery and
intensive care unit — just an upgrade with
what we’ve had.”
Jousan’s philosophy follows a very
hands-on level of care for every animal
coming into the clinic.
“We believe I should lay my eyes on
everything, even if it’s just for a rabies shot,
we still talk about a whole wide array of
what might be needed,” he says. Like most
areas of science and technology, the field of
veterinary medicine has evolved in recent
years.
“We may sometimes spend too much
time talking to people and may even over
explain things, but I feel we’re here to
answer your questions,” Jousan says.
“We want to talk not only about what’s
going on now, but what’s going to be going
on in the future, because we’re trying to
give you the most quality time you can
have with each pet and have them to be the
happiest they can be while you have them.”
That leads to better pet/client
relationships and strengthens the human/
animal bond he and the staff have with the
pet owner.
“We’re expanding to serve the
community better in a more efficient
manner, we want to be here for them,” he
says.
While he does work some with larger
animals, Jousan says about 98-99 percent of
the clinic’s work is with smaller animals.
“We do a little horse work and a lot with
4-H kids who have a goat or a cow, but most
of those are very
well maintained
where they don’t
need a lot of help,”
he says. “If I can
hire an additional
vet in the future I’d
like to expand some
of the services we
offer like at-home
services, calls for
horses and cows,
but just right here,
with the staff we
have, it’s hard to
leave to go out and
take care of one client for two hours when
we have so many waiting here.”
Keeping educated on the latest
treatments, procedures and drugs is a
never-ending process.
“They say that medicine swaps about
every seven to 10 years, so most of the stuff
we’re doing now, the drugs we’re using,
weren’t even available 15 years ago,” he
says. “It’s an ever changing market of
newer, better, safer procedures — we’ve
changed a lot just since I’ve been here.”
Changing with the times, and a focus
on personal one-on-one care for pets and
their owners, continues to be a hallmark for
Jousan and his staff as they move through
the pandemic and other challenges that
might be placed before them now and in
the future.
Business MATTERS | 2020 Fall Edition 7