Cats and Birds information on net.

BALDWINSVILLE - Holly R. Reid, D.V.M. is a busy small-animal veterinarian. With her partner Dr. Sandra J. Fitzpatrick, she owns the Beaver Lake Animal Hospital at 1528 West Genesee Road in Baldwinsville. On March 22 of this year, Reid opened a new business the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Center (VECCC) at 2115 Downer Street, also in Baldwinsville.

VECCC provides emergency and critical care to dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, and "pocket pets," which are hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Reid has worked as a small-animal veterinarian since she graduated from Cornell University in 1995, with experience in small-animal and exotic medicine, as well as emergency medicine and surgery.

Lest you think this capable veterinarian is also capable of being in two places at once, note that the Beaver Lake Animal Hospital is open during regular, day-time hours, while VECCC has overnight hours (open Monday through Thursday, from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m., and from 7 p.m. Friday through the weekend to 8 a.m. Monday). Reid explains, "I'm an adrenaline junkie. I thrive on emergencies. Recently, a client brought in her dog; the animal's heart and lungs had stopped working. We were able to revive it. That was very satisfying."

In addition to her satisfaction in being able to cope with emergency situations, Reid says she opened the emergency clinic to fill a market void. "The only local emergency clinic [for pets] was on Erie Boulevard in Syracuse." The nearest clinics outside Syracuse were in Rochester and Albany. "Our clinic pulls clients from Auburn, Fair Haven, south of Oswego, and west of Baldwinsville. It's accessible for people from southern Oswego County, western Cayuga County, and northern and western Onondaga County." She notes that it is located near Route 690.

The VECCC facility is 2,500 square feet in size.

"We employ one other full-time veterinarian, Dr. Kristen Grau," Reid says, "but we'll need to add another soon" because of the increasing amount of business. Five or six relief veterinarians help out at night and on the weekends.

There are two full-time veterinary technicians, and three to four technicians work at the clinic part-time on weekends. Three receptionists, four assistants, a practice manager, and an office manager, "who does just a little bit of everything," fill out the roster.

# posted by Medical Information : 5:05 AM