CWEnder Dr. Pamela Clary, DVM has just opened CWE Veterinary Clinic in the Lindell Marketplace at 4131 Lindell Blvd. Dr. Clary, above, was photographed beneath a Henryk Ptasiewicz painting that’s hanging prominently in the clinic’s reception area.
After graduating with a degree in veterinary medicine from Oklahoma State University in 1992, Dr. Clary worked in a veterinary ER in Collinsville, IL for 8 years, and then operated a mobile veterinary service, which is how we met. She has also performed as many as 8,000 low-cost spay/neuter operations over the years as her way of giving back to the community. She works regularly with 2 non-profit organizations in Alton, IL , and last weekend took her 34′ mobile van equipped with a state-of-the-art surgery suite to help Animal Control perform spay/neuter surgeries in St. Ann.
Dr. Clary decided this was a perfect time to open a veterinary clinic in the CWE, because “People are moving here like crazy, so it was an easy decision, especially since I live nearby.” CWE Veterinary Clinic is located in a 4,000 s.f. space at the east end of the Lindell Marketplace. The storefront, formerly a doctor’s office, needed only minor renovations and opened for business last week.
Management of the clinic’s operation is totally digital. Jackie, the vet technician, can schedule appointments 7 days a week (in the clinic or house calls) via 2 phones and 2 iPads, so clients can text, email, or contact the office via Facebook. Jackie also handles scheduling for the mobile unit. In addition, the clinic offers FaceTime consultations to handle questions following surgery or an office visit. CWE Veterinary Clinic also offers an online pharmacy service that delivers to your door.
Dr. Caroline Hinrichs, above, a graduate of the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is the CWE Veterinary Clinic’s Associate Vet.
There are 3 exam rooms at the clinic, a state-of-the-art operating room with complete monitoring capabilities, and a separate dental suite where the vets can perform advanced dental procedures.
Dr. Clary’s ultrasound machine, above, is small enough to fit into a backpack, which comes in handy when making house calls. The machine was developed by a physicist she met while attending a national veterinarian convention. She couldn’t live without it, she said. “You’ve got to have imaging. When people bring their pets in because they just don’t appear to feel well, I often find it’s because they’ve eaten something they shouldn’t have. ‘Oh no,’ people often say, ‘my dog doesn’t get into anything, that couldn’t be.'”
By way of example, Dr. Clary told me of an experience involving a wolfhound who wasn’t well. When she performed an ultrasound she saw the perfect image of a full-size Barbie. The little girl who owned the dog said, “Oh, I’ve been looking for that.” Other unusual items she’s retrieved during surgery include rubber duckies, bits of carpet, nickels and a squirrel head.
I met Dr. Clary one hot summer morning five years ago when I spotted her getting out of her mobile veterinary services truck which was parked on McPherson. She was on her way to conduct a class for professional dog walkers on detecting heat exhaustion in animals. Here is the post I wrote following that encounter.
While I was interviewing Dr. Clary again last week she mentioned that she had rescued a stray cat who was destined for the Humane Society that, instead, became the resident feline at Shelton Davis Antiques, 4724 McPherson Ave. Meet beautiful “Puddy Tat,” above, whom I photographed at the shop on Monday.
In the small world department, while I was working on this post I looked back at the earlier article mentioned above and realized that the cat is the same one I photographed at the antiques store 5 years ago, above. Dan Shelton, a proprietor of Shelton Davis, had been feeding the pitiful-looking stray (as he described her), who was so wild she would run off whenever he tried to approach. Kim Traylor, who at the time operated a dog-walking service in the CWE, captured the cat intending to take it to the Humane Society. Dan Shelton intervened and Dr. Clary offered to spay her and return her to home base on McPherson. Eventually Puddy Tat felt comfortable enough to take up residence at Shelton Davis where she remains to this day.
CWE Veterinary Clinic, 4131 Lindell, (314) 320-0004, appointments available 7 days a week, $45 to $65, house call prices on request. Call, text, email ([email protected]) or message on Facebook here.