Blog Spot, Blog!

We are please to announce that we’ve finally opened our doors. On May 10th we had our first day, and we’ve been shocked and grateful by the amount of foot traffic we’ve experienced. Thanks to everyone who has come in for a little tour, and brought your pets by for us to meet. We really appreciate the community support!

There have been so many more details then I ever would have anticipated, in order to get things running smoothly in our little veterinary practice. We’re still trying to get the veterinary software running properly, which to those that know me will understand is NOT my favorite thing to do. Thankfully my husband Carl has stepped in many times to get the system tweaked correctly when I lose my way. We’ve also struggled with getting our oxygen installed correctly, our phone systems to co-operate with us, and for our credit card machine to accept payments in a timely manner. Huge thank-you’s to everyone who has been so patient with us these last couple of weeks!

I’d like to introduce our staff members Melissa, Brandi, and Vandi.

Melissa and Brandi are our veterinary technicians. Melissa is currently enrolled in the Veterinary Technician program at Athens Tech., and is scheduled to graduate and take her boards next year. She is always upbeat, and constantly brimming with the latest research available from the veterinary technician field.

Brandi has years of excellent technician experience, and has spent time working in UGA’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s ICU. She is wonderful at making nervous animals and owners feel more comfortable, and has lots of valuable tips for people with questions about behavioral issues in their dogs and cats.

Vandi is our front office person, who has single-handedly convinced many of her friends and previous co-workers to visit us these last couple of weeks. She is a wizard with the computers, and often brings her little black lab puppy May to work with her. Her calm ability to bring peace to a chaotic storm is always appreciated.

I’m so grateful and fortunate for the excellent help I’ve received from these fantastic women, and I know that they will be instrumental in any future success Boulevard Animal Hospital might (hopefully!!) experience. Please come by the office sometime to meet them, bring your pets by, or just come through for a tour. We’d love to meet you!

Cheers,

Dr. Howard

I’m embarrassed that it’s been forever-and-a-day since my last blog-post. I’ve been trying to organize some pictures to demonstrate the changes that have been happening, from the first week of the renovations, to the paint going onto the walls, to the more finished product that we have today. Hope you enjoy them; it’s been quite a ride!

We've done some major work in this room, which is currently being used as our ICU and procedures area.

Our surgical prep area. The wall paper is now gone....

The x-ray room with the walls stripped. We are waiting to have the lead shielding installed, then the electrical service can be updated, and finally the x-ray equipment can be installed.

The front office

The front office.

The hall, before the carpeting was removed.

The dog exam room.

We trying to figure out a cool logo for the office and came up with this. What do you think

As the snow got ready to fly, Luli and I met with Don Sumner, our agent, and Shiloh Hutto, aka “he who fixes all”, to discuss our next set of build-out options.  Don has given the green light to opening up the reception window significantly, in order to let the light shine between our front office and the waiting area.  We’re keeping the exposed brick walls in the front hallway, and trying to vault the ceilings in the reception as much as possible.  While Luli (who turns 2 this weekend!) did “dust angels” on the floor, the three of us discussed our options available for flooring…  VCT, exposed concrete, tile, linoleum, rubber, vinyl, commercial carpet tiles, the list goes on and on…. I’m going to need a crash course in construction and design to fully understand my choices!

I found it much less taxing to go shopping for our waiting room furniture.  We’ve got to start somewhere, so my mom helped me make the plunge this week (thanks mom!).  We selected some nice leather barrel chairs in fun colors, and a very BLING side table that I love!  We also picked out a peck of bright blue planters to line the front walkway with, and an interesting metalwork series to mount on the back wall of the clinic.  As long as the snow holds off tomorrow morning, we’re hoping to have all the furniture delivered, so it can add to the pile of equipment being stored in our guest-room while the renovations are being completed

Next we have to consider our lighting options for the front windows, and I am hoping we can stumble across something that will make an interesting statement.  Wish us luck!

Jennifer

Underneith the piles of supply catalogs, loan forms, Mac Books and loan applications lies my wife, Jennifer.  Today’s caffeinated decision centers mostly around lighting design and installation. This seemed insignificant 3 weeks ago when browsing the possibilities at IKEA, but today it seems to carry more weight.

Each decision leaves us feeling like a 6 year old wading in the surf for the first time.  Every wave knocking us over, gaining our balance just in time to be toppled over again.  It just doesn’t stop.  Bringing this this clinic from the drawing board to this point in development is the most exciting venture we have undertaken.

This blog is all about starting our dream (and beyond) and we are excited to share it with you. Feel free to drop us a line or just stop by the office. We are across from the bottleworks on Prince next to Taqueria del sol.

Cheers,

Carl