There was plenty of room to run during Colonial Animal Hospital’s open house.
Below, Dr. Rob Martin talks with Vicki Stallings and her 7-month-old dog, Xena.
Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Clarification
A business spotlight in August about Colonial Animal Hospital may have given the wrong impression about the type of veterinary care practiced by Colonial’s vets. They strive to give the highest level of care possible by a group of general practitioners.
Dr. Robert Martin said it was important to him personally that this clarification be made.
By Jane Smith
Colonial Animal Hospital is passionate about pets, says Dr. Robert Martin, a veterinarian and owner of the hospital.
Its Woolbright Road location in Boynton Beach couldn’t adequately serve the practice’s growing clientele of coastal cats and dogs. “During the season, the parking lot was full,” he says.
They were so focused on moving pets through the practice for routine medical visits, that they “couldn’t spend the time with the clients … We want to slow the visit.”
In mid-July, they held an open house to show off their newly built Gateway Boulevard location, with exam rooms painted in bright colors. Martin purchased that property in 2008. Then last year, he began clearing the land to build the $1.6 million state-of-the-art Colonial Gateway Veterinary Center.
At 4,500 square feet, it is double the size of the Woolbright location. The new center features indoor and outdoor runs for boarding dogs, an exercise pool by Endless Pools, space for popular groomer John Grumbar and grounds landscaped with a special artificial grass called K9Grass.
“We want to provide the type of care that clients want and need,” Martin says.
That means boarding dogs have indoor and outdoor runs to give them a more home-like atmosphere. The Endless Pool provides physical therapy for the dogs with hip and other joint issues and a way to exercise overweight dogs. And it’s also for fun for dogs that stay overnight, he says.
Martin began working at the Woolbright Road location in 1998 when he was the second vet in that practice and it had five support staff: two technicians, two receptionists and one kennel employee. He bought the practice in 2004.
With the addition of the new Gateway Boulevard location, the practice will have five vets and 20 support staff, depending on the time of year.
About 98 percent of their clients are cats and dogs, the other 2 percent are what Martin calls “pocket pets,” including hamsters and rats. They don’t treat any birds or exotic animals, such as snakes and other reptiles.
The basic office visit costs $49, plus extra for vaccinations, flea and tick prevention, heartworm preventives and other tests. He does not like discussing the money part of the practice, saying it “makes me squeamish to talk about it.”
Martin describes his vets as GPs who provide specialist care. He is proud that his practice was built on word-of-mouth referrals.
For example, he and his vets know that Cavalier King Charles spaniels are prone to cardiac problems, so they pay extra attention when performing a physical exam on that breed.
They also try to have a good knowledge of dog and cat behavior. “Just the physical presence in the vet’s office can be stressful,” Martin says.
He grew up with a German shepherd, which instilled a love of dogs. His family of five kids and a wife has five dogs — two Australian shepherds, one French bulldog and two Chihuahuas.
That canine love is the main reason, he says, why he became a vet.
Colonial Gateway Veterinary Center, 2235 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, 732-3629; Colonial Animal Hospital, 127 E. Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach, 737-6448; www.ColonialAnimalHospital.com.
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