Ellicott Small Animal Hospital
As I was waiting for my dog to be called for a vet appointment this morning, I could not help but ask the gentleman sitting across from me about his puppy. He told me that the dog had been purchased for someone who opted not to accept it. "After a while I decided that she would stay with me even though I've never owned a dog before," he said. "This is my first visit to a vet... I have a new cat too. The whole animal thing is tough, but I think I made the right decision." As I watched the two interact I could tell that the fledgling relationship was going to be a strong one, and anyone who owns a pet will tell you that this man will have an enhanced life because of his decision.
The Ellicott Small Animal Hospital is just one of those places where the interaction between people is just as important as the interaction between pet and owner. Today I was fortunate to have the owner of the hospital, Dr. Reed Stevens, attend to my dog. I asked Reed what he thought was so special about his clinic and he explained, "Well, first, the hospital has been around for 126 years. It started off as a horse practice back then. Today we specialize in dogs and cats... we see 5000 different animals a year - about a 50/50 dog to cat ratio. Being located on Ellicott Street gives us the opportunity to care for different breeds of animals... along with a wide variety of owners."
While I had Reed on the urban topic, I wanted to know how his patient-base had changed in recent years. "Believe it or not, and not just because I know you want to hear this, we are seeing a lot more loft-livers appearing at our place of business. Yes, many of our clients are actually coming from downtown for the first time, though most of the animals come from the Allentown and Delaware District areas. There was a time when people were afraid to come down to Ellicott... can you believe that? Now we have a ton of urban people and a number of people who come in from the outer suburbs too. Those are mostly families that have been coming here for many years. We recently had to take care of a cat that fell from the fifth floor of the Holling Press Apartments... it was a sad story, but in the past there would have been no chance of a cat (not the one pictured below) falling from the window of a loft."
The vet practice on Ellicott touts itself on its indispensable amount of knowledge. Reed is so into animals that he is working on a program to help raise one million dollars for a new vet hospital at the Buffalo Zoo. If they don't raise the money for that, and another million for improvements to the elephant house, the zoo might lose its accreditation. Reed is also instrumental in the formation of the dog micro-parks that we have been covering on BRO all summer. "We work with all of the other vets in the area to make sure that Buffalo animals are well taken care of."
We'll keep you posted on the zoo developments as we hear more about how we can help. Reed has some interesting ideas as to how to help tackle the big numbers.
Ellicott Small Animal Hospital
517 Ellicott St
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 852-8276
Dr. Stevens is my vet as well ... at least he takes care of my dog and cat. Dr. Stevens was recently featured on a local TV news segment -- I think it was WIVB but I'm not sure -- about area vets taking their own pets to visit severly disabled children. It was a very nice piece and he is a very nice man.
Newell,
your dog is so cute! Also the Ellicott Small Animal Hospital does alot of work with the Buffalo Animal Shelter... Kudos to these wonderful people!
A close friend and I have been taking our cats to this tremendous place for years. And, although there have been two "resting spots," the professionalism and compassion is compared to none in the city. When the "resting spots" came for Nietzche and Escher, Dr. Redda sent beautiful letters that even described each cat's personality. Now, that's attention that one could only dream of.
Now Arthur goes there, as do Phoenix and Isis, and all three along with their two moms, love the place and the people who make up this incredible service to both types of animals (four- and two-legged) who have come to depend upon their dependability.