Looking into the future with an eye on expansion is a focus of officials at the Lloydminster Animal Hospital as the facility celebrates 40-years.
Community members came by for a visit over the lunch time period on Friday as staff sliced the cake and served burgers to its clientele. Visitors included many area ag producers as the hospital specializes in veterinary services to large animals as well as pets. Its alumni include former-partner and previous area MLA Richard Starke who also came by for a visit.
Dr. Corin Berg has spent his 27-years as a vet in Lloydminster at the animal hospital. He looks at what future growth may encompass.
“The pie in the sky might be to be able to expand our physical facility a little bit. We are struggling a little bit. We’ve got a lot of bodies working in a small building and sometimes it’s hard to find enough space to do the work that needs to be done. So I think getting creative with our space is going to be paramount for the next little while.”
He says things keep growing and they have to account for that. As the community came out to celebrate the 40th anniversary Berg reminisced that they have seen the area around the hospital change remarkably over the years. As well, in his own practice coming out of university and working at the hospital, “all of the skills he has gained can be attributed to his day-to-day work life.”
With the future in mind, Berg speaks of how specialization has fostered the growth of the facility over the years.
“The small animal work is always growing just as the town grows. The more people come in, they bring in more pets and more work for us. But as you start to get a little bit specialized in some things, especially the equine work, that draws people from a wider diameter. So you do get people that hear about the services that we are able to offer and they will come give it a try, and people will travel from a long ways to see you.”
Berg reflects that the anniversary occasion was great as well, to see so many people come to visit, even from the time that he first came to Lloydminster over two-decades ago. Staff are grateful for all the community support.