NEWS HOME

Dr. Merrill performing a complicated dental procedure on a dog with a tooth fracture.

Featured Business
Bethany Family Pet Clinic
By Virginia Bruce

One of the area’s most comprehensive and accessible pet clinics is just up the road in the Bethany Town Center. Open seven days a week, the clinic includes eight veterinarians (with another on the way), a full complement of support staff and a wide range of services to keep your furry family members healthy and happy. The clinic opened in 1998 in a leased space within the Bethany Village Centre. The new clinic was built for the practice in 2013, across the street from the original location. It includes lab, surgery, and imaging facilities, along with boarding for cats and dogs.

Clinic founders, Dr. Mark Norman and Dr. Bob Merrill, met when Dr. Merrill was managing Southeast Portland Veterinary Clinic and hired Dr. Norman. Both doctors are from Iowa, but Dr. Merrill is from Northwestern Iowa and Dr. Norman is from Southeastern Iowa. Apparently it’s a big difference in Iowa!

Dr. Liu prepares to examine a pug while the assistant puts him at ease. Her family had been clients at Bethany Family Pet Clinic since it’s opening in 1998. She came for a career day visit with Dr. Norman when she was in high school, and decided then and there that she wanted to be a veterinarian. She joined the staff in 2009 while in college, working as a Client Care Representative. Dr. Norman helped her get into Veterinary School at Oregon State University and here she is now. Along with Dr. Velasco, Dr. Liu can also perform Acupuncture.

Dr. Merrill made his way to Portland in 1985 to enjoy windsurfing and skiing. He started his Portland career at Dove Lewis (the Portland Veterinary Emergency Hospital) in 1985 and worked there until 1992 serving as Temporary Chief of Staff until Dr. Bob Franklin, a specialist, was recruited to run the emergency hospital. At the time, there were only two or three emergency specialists in the entire city.

Dr. Norman came to Portland in 1995, after serving in the U.S. Navy. Both Dr. Merrill and Dr. Norman started their veterinary careers in emergency medicine, often working overnight shifts and seeing complicated emergency cases. This experience has provided both of them a unique skill set usually developed only by specialists.

The clinic has managed to grow quickly by providing services to the rapidly growing Bethany community while still being convenient to surrounding areas. They have about 3000 clients with about 7500 pets. Smart management practices and caring people make each client feel like the center of attention. Plenty of exam rooms means that most pet appointments begin shortly after arrival, putting less stress on the animals.

In addition to the eight doctors, the staff includes Veterinary Technicians, Doctor’s Assistants, and Client Care Representatives. Veterinary Technicians receive certification after completing a two-year degree. They are essentially Veterinary Nurses. They can administer Rabies vaccines, induce anesthesia, install microchips, and provide a variety of other more technical medical assistance procedures.

The reception area of the clinic also stocks toys, grooming aids, and prescription foods.

Cats that are boarding have a choice of looking out the front window, or watching a pair of birds in an adjacent cage!

Doctor’s Assistants help the doctors complete their procedures as efficiently as possible. They help in the exam room, record details on patient charts, monitor patients in the treatment area, assist on house calls, call clients for follow up exam scheduling, and perform a variety of other tasks focusing on doctor expedience.

Client Care Representatives are more involved in client care than is usually seen in a veterinary clinic. They record medical history, take temperatures and weight during patient check-in, as well as the more typical clerical duties of check in, check out, payments, and scheduling.

In addition to standard veterinary medicine, pet owners can choose to have their pets treated with alternative approaches when it is appropriate, including acupuncture and massage. Dr. Velasco is a certified Acupuncturist, as is Dr. Liu, Dr. Velasco is a certified Tuina specialist (pet massage). She is also working on Herbalist certification.

Cindy with Spencer, the Treatment Room Supervisor. She says, “He keeps a keen eye on all the dogs and cats in our treatment area. Here he is sitting comfortably on a treatment table, having convinced the staff that he needed to be surrounded by some nice warm heating pads.”

Dr. Norman says, “We are extraordinarily humble to be in a community with such great clientele. This is a great location with lots of events to participate in and really feel part of the community. We are truly blessed to be here.”

Dr. Reyes, who moved to Portland from Puerto Rico, says, “Our clients are very nice. They are willing to do what is needed for their pets. We are able to do a lot of veterinary procedures here. It is the full aspect of being a veterinarian.”

Boarding is available for healthy cats and dogs. Overnight medical monitoring is offered at Dove Lewis.

Visit the clinic’s website to learn more.

Thanks to Cindy Sawyer who provided us with great answers to our questions.

Previous article

NEWS HOME