Animal clinic on Middletown Road celebrates its 20th

Animal clinic on Middletown Road celebrates its 20th
Community News Group/Sarah Valenzuela

There is no pet too big or pet too small for this hospital.

April 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the Middletown Animal Clinic and the furry, fuzzy and even scaly patients that have frequented the clinic can celebrate too.

Founded by Dr. Christopher Earle, DVM, the practice has serviced pets ranging from a 200-pound Great Dane, to brightly colored parrots, and even a python or two.

Dr. Earle said he started Middletown Animal Clinic out of his forever love of animals and appreciation for his community.

“I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian,” said Dr. Earle, who recalled having many a family pet and even caring for wildlife.

Dr. Earle earned his degree in veterinary medicine at Oklahoma State University.

After graduation, he wanted nothing more than to come back to his hometown and work with the pets here.

When he started the practice, Dr. Earle had no clientele base, was the only vet at the clinic, and only had one assistant.

Today Middletown Animal Clinic boasts several vets, each one capable of seeing anywhere from 15 to 25 pet patients on any given day.

While there has been no shortness of daily excitement since the practice’s founding in 1998, every day has presented a new adventure for the veterinarians and staff there.

After all, taking care of patients who don’t communicate the same way we do provides its own set of challenges.

The clinic does everything from heart and skin care, to x-rays, surgery and routine checkups among many other aspects of animal care.

Middletown Animal Clinic also makes a priority of their vets continuing education and adopting the latest in veterinary technology every year to provide the best quality care they can to the animals, they too, come to love.

As a vet, Dr. Earle said one thing he stressed to pet owners has been to take animals in for yearly checkups and to bring them in for problems earlier rather than later.

“If we notice an emerging issue, we can treat it when it’s still small,” added Dr. Earle.

Most of the pets that come through Middletown Animal Clinic are your average array of cats and dogs, but every now and then more exotic animals come through, and the practice has been happy to welcome every kind of creature all the same.

“You see all sides of pet care, from when they’re still babies to their very end,” said Dr. Earle. “That’s the worst part of being a vet, seeing them during their end-of-life care.”

Dr. Earle said the reputation Middletown Animal Clinic had, kept clientele returning through multiple cycles of pets.

The success of the practice, Dr. Earle said, can be attributed to clinic’s dedicated team.

“They’re really the best that I could ask for and it couldn’t be done without them,” continued Dr. Earle.

Twenty years later Dr. Earle’s message to the community was plain and simple, “thank you for trusting me over these years,” and to the animals, “we love caring for you and if you could talk we’d hope you say you appreciate our help, too.”

Reach Reporter Sarah Valenzuela at (718) 260-4584. E-mail her at svalenzuela@cnglocal.com.