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Local pet industry keeps pace Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Crater Animal Clinic dog groomer Cheryl Payne dries off Sadie, a golden retriever, on Monday. There were a total of 17 veterinarians listed in the telephone book and 10 animal care centers in 1975. Today, there are 72 veterinarian and animal hospital entries in the yellow pages. Animal-care businesses grow along with rise in Rogue Valley population over last 25 years By GREG STILES The veterinary medicine industry has experienced growth paralleling Jackson County's population in the past quarter century. An industry that once relied on what a former practitioner called "old wives' tales" entered a new era when antibiotics became useful for animals 60 years ago. More recently, technology has driven up veterinarian capabilities as well as costs. There were a total of 17 veterinarians listed in the telephone book and 10 animal care centers in 1975. The number swelled to 50 by 1991. Today, there are no less than 72 veterinarian and animal hospital entries in the yellow pages - ranging from cats-only offices to equine clinics and holistic treatment and acupuncture. Among the reasons for growth: more people mean more pets; a growing senior community relying on pets for companionship; a boom in horse-related activities; and animal-rights influences. "I don't know what all the underlying influences are," said Dr. Matthew Lawrence, of Crater Animal Clinic. "But more and more folks coming into the office with a dog or cat definitely regard that individual as part of the family, not just something that hangs around outside or in the barnyard." Veterinarian opportunities have grown as fast as the medical breakthroughs. Preventive measures have increased as well. "Years ago, treatment was archaic and really not effective," says Glenn Archibald, who retired in 1993. "Veterinarians relied on a lot of old wives' tales. But research and advancement has something to do with the increase in the profession. "Starting in the late 1950s, it's just mushroomed and it's accelerating." Animals, for the most part, have kept pace with the county's human population that has surpassed 181,000. The Humane Society's most recent estimates show 38,000 cats and 36,000 dogs in the county. Using the society's model, there were 23,600 cats and 22,200 dogs in 1975. But many vets' practices deal only with large - or farm - animals, such as horses and cows. The county's horse and mule population has nearly quadrupled in the past quarter century to 13,200. Oregon State University's agricultural and resource economics department statistics show the cattle population has rebounded in the past decade after dropping from 45,000 to 33,000 between 1976 and 1991. The 2000 figures show a total of 40,000 head of cattle. Not only have new clinics opened in the past decade, but existing ones have expanded. Crater Animal Clinic, on Vilas Road north of Medford, recently went through a $1.5 million expansion as it tripled its floor space to more than 14,000 square feet. "We needed to expand badly," says Lawrence, who shares the clinic with Robert Addington, Eric Keiser and William Bridges. "We had five people behind the check-out counter one day and that just doesn't work real well." Part of Crater Animal Clinic's expansion was to accommodate its work on larger animals. Indeed the equine sector has spawned much of the county's vet growth. There has been a significant rise in horse activities, ranging from showing to dressage, endurance and cutting. "Affluence has to be a factor," Archibald says. "If there isn't money, people couldn't afford to do those things." The cost of conducting a practice has soared as well, meaning few veterinarians can launch a practice on their own.. "If you had $100,000 and didn't owe anything, you could rent a building and convert it," Archibald says. "But it would be pretty sparsely equipped. If you're building a free-standing hospital today, it could easily add up into the millions of dollars because of the X-ray equipment, anesthesia machines and MRIs." In some areas, vet specialties go beyond the kind of animals to the parts. Local 4-H extension agent Anne Manlove knows a vet in Portland that specializes in dog and cat dentistry. The quality of life that has drawn pet owners to Southern Oregon is also an attraction for vets. "From my perspective," says Bridges, who previously practiced in Salem, "Southern Oregon is a desirable place to live." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.