Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 22, 1995                   TAG: 9504240019
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ALL-NIGHT PET CLINIC OPENS

Veterinarians from Botetourt County to Rocky Mount have joined forces to open an all-night emergency veterinary clinic in Roanoke.

The clinic, at 2805 Hershberger Road, is being underwritten by 28 veterinarians from 15 clinics which, until now, have rotated night and weekend duty. Dr. Stan Eichelberger of Animal Medical Associates said all of the member veterinary hospitals now refer nighttime calls to the new clinic. It is open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. The phone number is 563-8575.

He said the building, formerly a rental home adjacent to the Best Products Co. store's parking lot, was chosen for its accessibility and visibility. It can be reached quickly via interstate highways from nearly all parts of the region, Eichelberger said.

The 2,888-square-foot house was acquired from Joe Boxley. The transaction was handled by Henry Scholz and Chris Nelson of Hall Associates Inc.

Covering nights and weekends was a burden to the veterinarians after a full day of treating animals at their own clinics, Eichelberger said.

Eichelberger said the emergency clinic is staffed by two veterinarians, who work alternate weeks, and by two veterinary technicians, who split the overnight shift. The staff has special training in handling emergencies, he said.

Financial support of the operation is being shared by the veterinarians, but Eichelberger said they hope the clinic can become self-supporting.

He said, however, that financial support is not the primary issue. He said the veterinarians hope that their clients will like the use of a central and convenient location that never changes. In the past, he said, the rotation meant pet owners have had to find their way to unfamiliar parts of the region, often some distance from their homes. And the location has changed nightly.

A technician at the clinic said it handled about 50 emergencies during its first week, beginning April 12 - about 35 of them during the weekend when the clinic had to call for back-up assistance from other technicians.