ADRIAN — Cherished Companions Animal Clinic, owned by Dr. Dawn Marcus, is now open to provide routine care for dogs and cats. The clinic, located in Adrian, opened on March 2.
Marcus has 20 years of experience in veterinary medicine. She earned both her undergraduate and veterinary school degrees from the University of Florida. She started her career working on horses for two years in Illinois before moving to Blissfield to work at Blissfield Veterinary Service in 2008. Marcus said that the move allowed her to work in a mixed animal practice, with dogs and cats as well as horses.
For the past three years, she worked in Wauseon, Ohio, before deciding to open Cherished Companions Animal Clinic. The practice offers routine surgeries, spays, neuters and mass removals, as well as wellness care.
“We try to focus on preventative care, and finding and preventing problems,” Marcus said.
Marcus has a staff of four people — Jayme Miller, Angie Koester, Sam Dermyer and Rylee Echelbarger — working with her. She said that all of the employees, including herself, have worked together in the past and they are happy to be working together again.
“We’re family and we’d love to see your family,” she said.
The focus of Cherished Companions is to provide low-stress visits. The staff uses different handling techniques that are good for the more nervous patients.
“People are nervous, dogs are nervous,” Marcus said. “We just want to put everyone at ease and just help everyone relax and get through the visit and be happy when they leave.”
“We’re calm, relaxed,” she continued. “We really want to make sure that your pet and you have the best experience.”
Marcus said that the common problems she sees in her practice this time of year are fleas and ticks on dogs. Preventive medicine can be used for lime disease from ticks and heartworm. Problems with cats this time of year, she said, come from stray cats that come into heat and having multiple litters of kittens. In that case, she suggests trapping the cat and having it spayed or neutered if possible.
Cherished Companions does not have boarding services or overnight monitoring. Marcus refers cases where surgeries might require overnight monitoring to another clinic rather than doing them on her premises.
Cherished Companions Animal Clinic is located at 2396 U.S. 223, Adrian. Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. Appointments can be booked online at ccacvetcare.com or by calling 517-265-7188.
