- Clinic Name: Alpine Animal Hospital
- Location: 830 Skyline Road, Laramie, Wyoming 82070
- Opening hours: 7:30
- Website
- Social Media
- Services: Because a large number of veterinarians practice at Alpine Animal Hospital, we can care for many types of animals. This includes dogs, cats, rabbits, pocket pets, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, alpacas and llamas, among other animals. We offer 24/7 Emergencies, Preventative Care, Geriatric Medicine, Palliative Care, Internal Medicine, Orthopedic and Soft Tissue Surgery, Laser Therapy and Surgery, Grooming, Full Service Boarding, Behavioral Medicine and a fully stocked pharmacy for our patients needs.
About Alpine Animal Hospital
Originally the clinic opened in 1965, then Dr. David Evertson, DVM and Dr. Dana Petersen, DVM purchased the clinic in 1997 shortly after graduating from Kansas State University with their veterinary medicine degrees. Dr. Evertson treats mainly large animals, caring for ranches, feedlots, and working with the University of Wyoming research units. Dr. Petersen sees mainly small animals.
About the staff
We currently have 5 Veterinarians, 4 Customer Service Representatives, 6 Technicians, 2 Tech Assistant, 7 Kennel Technicians, 1 Full Service Groomer.
Volunteering and internships possibilities
We offer volunteering and internship possibilities and we host quite a few Veterinary School externs throughout the year.
Working pace
Small Animal: 20-30, Large Animal 1000-1500 during our busy season.
Which events do you celebrate at your clinic?
We celebrate Vet Tech Week and as the clinic manager I plan the week out. Our product representatives purchase lunch twice in the week, we provide breakfast from a local restaurant, daily goodies and treats. Each day has a theme and this year I made cards to attach to the candy bars, chips, bath and body works, etc. We brought in a local pop-up paint party host and had a paint your pet night. Our staff sent in a picture of their pet and the artist helped us create a great work of art!
We celebrate World Veterinary Day as well where we recognize our veterinarians via social media. We also celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, Staff BBQ’s, Staff Potlucks, paint nights and various other events!
Most common vet cases
We see a variety each day – emergencies, sick pet exams, well pet exams, surgeries, and dentals for small animals. For large animals, we see vaccinations, pregnancy checking, PAP testing, breeding soundness exams, BANGS vaccines, lameness exams, pre-purchase exams, floats and sick animals to name a few.
What is the most remarkable case that came to your clinic, one that the whole staff remembers to this day?
It isn’t just one case. The local Game and Fish as well as the state veterinary lab commonly bring animals to complete x-rays. We have seen eagles for poaching investigations and bears for poaching and genetic x-rays. In particular, this summer, we had a bear head brought in for an x-ray that had no top lip. He and his siblings were born that way. The state was working on genetic markers for why the abnormality occurred. They wanted to get good x-rays before they completely took apart and studied the head and structures.
What do you, or the management team do to maintain a healthy work environment?
We have several staff programs. First, staff can write “I caught you ______” cards to each other. Those cards are then read at our weekly staff meeting and one person gets a prize from a basket. We also have a management/veterinarian program that recognizes our members that go above and beyond. We buy them special treats and the nominating person writes what they did to go above and beyond.
As the manager, I do social media introductions of our staff members and highlight their favorite part about working here. We also complete lunch and learn with our reps helping everyone to gain knowledge. On the flip side, we strive to do the best job we can, so we complete reviews of our technicians and front desk to help them become better at their job and achieve their goals working in veterinary medicine.
Do many of your clients take advantage of pet insurance?
We have quite a few that have pet insurance. We work with the owner to complete paperwork and send home the correct documentation for them to file and maintain their insurance. We also see quite a few service animals for their care.
