02/14/2025
As many of you have seen or heard, Healthy Pet Altoona is for sale. And we may close on March 6th. As of right now we are not booking any appointments beyond that date.
Healthy Pet Rice Lake and Healthy Pet Chetek are very much open, and are absolutely not affected by changes in Altoona. Any Altoona client that needs their pets’ records can contact Altoona until the March 6th, or Chetek/Rice Lake any time beyond that.
And while we know it is a drive, Altoona Clients are still welcome in Chetek, and if medications need to be refilled, we can still approve and ship them from our other locations. Please keep this availability in mind, especially when it comes to very expensive procedures. We know part of our appeal was being reasonably priced, and we do not want our clients to potentially have to spend several thousand dollars if their cat has a urinary blockage, their dog eats a sock, or a pet has a broken tooth. We cannot promise we can fit everyone in, but our costs can sometimes be half or even a third of emergency prices. It never hurts to call.
The long-term plan for Healthy Pet Altoona is still unknown, which is why we waited until now to disclose this. We have been actively trying to sell the hospital to another veterinarian, but as we are learning, that is not an easy task.
We have also been in contact with some relief veterinarians, but the coverage they can provide as of now, simply does not work with the current demands of the hospital. This is still an avenue we are exploring.
Finally we are still actively trying to hire another veterinarian. And we offer a very competitive wage and benefits package (totaling about 200,000/year). So if the public wants to help keep his hospital open, please get that word out.
Even if Altoona does close, the hope is that it only temporary, as again we may find the staff we need, or another owner may have the opportunity to help the clients and pets that have supported us through the years.
Kamran Khan, DVM
