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Left, San Roque Pet Hospital vet tech Owen Srour shows around Dr. Erich Stumpp who use to work for CARE Hospital. San Roque Pet Hospital announced it will now offer 24-hour care after CARE Hospital, the only other hospital in the area to do so, closed down last week. Photo by Victor Maccharoli.

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Pet hospital ready to fill 24-hour care needs

By COLBY FRAZIER — Dec. 31, 2009

One week after the only 24-hour emergency pet hospital in Santa Barbara County shut its doors, another hospital announced yesterday it would pick up the ball and begin providing around-the-clock pet care starting tonight.

The announcement last week that the California Animal Referral and Emergency Hospital, known as CARE, had closed, left many pet owners grappling with the reality that the nearest 24-hour pet hospital was more than 30 miles away in Ventura.

As the news sunk in over the weekend, Dave Dawson, owner and medical director of San Roque Pet Hospital, said he decided to begin offering all-hours care.

“I think in the short term the Santa Barbara community is desperate for emergency care for their pets,” he said yesterday in a telephone interview. “Personally, my clients are very desperate and very nervous” about the prospect of not having such a facility.

In order to cover the shifts, Dawson hired three of the four veterinarians who were laid off from CARE.

Dawson said he and his two other veterinarians will continue working the day shift.

“We are going to let the emergency veterinarians do what they do best,” he said, adding later, “They’re very skilled in emergency care.”

Although Dawson said he was happy to be providing 24-hour care, he stressed that he has no intention to make a career of it.

And he said pets treated after hours at his clinic should, as they were supposed to with CARE, return to their usual veterinarians during regular business hours.

“We’re not here to steel anybody’s clients,” he said. “This is just to provide a service to the community. It’s intended to be short term.”

CARE abruptly shut its doors last Tuesday amid a legal dispute between owners.

According to Eric Wright, a co-founder of the pet hospital, the two other co-owners, Deanna Purvis and Trish Lane, forced him out of the partnership through a clause in his contract.

When Wright apparently failed to become board certified by April 2008, Purvis and Lane reportedly denied an extension on the deadline — a move that Wright alleged was an attempt to force him out so the others could collect his shares after the hospital became lucrative.

Wright sued and was awarded a legal judgment that now totals $1.1 million, an amount that forced the hospital to seek chapter 7 bankruptcy.

In a Daily Sound story published last week about the hospital closing, Purvis said 60 people lost their jobs when CARE closed.

Michele Mickiewicz, interim director of public health for the county of Santa Barbara, said measures were taken last week to arrange contracts with clinics in Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties to provide emergency care to animal’s in county shelters.

She said animals could still be sent to clinics outside of the county, but local shelters would also use San Roque Pet Hospital.

“Definitely, it’s good to have that kind of access for pets and to have that as close to your community as possible,” she said.

As soon as a news release was sent out announcing the new hours at San Roque Pet Hospital, Dawson said the phones started ringing.

“I think that this community demands a dedicated emergency and specialty hospital …” he said, adding later, “I’m just happy to be providing this service to the community and providing an opportunity for the staff to go back to work and do what they love most.”

The San Roque Pet Hospital is located at 3034 State St.

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Way to step up. : 12/31/2009

Thank you to San Roque Vet Hosp. This service is much needed and your community responsibility is noted and appreciated.

SV

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: 1/2/2010

Yeah! What a happy outcome! I've always heard the San Roque Hospital does good work. Glad the vets got their jobs, hope some of the laid off staff gets some work, too.

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Great Job : 1/9/2010

Hi Dave,
What a great service you're doing for your community! I have used emergency pet service in Portland myself )(Dove).
thank you,
Susan and Bob Wells

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Thank you! : 1/23/2010

This is such a needed service. Thank you so much to San Roque Pet Hospital. We appreciate it.

SP

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Bad news : 4/1/2010

San Roque vet hospital sure, good to offer this after hours service, but a horrific thing happened to a close friend of mine.
DO NOT take your pets to this place if you care about them.

ww

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