The Horse Doctor is IN – Chambers Prairie Expands Reach with New Equine Veterinarian

0 Shares

Dr. Michael Clark’s favorite part of being a veterinarian is developing a base of trust with clients. “When you build trust through taking care of the animals and finding out what they want, it’s extremely strong,” he says. “I’ve seen people who’ve had bad relationships or bad interactions with their veterinarian and a lot of it has to do with that lack of foundation.”

Now Dr. Clark is looking to create that level of trust in the South Sound. After more than 20 years away, the Olympia native has returned to join Chambers Prairie Veterinary Clinic as an equine veterinarian.  He joined the practice in February, moving back to the area with his wife Alissa and a menagerie of 18 animals, including three horses, three dogs, two turtles, one Sulcata tortoise, two cats, two guinea pigs, three birds, and two snakes. Daughter Emersyn, born in June, will have no shortage of playmates as she gets older.

chambers prairie horse vet
Equine specialist Dr. Michael Clark joined the Chambers Prairie Veterinary Clinic practice in February.

Growing up on the Steamboat Island peninsula, Dr. Clark was not surrounded by horses. “I found them later in life,” he says. While pursuing a master’s degree in agricultural economics at Washington State University, knew several veterinary students who had horses of their own. “I was able to spend a lot of time around them and enjoyed interacting with them,” he says. “I found myself in a position to go back to school, so I made that change and went to veterinary school.”

As he progressed through his training, he found himself increasingly drawn to horses more than smaller animals. “I did some research with them and seemed to have a knack, for whatever reason, of working with them,” he says.

Following graduation, Dr. Clark spent four years in California doing an internship at an equine referral hospital and remained there as an associate. It was there that he learned to love working with horse owners. “It involves a lot of trust,” he says. “Some of my best clients I met because I euthanized their horse. They still come back because it was handled respectfully and professionally and done well.”

chambers prairie horse vet
Michael Clark and his wife Alissa recently welcomed daughter Emersyn to their extensive (and mostly furry and feathered) family.

From there he moved on to a food animal and equine practice in northern Virginia. “I was hired to focus on the equine side of an ambulatory practice,” he says. “But I ended up seeing more cows, sheep and goats than I liked.”

A short stint working with race horses in California left him hungry for more variety. “Working with racehorses horses lacks the variety of general equine practice,” he says. “When this job opened up, it was an opportunity to come back and join a good practice.”

As an ambulatory vet, he gets to deal with a wide range of issues and meet local horse owners from Roy to Elma. “We deal with a lot of emergency issues like lacerations or colic, plus a bit of preventative care,” says Dr. Clark. “It’s a little bit of everything.”

Chambers Prairie owner Dr. Amy Eilbeck says Dr. Clark has had a positive impact on the practice. “We have a truly compassionate person who cares about people and animals and that’s his number one priority. We’re all very grateful for that. He’s also very easy to get along with and all of our staff enjoys working him. It makes everything run much more smoothly.”

chambers prairie horse vet
Aside from three dogs, the Clarks have two cats, three horses, two turtles, one tortoise, two guinea pigs, three birds, and two snakes. Most, however, do not accompany them on vacation.

Because the practice covers such a large area, having an additional equine vet creates the potential to serve more clients. “We’re all about providing excellent client service and communication,” says Dr. Eilbeck. “Having Michael here offers me, as an owner, more flexibility to provide good client service.”

For his part, Dr. Clark is glad to be back in Olympia. Natural beauty and family connections aside, the Pacific Northwest has one major factor in its favor. “There are no snakes,” he says. “In Virginia it’s humid, it’s hot, it snows, and there are copperheads, rattlesnakes and six-foot long black snakes. Sometimes they end up in your house.”

Ironically, two of his current roommates are snakes, albeit not of the poisonous variety. Dr. Clark attributes his growing animal family to his wife Alissa. “That’s her,” he says. “With the dogs, the plan was to have one greyhound and foster one, which was theoretically great until somebody called and said they wanted to look at him. So now we have two greyhounds to go along with our husky.”

chambers prairie horse vet
Michael Clark grew up in Olympia and has recently returned after more than 20 years practicing in California and Virginia.

Perhaps the most unusual member of their household is the Sulcata tortoise. The third largest tortoise in the world, it can live for more than 70 years. “We got her when she was the size of a quarter,” says Dr. Clark.  “She’s now about ten inches in diameter and a couple of years old. By the time she gets really big, I won’t be around anymore.”

In the meantime, he’s looking forward to growing his clientele. “I really enjoy horse people,” he says. “I’ve met some of the best clients all over the country. They’re good people that really want to take care of their horses.”

For more information about Chambers Prairie Veterinary Clinic visit www.chambersprairie.com or call 360-491-3800.

Sponsored

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares