Great Looking Yards and Healthy Pets

Author: Teddy Burch
Issue: 2008 August

(continued from previous page 1)

Best Friends Pet Clinic

Caring for your best friend is the purpose of Best Friends Animal Hospital. Dr. Brad Roach, owner and operator, describes the importance of properly caring for your pet. “Most people don’t have their pets on their minds until something goes wrong,” he says. “We feel that it is extremely important to prevent these things from happening and then offer choices in healthcare when dealing with these events.”

Roach further explains that all prescription medications are used to cover up symptoms once they appear, but they are not preventing the cause or providing the body with the actual substance that allows healing. “We are not going to give drugs to just cover up symptoms unless the animal is in severe pain.” These innovative methods often include nutritional products from Standard Process, acupuncture with cold laser, homeopathy, herbs, medical ozone and of course conventional medicine if needed. This pioneering method of treatment is known as integrative medicine and surprisingly advocates minimizing exposure to over vaccination.

He states, “Proper nutrition through your pet’s diet is often a starting point,” as he refers back to the dog food scare that woke people up in this regard. For this reason, they offer holistic brands such as California Natural, Innova, Evo and Nature’s Variety to provide the best possible foods for your pets.

Best Friends, located at 3601 N. Harrison, is currently the only pet hospital in Pottawatomie County that is a member of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) which required a 900-point inspection. AAHA was established in 1933 to help practices set standards of excellence. In fact, less than 15% of practices nationwide have chosen to allow this type of scrutiny of their medical and business practices. He states, “Since we deal with some alternative treatments, I thought this certification would show the public how serious we are in maintaining our conventional skills and equipment.”

Best Friends also works together with the Shawnee Animal Shelter to provide an adoption program. Together, they have found good homes for over 700 pets. “Right now we have around 15 to 20 dogs and an entire ward of cats,” Roach says. The next evolution of this effort is centered around the newly formed non-profit Animal Rescue Center of Shawnee (ARC) in which he sits on the board of directors.

In December of 2004, Best Friends moved from Kickapoo to their present location on Harrison. With the help of his wife Lori, Dr. Roach did much of the design work and subcontracting to convert the former motorcycle shop into a 10,000-square-foot pet hospital. “I’m very proud of this facility. I love what I do,” he states. “There are a few things that I don’t like about this profession, but there isn’t a single thing I would rather do than to educate people and help them heal their pets.” The new facility mirrors his excitement and really provides a different kind of veterinary hospital experience with its tropical décor.

Best Friends Animal Hospital can be reached at 405–273–5617. You can also log onto www.oklahomapethealth.com for more information about how Best Friends can begin caring for your best friend.

Great Looking Yards and Healthy Pets

Comment About This Article