Dr. Terry McDuffee began the Animal Emergency Clinic with Dr. Terry Maltz over 43 years ago. Dr. Maltz left the practice after several years. Soon after, Dr. Jim Hardesty joined and has been with Animal Emergency Clinic for 38 years. The practice has stood at 12022 La Crosse Ave. and has been co-owned by both doctors since then.
Due to the expansion of Barton road and the redevelopment changes on the ramps off the I-215 Freeway in 2014, it allowed for a change to happen in the clinic. Doctors McDuffee and Hardesty began a rigorous search of properties that were for rent in the nearby areas of their current location. Unfortunately, their search was not a success. They were unable to locate a property that was suitable to their needs and that would fit the needs of the clinic.
After nearly two years of searching for a suitable property in Grand Terrace, the doctors were near ready to throw in their towels. The possibility of even closing the clinic’s doors was being considered. However, Drs McDuffee and Hardesty did not give up. Their passion and determination grew even stronger. With their determination and with help from the City of Grand Terrace they were able to locate a piece of undeveloped land that would soon be the home of the new Animal Emergency Clinic. It only happened by pure chance that this new location would be located less than a mile away from where the hospital was located at that time.
Thanks to the help of architect Carl VanDerHoek, along with general contractors Bryan and Chuck Clendenen, the first shovel broke ground on March 23, 2017. With this awesome team of people working tirelessly, this new state of the art veterinary clinic, now located at 22085 Commerce Way, was built and ready in 8 months from the day the first shovel hit the dirt.
The old Animal Emergency Clinic closed their doors on November 8, 2017 at 8:00 am. However, they were not closed for long. It was only a matter of 10 hours later that the Clinic reopened their doors at the new facility at 6:00 pm that very same day. The entire staff, including both doctors McDuffee and Hardesty, worked many nights before the move, as well as throughout that very day to move everything before opening the doors again at 6:00 pm. The Animal Emergency Clinic is very proud of being able to maintain their record of never being closed. In the past 43 years they have been open every single day, 365 days a year.
This new facility is able to hold a larger volume of patients at any given time. This past year, the clinic saw and treated 15,000 animals more than previous years. With this new facility they are certainly prepared to handle this excess amount and more.
The animals that come through the clinic are typically coming from animal control agencies and are considered strays. The clinic welcomes them in and provides compassionate care to them in hopes that they are getting them one step closer to finding a forever home.
The Animal Emergency Clinic is staffed with 7 DVM’s that are dedicated to what they do. They also have an equally dedicated and hardworking staff of 30 individuals. Most of the staff have been with the Clinic for over 15 years. The Animal Emergency Clinic is always looking for staff personnel that are talented and experienced with a veterinary hospital environment and emergency medicine.
When asked if there was any procedure that was done more than others, Linda Sisti, the Practice Manager at the Animal Emergency Clinic, stated, “I don't know that we have a "popular" procedure since we only handle emergency cases. However, I feel we are seeing an increasing number of dog attacks which, perhaps, speaks to the increasing dog population and increasing breeders.”
The clinic sees its fair share of animals come in every day or night. Most people will try to make it as soon as they open their doors on any given weeknight. Even though their busiest times are holidays, Sundays are a closed second as most daytime veterinarians are closed on that day.
It has been with great dedication from the staff and the owners, Doctors McDuffee and Hardesty, that this transition to the new facility was made possible. From the searching of the most suitable property, which took patience, diligence, and not settling for anything lesser than expected, to completing the transition and moving the facility from one location to the next. This clinic has shown it's dedicated to its patients and the community by never closing its doors. They work hard to make sure every patient is seen, cared for, and treated with compassion from the moment they are brought through their doors.