The staff at Riverview Animal Hospital in Bellevue is settling in after a move across town from Fairfield Avenue to a new facility at 40 Donnermeyer Drive, across the street from Kroger.
The move led to the construction of a new space with a modern and open design, nearly tripling the amount of space of the hospital’s previous home.
The veterinary practice is owned and operated by Dr. Jennifer Mahan. The practice’s rapid growth allowed Mahan to make the move and add staff, now employing between 15 and 20 people
In June, Riverview Animal Hospital will welcome a new addition to the veterinary staff, Dr. Jamie Todd, who will join Mahan and Dr. Kate Johansen.
This is the first time Mahan has owned her owned building, and it’s much like designing and building her own home, she said. She worked with Luminaut, a Cincinnati-based architecture and design firm with direct experience building emergency room animal hospitals across the country.
“Our old building had only two exam rooms,” Mahan said. “I wanted an animal hospital where I could come out to the lobby, talk to my clients, just really practice that relationship-type medicine.”
By the time the Covid pandemic arrived, she said, Riverview had outgrown the old building. But space was freed up due to the pandemic since service moved curbside for a time. Pet owners would remain in their cars while hospital staff retrieved pets to come in for their examinations. This freed up the lobby and some of the other spaces for animal care, Mahan said.
The search for additional space on a permanent basis led the practice to the new building on Donnermeyer Drive. Dr. Mahan’s husband, Anthony Mahan, an attorney specializing in veterinary law, followed the hospital. His practice rented an office in the same Fairfield Ave. building, and now is established on the second floor of the new hospital building on Donnermeyer.
Both Mahans saw the potential of the former KOI Auto Parts building that the hospital replaced on Donnermeyer.
“We always thought this would make a great veterinary hospital but Burger King had agreed to buy it,” Dr. Mahan said. “One night I just said to my husband, ‘We should look into that KOI building again.’ Online said it was sold, but he went ahead and called the realtor.”
The realtor said Burger King had just backed out of the deal, and asked if they’d like to see the building. The Mahans bought the building in February, began renovations and moved in officially at the end of March.
Mahan estimated her new building has about 4,000 square feet on each floor. The lobby is expansive with high ceilings and plenty of space for clients to sit quietly with nervous pets.
“We now have four exam rooms. We have a dental suite as well as our surgery suite… Our cat and dog wards are all glass so if I’m in the treatment area … at any moment, I can see everybody,” she said.
Also included is an isolation ward with a separate exterior entrance for pets who may be contagious or who are nervous around other animals. In fact, Mahan said her practice is focused on what she calls “fear-free care.”
“We don’t scruff cats here; we don’t pin dogs down,” Mahan said. “If we need to, we will send them home with some anti-anxiety meds and have them come back. We don’t force pets to do anything they don’t want to do.”
For Mahan, this was an important aspect of her practice, but she said she also wants to build a trusting relationship with pet owners. “It’s not just about helping sick pets but becoming a part of someone’s family.”
Since moving, the doctor says she has been busy with both established and new clients. “With the new building, a lot of people call us, new patients who want to get in the same day. We can’t squeeze everybody in. We appreciate everybody’s patience,” she said.
She advised any new pet owner to make an appointment with a veterinarian right away, not to wait until the animal is ill. The goal is to establish a relationship that builds over time, she said.
“I’m thankful for the visibility and increased interest. With a third doctor my hope is it will open our availability, and I’m really excited for that.”