×

The myth, the legend

Pet Vet Mobile Clinic serving Minot and surrounding areas for over 20 years

Ashton Gerard/MDN Dr. Sharon Otto-Tafelmeyer, right, has been serving the community with her mobile veterinary services for over 20 years and now has help from Erin Klocke, left, a licensed veterinary technician.

With the close proximity to the Air Force base and the fluctuation of oil in the state, the community here in Minot is full of unfamiliar faces – faces that are oblivious to the Pet Vet.

Many of you may have seen the mysterious Pet Vet rolling around Minot and the surrounding areas. The face behind the magic is Dr. Sharon Otto-Tafelmeyer from Harvey and her licensed Veterinary Technician Erin Klocke from Fessenden in Wells County.

Dr. Tafelmeyer started at a practice in Minot for eight years after she graduated from veterinary college. After gathering experience with the practice, she decided to go out on her own.

Dr. Tafelmeyer bought her first unit in 1996, which was used from a veterinarian in Arizona. She wanted to see if the practice would be successful in the area before buying and customizing one of her own. Now she’s on her fourth unit, which she completely customized from the company that manufactures them.

“It’s not just an emergency (service),” said Dr. Tafelmeyer. “We do a lot of house calls in Minot and then we go to some of the surrounding areas too.”

Ashton Gerard/MDN The Pet Vet Mobile Clinic serves as a fully functional veterinary clinic, just on wheels.

The Pet Vet Mobile Clinic serves within a 60-mile radius of Minot. They only see small animals, like dogs and cats, and some pocket animals like rabbits.

“We do everything a regular clinic would do,” said Dr. Tafelmeyer.

They do surgeries, blood work, X-rays, all out of the mobile unit. They are a full functioning office, just on wheels.

Dr. Tafelmeyer said she stays away from communities that already have an established veterinary practice but will travel to communities like Velva and Washburn. The only advertising she does is in those towns to let them know what days she will be there, otherwise she has an established base in Minot and has for the past 10 years.

Depending on the day, especially when visiting the neighboring cities, they could see anywhere from 30 to 40 animals, if not more.

Although they will sometimes do emergencies, they prefer appointments only. That way if there’s inclement weather or the van happens to break down, the Pet Vet staff can reach out and reschedule for the people’s convenience.

In Minot, Dr. Tafelmeyer will go house to house. They can come inside to help the animal or bring the animal out to the van, whatever people prefer.

“When we go to the different cities we sometimes will do some house calls and sometimes we’ll go to park at the city hall and then people can bring (the animals) to us, that way we can see more people,” said Dr. Tafelmeyer. She has even served towns like Garrison and Bottineau at times when they didn’t have veterinary practices, but now focuses her efforts in Velva, Washburn, and of course, Minot.

To make an appointment with Dr. Tafelmeyer and Klocke, call 702-8387 to see what they have available.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today