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New vet opens in Turtle Lake

Animals of all sizes are welcome at North Country Vet Clinic

Submitted Photo North Country Vet Clinic is located outside of Turtle Lake at 1677 7th Street NW. They are able to treat all ranges of animals here with plenty of space.

Andrea Schlafmann and her husband, Blair, started North Country Vet Clinic with a simple goal in mind: to create a place where quality care and compassion are the main focus. For Schlafmann, animal care has been a big part of her life since a young age and opening her own clinic felt right.

Schlafmann grew up on a cattle ranch near Mercer. She was her dad’s shadow and would help out in any and every way she could, from doing chores to fixing a fence or whatever else may need to be done. She learned basic care and husbandry of cattle and horses at a young age.

Alongside a life on the farm, Schlafmann and her sisters spent a lot of time at a vet clinic too. Her mom worked as a veterinary technician and it gave her a look into the career she would follow.

“I loved it there and was amazed by the things they could do, so I’ve known since early elementary school that I wanted to be a veterinarian,” Schlaffman explained.

She attended North Dakota State University for three years for her pre-vet education before moving on to Kansas State University for veterinary school. After graduation, she was hired at Sheridan Animal Hospital for three and a half years until she decided to open her own place.

“The idea started around Thanksgiving of last year,” Schlafmann explained. “My husband saw the advertisement for the building we purchased in a magazine and suggested we go look at it.”

Schlafmann was hesitant at first but was quickly won over when she saw how it could be converted into a vet clinic. After a lot of paperwork and research to ensure the venture would work, they took the leap and purchased the building.

“I started working out of my truck doing mainly cattle work on Jan. 1. We closed on the building Feb. 15 and I opened my doors on March 18,” Schlafmann said.

A lot of work went into preparing the building. Schlafmann and friends and family spent many late nights to get everything together and ready to open.

“I still have some work to do in there, but for right now it will probably have to wait until calving season is over,” Schlafmann said.

She and her husband decided to take on the project that became North Country Vet Clinic for a few different reasons. The first being the shortage of vets in the area, especially for large animals. Another reason was the location.

“We farm and ranch in the Turtle Lake and Mercer area, so having my clinic closer to home cuts down on my travel time, helps me be more involved in the community and also makes the prospect of having kids in the future a little more realistic,” explained Schlafmann.

She says the local community has been amazingly supportive and she hopes the clinic will be beneficial for the people and other businesses of the community.

North Country Vet Clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with after-hour and weekend emergency services available.

The clinic will treat all ranges of animals from dogs, cats and other pocket animals to cattle, horses and small ruminants. They also provide farm herd care services such as bull testing and pregnancy checking for cattle.

People can make appointments for their animals by calling North Country Vet Clinic at 448-2183.

“I’ll do everything I can to care for your pet or your livestock to provide the best possible outcome,” said Schlafmann.

North Country Vet Clinic is located at 1677 7th Street NW in Turtle Lake.

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