Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Rebecca Vollrath Severn, owner of the Copper Country Veterinary Clinic, stands in the lobby of its new clinic, which opens Tuesday. The clinic is located at 45815 M-26, Atlantic Mine.

ATLANTIC MINE — Going through the new Copper Country Veterinary Clinic location, a recurring theme pops up: more space. 

On Tuesday, the clinic will open in its new building off of M-26 in Atlantic Mine. It’s 8,200 square feet, versus 2,400 square feet for its current facility in Houghton. 

The old space worked when there was a single practitioner. But with three doctors and more than 20 support staff, it was clear they needed something more, said Dr. Rebecca Vollrath Severn, who bought the clinic in 2019. 

“There’s too many people in that little building trying to work on multiple animals at a time,” she said. “There’s just not enough space for all of us. Now we have plenty of space.”

They’ll continue providing all the services being done at the Sharon Avenue site, Severn said — just more efficiently.

“People get upset with wait times, and there’s only so much we can do when we’re fighting over one table to look at dogs, and have to clear a room every time we need to take X-rays,” Severn said. 

With the bigger space, they also hope to add another doctor, Severn said. 

Over the past year, Severn’s father and husband have been helping her with renovating the existing office building that was there, as well as building a spacious addition. 

Instead of four exam rooms, there are now six. The exam tables can be pulled up to create more space. One room will have a small hammock for cats to sit in with a view of the window, which helps calm them, Severn said. 

The additional room also helped create a better atmosphere for those who lose an animal. The comfort room, where most euthanasia takes place, is located at the end of a long hallway in the current building. Now, an exit door will allow people to leave the building directly from the room.  

“They don’t have to go down the long hallway, see all the people,” Severn said. “They can grieve in private. And as soon as they’re done, they can walk right out the door down the balcony to their cars.”

The pharmacy area, treatment area, and laboratory — all in one spot at the Sharon Avenue building — each have their own space. The treatment area also has three tables, instead of one. Each table will also have their own supplies — “so we don’t have to be fighting around each other to get stuff, which is an issue right now,” Severn said. 

The X-ray machine has been in the middle of the treatment area, which requires everyone else to stop what they’re doing and clear out. Now, it will have its own lead-lined room. 

Kennels will be closer to the doctors so they can watch over the animals, and will be heated to help them recover faster. 

They’ve been doing more specialized surgeries, such as orthopedics, which require more space. To accommodate that, the new surgical suite is three times bigger, Severn said. 

“It’s just going to make my life a million times better,” she said. 

A garage allows large animals to be seen indoors, and will have a stall in case they need to stay overnight. previously, if Severn saw a horse, she had to look at them in their trailer or the parking lot.

To reduce stress on the animals, dogs and cats will be in different areas. The number of dog runs has also gone from seven to nine.The bathing area has a built-in ramp, so staff can walk a big dog up rather than trying to lift it.  

The new building also allows for a retail area off the lobby with more space to display dog and cat foods, preventatives and shampoos. With more room, the offices can move up from the basement, where they are currently, and doctors will finally have their own office and desk.

People have been excited about the move, Severn said. She plans to give a virtual tour over Facebook Live so people can see the size of the new place.

“From the road, you have no idea how big the addition is until you’re in it,” she said. “You’re going ‘Holy cow.’ It keeps going on and on.”

The new clinic is at 45815 M-26, Atlantic Mine, MI 49905, near Northern Hardwoods. For more information, call 906-482-1771 or go to https://ccvc.cc.

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