Well Point vet moves to new home

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COMING SOON — On February 1, Well Point Veterinary Service will be located at 86 Roberts Road in Norway.

NORWAY — Dogs and cats in the Oxford Hills have reason to rejoice. Well Point Veterinary Service — the clinic of Dr. Suzanne Best — is moving to a larger facility in Norway.

Beginning on February 1, Well Point will be located at 86 Roberts Road, a building that was formerly a residence. Dr. Best purchased the house in the fall of 2010, and it has been completely renovated by Don Best, her husband.

For the past three and a half years, Dr. Best operated her business in a small space that she leased from Responsible Pet Care on Route 118. In 2010, she made arrangements to expand her practice by building onto the Responsible Pet Care building, but instead, ended up buying the Roberts Road property.

The move to Roberts Road will increase her working area from 200 square feet to 1,200 square feet.

"We will be able to offer in-house services to our clients that we could not have in our smaller clinic," Dr. Best said. "This gives us the advantage of immediate treatment for sick or injured animals, instead of having to send them to another veterinary service for X-rays. The additional floor space will also allow us to offer hospitalization and in-house blood testing."

Dr. Best said that Well Point provides care for domestic pets through all stages of life. In addition to emergency treatment, services include well-patient exams, dentistry, vaccinations, testing for heartworm and Lyme disease, parasite control, and nutrition. Well Point has low-cost feline spay/neuter clinics twice a month and rabies vaccination clinics in the local area. Dr. Best also makes house calls.

Future plans at Well Point’s new home include a canine play area and agility course.

When Suzanne Best was a young girl, she had a great love of animals, but didn't dream of becoming a veterinarian. In fact, her career path led in other directions before she eventually got on the road to veterinary medicine.

"I was really nuts about cats when I was little, and I loved our dog. But I was older before deciding I wanted to be a veterinarian. I was 24 or so. I'd worked in the woods, I'd been a baker and a waitress, studied art history, and done a lot of other things, but nothing really felt like I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.

"Then I started grooming animals, which was very enjoyable. I love science and realized I could merge my love of animals and my love of science by combining the two and becoming a vet."

In addition to traditional medical and surgical services, Dr. Best is trained in veterinary acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.

"This means I can offer my patients alternative treatments for many ailments, should their owners wish it."

Well Point Veterinary Service will open at its new location on February 1. Until then, the clinic will continue seeing patients at its present office in the Responsible Pet Care building.

Well Point welcomes new patients. Appointments for Monday through Friday can be made by calling 743-6441.

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DOCTOR, ASSISTANT, AND PATIENT — Dr. Suzanne Best holds Eloise the cat and is seen here with veterinary assistant Kadi Sweatt.