Animal Medical Center returns personalized vet care

By Betsy Parker

By Betsy Parker

Times-Democrat Staff Writer

Pet owners have a new option for animal medical care, a clinic that's opened on the site of a venerable icon of Warrenton veterinary care.

Though it's a new name on the block, owner Dr. John Rethman says the Animal Medical Center of Warrenton is a return to the personalized level of care offered by retired Dr. Lewis Springer, who operated under the name Foxchase Veterinary Clinic.

Rethman said that Springer was beloved in the region for his hands-on, compassionate care. Rethman worked as a relief vet for Springer from 1999-2003, helping out until Springer retired in 2004 after 40 years in the business.

Son Bob Springer still owns the building — a historic house located on quiet Garrett Street just off West Shirley Avenue. The business underwent several changes in the four years before Rethman returned to open the AMC in April.

"I loved Fauquier, and loved the clinic, so I put in a bid on it when Dr. Springer retired" in 2004 Rethman said. He said that his "relief" work — code for helping out small-clinic owners by working a day or two a week — took him from his home near the Manassas battlefield to Fairfax, Loudoun and Fauquier.

Rethman was outbid by the national Healthy Pets chain. Healthy Pets operated the business for two years before being bought out by another national chain, Los Angeles-based Veterinary Centers of America. VCA closed the clinic last May, Rethman said, calling it "unprofitable."

"I guess 'corporate' vet care just didn't suit small-town Warrenton," he said.

Rethman re-opened the business in April, "getting a lot of former clients back, after they'd been away for years," he said. He's also stitched back together a team of techs and office managers that includes several long-term employees, such as Ginger Paolicelli. Paolicelli worked for Springer for 14 years.

"I just love the clinic," Paolicelli said. "I'm glad we're back to where we were," in terms of personalized care like not only knowing the names of clients and their pets but their kids' names, too. "It's all about the personal touch."

For his part, Rethman says he wants to "get back to old-fashioned competence, service and integrity," things he feels are lacking in the corporate business model of small-animal vet clinics.

Rethman did his undergrad work at Rice University in Texas, earning a DVM from the University of Missouri in 1982. He headed east soon after graduation, working first at the Arlington Animal Hospital, then opening a private practice in Manassas, which he ran from 1986-1997.

After that, Rethman worked as relief vet for a range of clinics in the area, including Foxchase and his introduction to Warrenton. "That's when I learned to love the culture of Fauquier County," Rethman said. "You still see people opening doors for ladies at the Safeway. It's not quite like that in Fairfax. Trust me. People out here are much more cultured that way.

"Warrenton is a breath of fresh air," he said. "There is just so much more angst the closer to the city you go." For people, Rethman added, and for pets, too.

AMC offers routine veterinary medical care including inoculations, dental work, nutrition and preventative care. "All those years spent doing relief work really pay off," he said. "I worked for 15 different vet practices, and got to see a lot of ways of doing things. I mean, you get your own practice and sort of set your ways of working out a [problem.] When you work as a relief vet for other practices, you're exposed to a literal continuing education in vet care."

AMC hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Reach the clinic by calling (540) 428-0025 or log onto its new but extensive Web site at www.amcwarrenton.com.