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From ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ to the ‘Cat’s Meow’, This Animal Clinic Means Business

A dog may be man’s best friend, but FHLBank’s Banking On Business Program can also prompt a smile or two - especially after the roof falls in.

On January 11, 2007, Chris Rappolt, administrator of The Animal Emergency Clinic of Wyoming Valley, saw just that happen when heavy rainfall caved in part of the roof of his 11-year-old business in Avoca, PA, just down the road from the Scranton Airport. It was weather not fit for man or beast, and soon Rappolt’s building wouldn’t be, either.

Rappolt, who was experiencing rapid growth in business, had made plans to move into an expanded facility in Pittston, PA prior to the mishap. Now, the freak accident made that move more critical than ever. Swinging into action, Rappolt asked his contractor to engage in the kind of urgent care that the clinic has built its reputation on.

“Our new 15,000 square-foot hospital was no longer a luxury but a necessity,” Rappolt remembers. “They were still building all around us when we opened in February. We’re just now pulling together all the loose ends.”

Thanks in part to $200,000 in Banking On Business financing arranged through FHLBank member Community Bank & Trust, the new clinic opened not a day too soon. Now, the new facility, triple the size of the first one, is providing a full range of emergency, urgent, specialty diagnostics, surgical services and critical pet care for pet lovers who drive in from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.

“One woman from New York City brought her dog here to have two of its knees repaired,” administrator Rappolt recalls. “She was willing to make the long drive because she paid 60 percent of what she would have in the City.” The seven ski resorts in the region also attract repeat business, he adds.

“We do everything that the veterinarians in this area don’t want to do or are not equipped to do,” Rappolt concludes. “We’ve accelerated our work in urgent care and specialty care and have plans to add internal medicine and radiology services. Our new hospital couldn’t have opened at a better time.”

The Animal Emergency Clinic of the Wyoming Valley is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, visit www.aecwv.com or call 570-655-3600.