There are a few things I would change in the clinic if I could go back and start all over but really not many - maybe an extra exam room, lighting over the wet tables and a ceiling on the dog room. But after this weekend's disaster, I still wouldn't get rid of the carpet. I LOVE the carpet in the clinic. The warm feel it gives and the way dogs are so comfortable walking on it. My favorite image is walking into one of our exam rooms to find a client lying on the floor next to their dog. Where else could you do that? 

The aftermath - scraping away the adhesive

When I give tours of the clinic to friends, family, new clients and especially people in the veterinary industry they eyeball the carpet and then look at me as if I am crazy. Well, maybe I am a little. We are always quick to explain that the carpet is actually tiles and if there is a mishap we can simply remove the tile, wash it and replace it with another. Boiled down...it really is THAT simple. If you recall a blog post (Clean up on Aisle 2) from early on when we first opened the clinic we had our first diarrhea event on the carpet tiles and Sam (our UPS driver's dog) was kind enough to go in the center of ONE tile - such a sweet boy. Mojo as a puppy - before she was ours - peed on a carpet tile in the Lobby. Easy cheesy - peeled it up and put a new one down. This weekend was a whole new ball game! 

Scrubbing Sam's carpet tile - 2008

Now, I should tell you that we celebrate when pets have an accident on one tile and groan when they hit the corner of 4. Tiles that have been pulled up before are so much easier to remove then the tiles that have been in place since the begining. (I distinctly remember Michael putting down the adhesive and me encouraging him to apply more! What was I thinking?!)Well, we had a whole variety this weekend. New ones, old ones and some impossible to remove quickly. 

It started out innocently with a kitty patient put into a room that at the end of the exam the client showed Krissy a small spot on the toe that was likely ringworm. We shut down the room for decontamination (that goodness the carpet tiles are bleachable and we disinfect them once a week on Saturday). We'd have to run our busy Saturday, down one nurse, with only 2 rooms. It sounds like a challenge from the Amazing Race or like a really bad country song and it really felt like a mix of the two. 

Next came my first appointment - a new client arrived a little late with 2 dogs and one of them had an accident and urinated on a few tiles. That had never happened to her before...but it had never been the Great Carpet Tile Disaster weekend before either! Rushing to prep the room when they were finished we doggedly peeled the tiles, cleaned up the floor and put down new tiles only to have the next patient walk in and use a few more tiles as a potty spot - sigh - peel and repeat. From then on it was diarrhea and more potty accidents. We found that a couple of tiles were hit that are halfway underneath the bureau in the dog room. Oh NO! That piece of furniture is SO heavy. Thankfully it was the end of the day so we did not need to move quickly to remove the tiles. All in all - 15 tiles sat in a pile waiting to be scrubbed.   

Baby Mojo sitting by the carpet tile she just peed on

Although the air hung heavy with the overwhelming nature of the task ahead, there were small giggles of disbelief as one tile after another got scrubbed and we had to figure out where to dry them all. So that was the start of the Memorial Day weekend for me. To avoid such future disasters (at least with the Bureau tiles) I decided to remove that row of carpet tiles. That was easy enough. From there I spent the rest of Saturday scraping up the adhesive. Sunday was awash in chemicals to remove the rest of the glue and even after all of that the floor is still a little sticky. I have plans to go in today and remove the rest of the stickiness so we can be ready for tomorrow. Let's hope for a tile free week!

Thanks to my wonderful staff members who went above and beyond, sniffing and feeling around to be sure we got all of the tiles up, scrubbing and rinsing, and innovating ways to lay them out to dry - all with a positive attitude. Next time you come in you might not see the carpet (or the staff) the same way knowing the historical happenings of the Great Carpet Tile Disaster 2010!

Hey everyone. It's been awhile, eh? I bet you thought all of that fame went to my head but...well...no, although it was really fun I've just been really busy with the clinic. We've been honing our processes to decrease your wait time, going to continuing education to better our skills and learn the latest and generally trying to decrease the entropy of everyday business. 

May 6th saw our 2 year anniversary! Can you believe it? 2 years?! It's funny. I alternate between saying "I can't believe it's been 2 years!" and "Really... it's only been 2 years?!".  It's been an amazing journey and I am so thankful to all of you that have supported us through being clients, giving referrals, and general friends of the clinic offering your encouragement and comments. We could not have opened the clinic without your generous support. The clinic couldn't exist without our wonderful staff! From our starting employees - Katie and Daniela who really helped get the clinic off the ground to the additional support Melissa brought to streamline our systems and bring great organizational skills. And the addition of our associate veterinarian, Krissy (I could not have asked for a better associate!) and the staff to support her and our growth - Theresa, Nettle and Sara. Let's not forget Debbie, our fill in receptionist and reminder czar and my mother-in-law Barb, our bookeeper. We could not ask for a more amazing set of people to bring you the service and support you have come to expect from our clinic.

We have changed the way we are offering some of our services since the New Year. Nurse appointments are now offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Wednesday evenings to keep our flow going smoothly and offer the best service to you and your pets. We now offer surgery every Wednesday as well as every Friday to be able to accomodate all of the procedures that want to schedule. We still have evening and Saturday appointments for those of you that appreciate those times and we do offer 4 urgent appointments a day during the week and 2 urgent appointments on Saturday (although they do fill up fast!). Urgent appointments are prioritized for existing patients. We are still closed Mondays.

I wanted to mention one more motivation for coming back to the blog now. I visited my uncle Rich in the hospital over Mother's Day weekend while my mom and I were visiting my Gramma back in Illinois. He told me how much he loved the blog and he read it all of the time. He loved the updates and the connection it offered. I found out yesterday that he passed away after his long battle with cancer. I took his advice to heart and sat down today with those bittersweet tears in my eyes to reach back out to you. I will miss him. 

Stay posted. I promise not to stay away so long next time.