Linsey Sutton always had a special bond with animals. She's had more than 33 pets of her own over the years — everything from goats to a small energetic terrier named Max.
Max is starting to get old, and in recent years, he's been struggling with heart disease. Thankfully, he's able to get care at Union Animal Hospital, the veterinary hospital Sutton owns and operates in Spokane's East Central neighborhood.
"My whole purpose behind wanting to own my practice was wanting to make sure I had a clinic that I would want to take my pet to," Sutton says as she pets Max in the clinic's exam room. "I want to make sure they're getting the kind of care I would expect my pet to have."
A lifelong Spokanite, Sutton purchased Union Animal Hospital in 2015. It was previously an animal dental clinic, but Sutton expanded it to an all-service hospital with an in-house lab. Other than a handful of specialized surgeries, Sutton says the hospital is able to do almost everything in-house.
When the hospital first started, Sutton ran it with just one other person. But business has been booming, and Union Animal Hospital now has close to 25 employees and sees 60 to 80 patients each day — mostly dogs and cats, but also iguanas, guinea pigs, chinchillas, birds, ferrets and a host of other animals.
Many veterinary clinics and hospitals have been consolidated into larger chains in recent years, but Sutton says she's proud that Union Animal Hospital is locally owned and operated. She says it helps provide patients with an extra level of care and a personalized touch. In addition to the administrative work of managing the business, Sutton continues to see patients on a regular basis.
The pandemic was a crazy time for the veterinary industry. Spokane saw an influx of new arrivals seeking care for their animals, and the lockdown prompted a number of other people to bring home new pets. Many animal clinics became overwhelmed and stopped taking new patients, Sutton says.
But even as Union Animal Hospital became flooded with new patients, Sutton says the hospital stuck to its goal of never turning people away.
"I always try to put myself in the shoes of those pet owners," Sutton says. "Tons of people would tell us that they called four or five places and no one would see them... But we're here. People need help, so let's figure out a way to help them."
2nd PLACE: Garland Animal Clinic
3rd PLACE: Indian Trail Animal Hospital
NORTH IDAHO'S BEST: Alpine Animal Hospital,
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