After decades of serving the community, Dr. Peterson is retiring as Golden’s own veterinarian. But pet owners need not be worried. Invermere’s Veterinary Hospital will be filling the void, and providing services for two days a week at the Golden location.
“If Golden did not have a veterinarian there, it would mean a lot of travel for the pet owners,” said Dr. Mark Zehnder. “If someone got into an accident travelling for an appointment I would feel just terrible.”
So when Zehnder learned of Peterson’s retirement, coming at the end of the month, he and the team at Invermere Veterinary Hospital decided they would do what they can to continue service in Golden.
There will be a couple weeks where the clinic is closed while they work on the transition, then Zehnder and Dr. Thiessen will be making themselves available, in the same space, on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“It’s difficult timing because I am going to be taking some time off, which was planned long before this situation came up,” said Zehnder. “We’re working on recruiting a new veterinarian…and when that happens we will expand service in Golden to more than just two days a week.”
Peterson will be continuing to offer equine services and make house calls to farms in the area.
The clinic will be shut down for the first two weeks in April, and will re-open on April 13 and 14.
If you have questions, or need to book an appointment the clinic can be reached at 1-877-342-7007.
They are also seeking your help in determining the name of the new facility.
The options are Houndstooth Veterinary Services or Golden Veterinary Services.
You can email your preference to editor@thegoldenstar.net.
“We would also like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Peterson,” said Zehnder. “He has been serving the community for a very long time.”
