Northwoods Vet offers emergency animal care | News, Sports, Jobs

Minotte is originally from Homestead, Wis., and is also a certified veterinary technician with more than 20 years in veterinary medicine. Before Northwoods Vet Medic, she managed an emergency, urgent care and walk-in clinic in the Milwaukee/Waukesha area. She met Kofoed at that clinic.

Kofoed grew up in the Eagle River, Wis., area and said she has been in the industry since age 15, when she started work as a kennel technician.

She graduated in 2016 from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and has since worked in general practice, surgery and emergency medicine.

Kofoed and Minotte had been coming north for the past two years to do vaccination clinics. Both were looking for the chance to make the move permanently when they found the former Amberg Veterinary Hospital had become available when the veterinarians retired. Kofoed said much of the equipment already had been sold, they had to purchase it to reopen the practice.

NORTHWOODS VET MEDIC is at N15114 Old Highway 141 Road in Amberg, in the former Amberg Veterinary Hospital. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

Kofoed is happy to be back in northern Wisconsin and to bring a much-needed service to the area.

“Our goal is to provide the gold standard of medicine — the best of the best but not at corporate medicine prices,” Kofoed said.

Northwoods Vet Medic also brings emergency treatment to the region.

“I saw the need,” Minotte said. “Every time I came up, I saw emergency situations where animals were getting turned away and sent elsewhere because other practices are so overwhelmed.”

With Kofoed and Minotte’s experience with urgent and emergency treatment, they said they are able to manage workloads and have no plans to turn anyone away.

“If there is an emergency, if someone needs help for their animal, we are going to take them,” Minotte said. “After hours, our clinic phone goes to a cell phone and we answer — you better believe we are going to meet the client over here and take care of their pet.”

Northwoods Vet Medic accepts just about any kind of animal as a client, from dogs and cats to exotics to livestock. If it can’t be brought in, they will come to the animal, such as on a farm.

In addition to emergency services, Northwoods Vet Medic also offers more routine care, such as initial diagnostics and exams, bloodwork and vaccines. Kofoed does general surgeries and Northwoods Vet Medic will have an orthopedic specialist coming in regularly as well.

Kofoed said she will stress the importance of oral health, making sure patients get their dental cleanings and other treatments.

They believe the family atmosphere will set Northwoods Vet Medic apart from the competition.

“We may see you just the one time, but we are going to make that one time something to remember so if you are ever back in the area, you know that you have a place to come if there is an emergency,” Kofoed said.

That family atmosphere also includes the seven employees Northwood Vet Medic already has hired. Minotte said they look forward to getting even busier and are training staff how to triage and care for emergency situations.

“We create not just a job for anybody we have hired, but a career, something they are going to stick with and want to learn,” Minotte said.

Of course the animals are like family, too. Minotte and Kofoed said they are used to dealing with fractious animals or those that do not want to be touched.

Clients seeking emergency services do not need to be established with Northwoods Vet Medic, but Minotte and Kofoed recommend filling out a patient request form online at just in case so it’s ready in the system. Someone will make contact within a day.

Kofoed also recommends people consider the expense of having a pet before getting one. It’s become more than just annual vaccinations and treating diseases — as with humans, pet medical needs have become more complicated.

Although they keep their prices down, Kofoed suggests pet owners look into pet insurance or set money aside regularly to prepare for future expenses. Minotte added that CareCredit is an option for financing health expenses for pets and their humans.

Northwoods Vet Medic is at N15114 Old Highway 141 Road in Amberg, and is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. For after-hours emergencies, call 715-864-2298.

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The Daily News has been highlighting some of the new business owners in the region. Know of a business that recently opened or changed hands? Contact Jim Paul at 906-774-2772, ext. 229, or [email protected].