Caring for the fluffy companions of Valparaiso area residents is a challenging job, but one which Dr. Jill Butler is excited about taking on when she comes into work each day. However, having the right facility can also make all the difference for a veterinary practice, and with the new facility currently under construction by Chester Architectural & Construction Services, Dr. Butler and staff have a lot to look forward to.
"It's the oldest veterinary clinic in Porter County, actually. I like antiques I like old things, I feel more at home with nostalgia, but I really am looking forward to the functionality of the new building by Chester," explained Dr. Butler. "I am looking forward to the fact that it will cost me less to run it. The upkeep on this building, though it might not look like it, but it is substantial."
Dr. Butler purchased the building from the previous veterinary doctor in 2010, who had owned the building himself for 35 years. Needless-to-say, the staff are excited about the change as well.
"We're excited to be in the new building," said Office Manager, Emily, who has previously worked with Dr. Butler in college. "It'll be bigger, and new, and shiny."
The change will bring new possibilities to the clinic as well, and allow them to expand their boarding services for animals in their care, and it will also allow them to branch out into physical therapy.
As one would imagine of a veterinary doctor coming up on her 20th class reunion, she has seen some interesting patients over the years and affected a lot of change on lives of her patients and their owners. Having graduated from the University of Liverpool in the UK in 1998, Dr. Butler got to see some unique patients in her time in England.
"I worked for a practice that did almost everything. I worked a lot with cattle, sheep, dogs & cats too, rabbits, and fish. We even had to operate on a fish once and take a piece of plastic out of a silly fish one time," explained Dr. Butler.
As for how one operates on a fish, the anesthesia is placed into the water where the fish breathes it in through their gills.
Dr. Butler has also worked with some more exotic patients as well in her time in England, such as a zebra with a broken leg and a baby elephant that tried to eat a rock, which then became lodged in its esophagus. Still, she now works almost exclusively with dogs and cats now, citing the specialization it requires to work with such a varied amount of animals and provide quality care with the latest information. Dr. Butler does not even treat her own horses because she wants to ensure they are seeing a horse specialist.
She has had many patients over the years, but one patient that stood out to her was a five month-old border collie pup who was involved in a car accident which caused the dog to lose all of the skin on one of its legs. The dog was a sheep herding dog, and was competing in herding competitions, so his livelihood was put in real danger by this accident.
"We did some pretty novel therapies and surgeries, and he required several surgeries, but he went on to do really well on the competition circuit and we saved his life," recalled Dr. Butler.
As for when she decided that becoming a veterinary doctor was her dream, Dr. Butler isn't sure just how early it started but it has been a lifelong passion to care for animals.
"I have no idea [when the dream arose]. Before I could say the word itself, that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to be a ballerina for about a week, but that didn't last," laughed Dr. Butler.
And many companions and owners can certainly be thankful for the life-saving care Dr. Butler and her staff have provided over the years.
"Every day, we do a little bit of good because we help people stay with their pets longer. Just last night we had a little old dachshund come in, 17 years old, and it was the loving companion of a 94-year-old woman. The dog came in hemorrhaging from its nose, and most folks would think the dog was towards the end of its life, but this dog really means a lot to this lady. It spends every day, all day with her. So, I just know I’ve got to save that 17 year-old dachshund. Basically, it just had bad teeth that was causing it to bleed, and we pulled about 15 teeth from that little dog and it's gonna be fine now and stay with that little old lady a little bit longer,” explained Dr. Butler of her passion for keeping owner and companion together.
Chester Inc. is structured into three primary divisions: Architectural and Construction; Information Technologies and Agricultural Systems.
