Business Focus: 11th Street Veterinary Hospital

Samantha Barker October 31, 2016

Left to Right
Back Row: Savannah Tolbert, Kayla Anglin, Dr. Beth Williams, Barry Williams, Taylor Carden, Joshua Blaylock
Middle Row: Caelyne Dial, Theresa Pitts, Angeligue Garcia, Elizabeth Anderson (w/ Elmer), Dr. Leah Moody
Bottom Row: Sydney Coe, Sammy McDonald (w/ Rudy)

Photos by Lisa Saleme

11th Street Veterinary Hospital has been serving the Huntsville area for over 14 years. Dr. Beth Williams and her husband Barry originally moved to town 12 years ago, when Barry accepted a teaching position at Sam Houston State University, and they took over operations at 11th Street Vet about two and a half years ago. One of the main priorities for the Williams’ is to continually bring in the best help and equipment they can to better serve their patients. They have acquired several new tools, and staff, in recent months, and have plans for more upgrades to the business in the future. The clinic offers a range of services, from nutrition counseling and boarding, to emergency surgery, hospice, and euthanasia.

Sammy and Sydney work with basset hound

Routine checkups for your pet are important, and one of the goals of the clinic is to prevent illness when possible. Prevention includes vaccinations, intestinal parasite screening, heartworm testing, and specialized blood testing. The doctors also like to educate pet owners about nutrition and general health of the patients, recommending small things like diet changes that can help add to the quality of life for your pet. They offer services for behavioral medicine such as separation anxiety, obsessive behavior, thunderstorm anxiety, and aggression. Boarding is another service that is quite popular at the 11th Street vet. Dr. Beth has several employees keeping an eye on the pets in the boarding room to see to their needs quickly and efficiently. The pets are played with and cleaned regularly. You are welcome to drop your pet off with their favorite toy, blanket, and even food. Their desire is that your pet will feel at home while boarding, making their stay much more comfortable and a lot less stressful. Boarding cats are kept in their own special room to help keep them calmer and less afraid during their stay.

The best scenario is a happy and healthy pet, but sometimes accidents or illnesses happen. In order to provide the best care possible for your beloved pet, the doctors at 11th Street are always researching and learning about the newest equipment and techniques. The clinic has a dental machine for routine cleanings, but also for extractions and repair for problem teeth. They have a digital x-ray machine that produces clear images instantly for quicker consultations with specialists.

Dr. Williams and Sammy getting ready for laser procedure

They also have a machine to do work on their patients eyes, like an emergency repair to a third eyelid on a cat, which is what Dr. Beth was doing until 8:30 pm on Thursday. This month they are also getting an ultrasound machine which will make it easier, and faster, to diagnose internal issues, guide the needle to draw urine samples and the like, and even check on growing babies.

To keep your pets as comfortable as possible during the surgery process, they have body warmers that they wrap around the animals during surgery to keep their temperature steady. Along with temperature, they monitor pulse oximetry, ECG, blood pressure, and respiration while your pet is under anesthesia, much the same as a doctor would for a human patient. One favorite acquisition has been the laser. Laser therapy uses light to draw oxygen to the site of the injury to increase healing speed, reduce inflammation, and reduce pain. It is a noninvasive way help treat a number of conditions like arthritis, inflammatory bowels, wounds, bites, cuts, sprains, strains, fractures, and others. The doctors at the clinic use it after soft tissue surgeries to help the pets heal faster and in less pain. Pain management during recovery is one of the biggest concerns of Dr. Beth, so much so that there is a camera system in place that allows her to monitor the post-op animals 24 hours a day from her home. These services, and more, are offered to dogs, cats, bunnies, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and even birds.

Dr. Leah Moody (soon to be Weems) is another new addition to the 11th Street Veterinary Hospital that is taking service to a new level. Dr. Moody graduated from A&M in May and has been working full-time at the 11th Street Veterinary Hospital since June. Having two full time vets onsite, in addition to several rotating veterinarians, allows them to see even more patients. One of Dr. Moody’s favorite parts of practicing medicine is the challenge of diagnosis on all the different species of patients that come into the clinic. She is getting married at the end of October, and she and her husband plan to be a part of the community for years to come.

Prepping patient for routine spay

Dr. Beth and her husband work to give back to the community in several different ways. They hire many students from Sam Houston State University each year. Both Dr. Beth and Barry enjoy teaching others, especially about things they love, and hiring students is one way to pass on their knowledge. They are big supporters of Little Woman Home for Animals in Huntsville. Named for the pup Little Woman, the non-profit shelter, located on Evelyn Lane, offers a no-kill home to abandoned and unwanted animals while continually seeking placement. The Williams family participates in a Christmas drive that provides gifts for the children living in the SAAFE House shelter. Huntsville Pets Helping People is another program they are involved with that allows children to get reading practice by reading to service dogs at the local library. The Walker County Fair is another way they are involved with the community (no surprise since it also combines two of their favorite things – children and animals).

The 11th Street Veterinary Hospital is currently open Monday & Wednesday-Friday 7am – 6pm, with a closed door break from 1pm – 2pm, Tuesday they are open from 7am – 1pm, and Saturday they are open from 8am – 12pm. A future goal of Dr. Beth is to have adequate manpower to have a 24 hour emergency clinic. The closest one for patients right now is in Conroe, but in coming years emergencies may be handled closer to home. You can call (936) 293-8900 to set up an appointment, or for more information you can visit their web site at www.11thStVet.com.