Patterson Dog & Cat Hospital has seen many changes since it was founded downtown in 1844 by William Patterson. His son, Elijah, moved the practice to its current location on Grand River in 1905. "It was a large animal clinic -- this was the suburbs," says current proprietor Dr. Glynnes Graham. "Between 1905 and 1930, horses went away. It was remodeled in 1926 to a small animal clinic, and it's been a small animal clinic ever since."
Graham started working at Patterson's front desk at the age of 15 and bought the practice in 1986, the fifth veterinarian to own the clinic. Patterson focuses mainly on dogs and cats, but she confesses to seeing the occasional lizard. "They're kind of interesting," she says.
While aware that she is not in a position to charge the kinds of prices she could in say, Livonia, she keeps busy, averaging 450 client visits per month. Patterson also offers grooming and boarding, although she is scaling back that side of the business.
The urban location of her practice means that Graham sees things that her suburban counterparts may never experience, like
scabies. She also chooses to inoculate dogs against
leptospirosis. "My patients get some different things," she says. "I think it's because of the high dog density in Detroit and that dogs have been living here for a long, long time."
Graham knows that, for some of her clients, vet care is a non-essential expense. "My clients are great -- they are here because they really want to do what they can for their pet," she says.
Source: Dr. Glynnes Graham, Patterson Dog & Cat Hospital
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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