New vet office opens on main street

In case the bright yellow banner reading: “The Vet is In” outside 326 Front Street didn’t tip Wrangellites off, Skookum Vets has officially opened for business at its new office.

Veterinarians Judge Conniff and Steve Lowry became partners last fall to create Skookum Vets, which is now located near the corner of Front and St. Michaels Streets.

“Skookum” is a Chinook jargon word used in the northwestern U.S. with positive meanings, such as “impressive” or “excellent.” Conniff said it means “all the best,” as Skookum Vets are the “best vets in town.”

“Aren’t you the only vets in town?” I ask.

“Yes, we are,” Conniff laughs.

Until partnering with Conniff, who said he had not been practicing for the past several years, Lowry had been a veterinarian with Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center.

Neither Conniff nor Lowry live in Wrangell. Conniff resides in Juneau and Lowry is from Kalispell, Mont. The two also practice in Petersburg.

Lowry has been traveling to Alaska since 2004 to work as a contract veterinarian, he said.

“I love the adventure that is alive every day to all here, and [I] fell in love with Southeast [Alaska Animal Medical Center],” Lowry said.

Last year, Lowry said he purchased Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center’s interest in Wrangell and the veterinarian teamed up with Conniff to create Skookum Vets.

The partnership between the two doctors means a veterinarian will be in Wrangell once every other week, Conniff said.

“It allows us to be here a little more often, because there are two of us now,” he said.

The building, now home to the one-room vet office, used to sit across from City Market on Front Street. But Conniff said after deciding to buy the building, he and Lowry wanted to move it down Front Street. He said they wanted to actually own the property and the office, instead of renting it at its former location.

“We wanted a permanent home,” Conniff said.

Lowry said he apologizes for any inconvenience the move may have caused, and asks for patience during the construction and renovation process.

On Friday, dog kennels sat on the vet office’s front porch, and inside, freshly painted white walls were lined with tools and office supplies. Conniff said the office will be open when the veterinarians are in town, even during the office reorganization.

After completing the move last Wednesday, Conniff said the vet office was welcomed with a full schedule of patients Thursday and Friday.

“We are open for business here,” he said. “It’s a little messy but we will get it organized eventually.”