News Archive

Dr. Mark Workman focus of article in The Daily Post Athenian

Reprinted  with permission from the Daily Post-Athenian.

 "25 years of getting animals back on their feet again"

Greg Moses

Staff Writer, The Daily Post-Athenian

 

Photo Caption: Dr. Mark Workman, the founder of The Animal Clinic in Athens, is shown with Major, his first patient and now the subject of a mural in his practice. The Animal Clinic is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary this month.

 

 

After 25 years, The Animal Clinic in Athens, Tenn., has helped thousands of patients to overcome illnesses and get back on their paws and hooves.

 

With more than 10,000 patients still active, Dr. Mark Workman believes he has definitely fulfilled the original goal his practice was founded on: "to serve the community."

 

Originally from Chattanooga, Workman studied biology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. He continued his education by studying animal sciences for two years at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville before completing his education at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine.

 

Like most young graduates fresh from walking across the stage in their caps and gowns, Workman had a dream. However, compared to the visions of others, his dream was fairly simple.

 

"My goal was to find a small, rural community that needed veterinary services. Not a big, busy city. A small community that I could provide a service to and that I could give back to," said Workman. "I found McMinn County to be pretty much what I was looking for. This is a beautiful place to live with good people to live with. And, whatever we can give back to the community just makes it even better."

 

The Animal Clinic began operating in the summer of 1983 in the old Sonic building at the corner of Decatur Pike and Dupitt Street in Athens. In the practice's first 10 years, Workman treated everything from dogs and cats to horses, cows, birds, pigs and sheep.

 

"I treated all kinds of animals back then," he said.

 

In 1993, Workman limited the practice to small animals and horses. In 2004, he spent one year working solely with horses. Although he is now back in the small animal practice, he's never left the horse ranch -- his private office, located in the barn behind the clinic, is in a horse stall.

 

Walking through the rooms and halls of The Animal Clinic's 6,000-square-foot Rocky Mount Road location is like touring a museum of the area's cultural and four-legged history.

 

After outgrowing the original location on Decatur Pike, Workman purchased the former Doo Wah's Deli across from McMinn County High School. While the term "hot dog" now has a different connotation in the building, the memory of Doo Wah's is not entirely absent.

 

Although the building has been added to and altered over the years, an original wall from Doo Wah's is still prominently featured in the clinic. On the wall are hand-drawn caricatures of musicians and groups, such as The Doors and The Rolling Stones, dating back to Doo Wah's heyday.

 

Other artwork includes a wall mural in the hallway connecting examination rooms. The mural depicts several patients whose four legs have walked through the practice's doors at various points during its quarter-century existence.

 

One of the mural's subjects is Workman's first-ever patient, a collie named Major.

 

"I knew Major all of his life," said Workman. "I took care of him from the time he was five-weeks-old until his death at age 18 in 2001."

 

After Major's death, his owner had no place to bury him. Having a special place for Major in his heart, Workman gave Major a proper burial in his front lawn.

 

"Now I always know where Major is," said Workman.

 

Local Vols fans with a pet in need of surgery may likely put in a request for the procedure to be performed in the "Orange Room," one of the clinic's two operating rooms.

 

Workman said that in 1995, after a decade of watching the Vols lose to Alabama in football, he made a bet with a groomer, who was an Alabama fan, that if the Vols won that year against the Crimson Tide, he would paint the grooming room orange.

 

Although the "Orange Room" is now used for surgery, its bright orange walls still reveal who won that wager over a decade ago.

 

Over the years, more has changed than just the building. Workman said medical science has changed drastically since 1983 and continues to progress every day.

 

"As a student and a young graduate, I was up-to-date on technology and medicine in 1983," said Workman. "With increases in technology and medical knowledge, I really find myself having to keep up. It's a continuous education."

 

Ultrasound, endoscopy and videoscopy, as well as various new medicines are just some of the advances the clinic has seen over the past 25 years.

 

New and young veterinarians coming into the practice over the years have brought with them new knowledge, which Workman trades with them for his "old experience."

 

Over the years, The Animal Clinic has housed the practices of several veterinarians. Two vets Workman is particularly proud of are area natives Drs. Carey Lowery and Scott Curtis, who began working in the practice during their youth.

 

Lowery has been with the business almost as long as Workman, starting in 1983 at age 14 and working there all the way through veterinary school.

 

Curtis came in 1987 at age 19, working there through his educational career.

 

"These are two people I'm very proud of," said Workman. "Not only did they grow up here, but they also came back to provide for the community they love."

 

While Workman's initial goal of creating a thriving business to benefit the community was reached long ago, he said it is a limitless goal he continues to aim for each and every day.

 

"If you start putting limits on yourself, you hold yourself back," said Workman. "Looking ahead, though, is very important. We've made the practice successful by trying to continually move forward. We may not grow any bigger, but I hope we continue to keep getting better at what we do."

 

To celebrate The Animal Clinic's 25th Anniversary, the clinic will be hosting an open house on Saturday, June 21.

 

 

 

Posted: 06-02-08 Viewed: 800 times