Veterinary Care of Ithaca, Then and Now

In the Beginning…
Nobody is quite sure when, but we do know by age 8, when she decided to bring her pony inside the farmhouse she grew up in, Sarah Meixell’s future as a veterinarian was decided.
From there it was early acceptance to Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, followed by the all important job search. Seems the wisdom of the day dictated Health Care for large animals was, well, “no place for a woman.”
Not one to be thrown off track…
Sarah accepted a job in Rochester, NY. There she developed a love of small animal medicine, honed her surgical and veterinary skills, and began working her way back home. Accepting a job in Elmira allowed her to return to the family’s farm in Mecklenberg.
Unsatisfied practicing “partial pet care” at other hospitals, she scraped together everything she could and bought the struggling “Ithaca Small Animal Hospital” in downtown Ithaca. In 1985, with barely any money, and even less business training, she began building a modern practice that would later become Veterinary Care of Ithaca.
Over the Years…
Remodeling the original building and adding new space as the practice grew has allowed the hospital to offer more complete patient care. Updating the practice one piece of equipment at a time, Dr Meixell has met the growing needs of her patients and their owners by maintaining a constant state of improvement. As old staff members left, better trained, more experienced ones took their place, allowing the hospital to reach it’s ultimate goal, the best care for its patients.
Responding to confusion surrounding the old name, the practice was renamed
Veterinary Care of Ithaca
when it incorporated in 2006.
Since that time, the hospital has been directed by answering YES to two Simple Directives:
Is it what’s best for the Patient?
and
Will it offer the best Service to our Clients?
Our job is simple.
We partner with you to provide the best care for your pet.
The service part?
If you need something, we’ll get it for you. If we don’t know where to find it, or how to do it, we’ll find someone who can.
Simple.
To this day, Dr Meixell defends her reasons for bringing her pony in the house with her. Her reason - she didn’t want “Bucky” to have to stay outside in the cold.