Dr. Brent Lakia may be the new veterinarian at Vale Park Animal hospital, but he is already quite familiar with the hospital. “It all started in 1998, when I was a senior in high school. I was here at the Vale Park Animal Hospital cleaning kennels, cleaning the exam rooms, and meeting a lot of the clients and patients that were here. I was getting to know what being a veterinarian really was,” explained Dr. Brent. “Every summer, when I was an undergrad in college, I would come home to work too.”
Now, 18 years later, Dr. Brent returns home as the hospital’s newest veterinarian.
“I’ve been here a week and a couple of days (and I did a little bit of work earlier in the year too). But I’ve already had former teachers, professors, and clients come in, who saw me as the kennel kid. And now they get to see me as the doctor,” Dr. Brent continued.
“Knowing the impact I’ve made for them to remember me as 'that young guy' and then to come back and have them trust me with their pet’s care is beyond awesome.”
Though Dr. Brent was able to return to the hospital that inspired him to become a veterinarian, it was long road before he returned home. Dr. Brent graduated from Chesterton High School in 1999. From there he went onto Purdue University, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in biology in 2003. He then went to Ball State’s IU Medical School for his Master’s Degree and then to Veterinary School at Ross University. His clinicals and rotations were completed at Oklahoma State University.
“I’ve been around a lot of different places, which is cool,” Dr. Brent added.
After his education was completed, he moved to Cincinnati to work as an ER veterinarian and practiced in Milwaukee, when he finally received the call from home.
“The folks at Vale Park rang me up and said ‘Hey, you wanna come back home?’ I jumped at the opportunity,” Dr. Brent said.
“It's just nice to come home. I have a wife, three kids, two dogs and two cats. The opportunity to bring them back to where I came from is really cool. It’s great to let my kids experience that too,” Dr. Brent said.
“I’ve worked with not only the clients, but this staff for years. I’ve known a lot of these people for almost twenty years now, and it's good to see not much has changed," Dr. Brent explained.
"What we’ve always prided ourselves on is the level of care that we’re able to provide. Not only in the medical realm but in the emotional and comfort realm. When people come in, they know that we are prioritizing their pet. We’re making sure we’re keeping them posted on times, being accurate with the cost of things, and that we’re putting the focus on their pet," said Dr. Brent. "I’ve been in a lot practices over the past 6 years, since I graduated from medical school, and it's a rare combination to find the level of care we’re able to offer with the attention to the big picture of providing pet health care that we’re able to do here.“
Vale Park Animal Hospital invites the public to me Dr. Brent on October 22nd from 2pm to 4pm. There will be food, prizes, and of course the opportunity to meet Dr. Brent in person. The Vale Park Animal hospital hopes to see you there!
For more information on Vale Park Animal Hospital, click here.