by Dennis Dalman
Many pet lovers will be happy to know that Pine Cone Pet Hospital in Sartell will soon have a new veterinarian, which means the facility will be able to take on more clients and their precious pets.
Prospective clients can start calling Pine Cone Pet Hospital during August.
There has been a shortage of veterinarians in the entire central Minnesota area – and beyond – in recent years. At Pine Cone Pet Hospital, there have been only two veterinarians – Dr. Walker Brown, who is also the owner; and Dr. Heather Vogl. The hospital has been so busy the veterinarians and support staff do not take breaks and rarely have time to eat lunch. The time crunch was especially acute this summer because, as Dr. Brown said, the summer takes a toll on animals.
Now, thanks to the new doctor, the hospital can not only take on new clients but can have more quality time to provide services to current clients’ pets.
The man who will soon come to the rescue is Mark Johnson, DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine). Born in St. Louis Park, Johnson, now 32, grew up in Cherokee, Iowa and earned a degree in animal science from Iowa State University, Ames, then earned his DVM degree at the same university. Johnson specializes mainly in dogs and cats.
In 2017, right after graduation, Johnson worked for three years at a veterinary job in Cross Lake, Minn. Then, 18 months ago, he moved back to Iowa where he landed his current job at the Creature Comfort Pet Veterinary Hospital in Ankeny. That hospital, too, is busy, requiring Johnson to work three 14-hour shifts per week.
He is happy about his new job in Sartell, partly because he will be able to be with his girlfriend, Sartell resident Abby Nelson, the mother of two young children who met Johnson when he was working in Cross Lake. The two of them began a period of long-distance dating. Nelson, who did hospital work, is now an accounting student.
“I was torn between my family in Iowa and my girlfriend in Sartell,” said Johnson in a telephone interview with the Sartell Newsleader. “My mother passed away recently, the home has disappeared and I’ve been letting go of the past.”
Johnson hopes to rent for the first year in Sartell, then find a house to buy.
“I’m excited to get to know the community, to meet the people in it and to become a part of it,” he said.
Johnson enjoys watching sports and loves outdoor activities: pheasant hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing, being on the water. And not surprisingly, he loves dogs. He has two of them that he treats like best buddies, two golden retrievers – Hank and Maynard.
contributed photo
Dr. Mark Johnson, the newly hired veterinarian at Pine Cone Pet Hospital in Sartell, takes time for a photo with his two “buddies,” Hank and Maynard.
