- By Catherine T. Hegarty, D.V.M.
- Around Town
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ITHACA, NY – The Colonial Veterinary Hospital Wellness Center, which opened last month, provides physical therapy, acupuncture, and general health maintenance services for area pets.
Heather Murley, DVM is a veterinarian that specializes in acupuncture. She will see out-patients for acupuncture in the Wellness Center and will also be providing services to hospitalized patients as needed. Her service is also open to referrals from local veterinarians.
With the additional space at the Wellness Center, Colonial Veterinary Hospital will also be able to ease congestion at its main facility on North Triphammer Rd. by providing general health maintenance services at the new office.
Physical therapy services will be available Monday thru Friday and Acupuncture services will be available Monday, Tuesday, Friday and some Saturdays. Both services are currently available on a limited basis at the Triphammer Rd. office.
“Since working with Lin McGonagle, I have been amazed at the results my post-operative orthopedic and neurologic patients receive from physical therapy. We are extremely privileged to have someone like Ms. McGonagle on staff to work with these patients. We have had very positive feedback from clients who enjoy taking an active role in their pet’s recovery. The new treadmill will be a great addition to our program” said Dr. J. Thomas Ross, owner of the Colonial Veterinary Hospital and a board-certified surgeon. “I have also been impressed with how acupuncture has become such a helpful component of our care. Dr. Murley is extremely knowledgeable and dedicated to the well-being of our patients. The addition of physical therapy and acupuncture services has raised the level of care we can provide to our patients.”
Both Lin McGonagle and Dr. Murley will be working with many hospitalized patients, especially post-operative patients, at Colonial Veterinary Hospital. Last year, the Colonial Veterinary Hospital received surgery referrals from more than 200 central New York veterinarians. The practice offers many services that are not available at the typical veterinary hospital, including a dedicated emergency service, an extensive laboratory, specialty radiology and ultrasound diagnostics, endoscopy, blood transfusions, and state-of-the-art pain management.
Lin McGonagle, MSPT, LVT holds a master's degree in physical therapy and is also a licensed veterinary technician. She has extensive experience in the human field of physical therapy but is also one of the precious few people in the veterinary community to have studied physical therapy specifically in animals in the clinical setting.
Heather Murley earned her DVM degree from Michigan State in 1999 and completed additional training in Veterinary Acupuncture at Colorado State in 2003. Dr. Murley practiced in Bath, New York before moving to Ithaca. She is also involved in S.O.S., a non-profit organization providing veterinary services for area humane shelters.
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