December 1, 2020

To All Our Very Valued Large Animal Clients,

In case you haven’t heard, Dr. Brannon Rickman will be leaving us at the end of December. He and his wife are moving to South Carolina for the next phase of their life. Since joining us in 2015, Dr. Rickman has made a tremendous impact here at Murray County Veterinary Services. He will be SORELY missed, both as a veterinarian and as a great person.

MCVS started our search for a new mixed animal veterinarian several weeks ago, but even during a non-Covid year, this type of veterinarian is an *extremely* rare creature, much less finding a good doctor who is a great human being. We are endeavoring to do our best, and we thank you for bearing with us. We are blessed to have had an even heavier all-around caseload than usual for the last several months, but this means we were already running very thin. We do not intentionally neglect anyone, and we try to give every client and patient the attention they deserve, so we thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this time.

In order to make sure that our large animal clients (cattle, horses, goats, sheep, swine) have as many resources available to them as possible while we continue our search, we have contacted other equine and cattle veterinarians within the radius of a few counties, and they have expressed that they are very willing to serve this area / parts of this area, and see new large animal clients. Below is a list for your reference, along with the species that they see. We recommend that you keep this list on hand and contact one of these great veterinarians FIRST for service, especially for after-hours emergencies and regular farm calls, as those are the hardest type for us to work in:

CATTLE and other large animals including horses:

- Cornerstone Veterinary Svc. Rock Spring706-375-7314 Dr. Eric Miller

- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (HAUL-IN ONLY but prices are very reasonable)  865-974-8387

EQUINE ONLY:

- Equine Center of Cleveland 423-559-9690 Drs. Blazer and Williams

- Countryside Equine Svcs, Armuchee 706-233-9990 Drs. Wilson and Amari

Again, we appreciate the support and loyalty of SO many in this community. This is an extremely painful decision, as we wish we could be everywhere for everyone at all times, but our primary concern is that your animals get the timely care and attention that they need. We will hopefully be able to provide fuller services again within the next year, and will update you as we can.

Thank you, and please keep us in prayer for our search!! God Bless You,

Dr. Rebecca Knowles, DVM

co-owner, Murray County Veterinary Services

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