Our Hospital

The Early Days

Our story begins on June 1st, 1983, when Dr. Larry Knight and Dr. William Wheat built the Animal Care Center in Hammond, LA with the idea of bringing comprehensive veterinary medical and surgical care to the Northshore Community. In our early days, the practice consisted of about 60% small animal and 40% large animal medicine.  In 1988, Dr. Darryl Bubrig joined our practice and in 1990 he became an owner after purchasing Dr. Knight’s portion of the practice. 

In 2001, we purchased a parcel of land with an existing building in Ponchatoula, LA. We renovated that building and in June of 2002, Pet Care Center opened. Pet Care Center became the sister location of Animal Care Center.

In 2006, Animal Care Center was remodeled and expanded into a full-service veterinary hospital. Now, both Hammond & Ponchatoula locations offer a wide range of services such as surgery, internal medicine, grooming, and boarding. Advanced services included an in-house laboratory, radiographs, anesthetic monitoring equipment, tonometry, EKG, surgical laser, and oxygen therapy.

Pet Care Center & Animal Care Center Today

We carry a wide range of nutritional products including premium pet foods and prescription diets. Our pharmacy is fully stocked with an inventory of the latest medications and supplements. New boarding suites are luxurious, offering extra accommodations for those clients who want a little extra for their pets. Lastly, our hospitals are computerized with state of the art systems and connected between hospitals for a seamless transfer of information. 

Our doctors are knowledgeable and current on all of the newest and innovative forms of diagnoses and treatments. They attend multiple continuing education conferences on both the state and national levels. We host routine staff meetings and continuing education seminars for our support staff. We feel keeping all our staff up to date on new practices, procedures, and products is an integral part of our practice. Our doctors and clinics are up to date on all licensing requirements as well. 

Animal Care Center and Pet Care Center are dedicated to our community and encourage our doctors and staff to participate in community events and organizations. We feel it is important to do our part within the community in which we serve. We routinely support, sponser, and participate in community events, in both Hammond and Ponchatoula, including Kiwanis, Relay for Life, Special Olympics, Richard Murphy Hospice Foundation, and many local school sports teams. 

In recent years, we have grown into one of the largest non-referral veterinary clinics in the Northshore Community. We now have two locations, 9 full time Veterinarians with a combined experience of over 100 years, and over 30 full-time and part-time support staff. We have shifted focus and now practice primarily small animal medicine as well as pocket and exotic pets. 

We have and will continue to provide the very best veterinary care to our community for many years to come!