The New Era of Rose-Rich Veterinary Clinic

Look out Richmond/Rosenberg, a longtime clinic just went through a major make-over and we had the first opportunity to talk with the owners about Rose-Rich Veterinary Clinic from old school to new school.

First off, Rose-Rich is not a new clinic by any means; the clinic was originally started in 1964 by Dr Tucker Robinson and Dr. Charlie McDonald over on Hwy. 90.  They built the older building on this site in 1969 and serviced countless pets there for over 40 years. Dr. Sharon Moore became a partner in 1998 and eventually became the owner in 2007. Dr. Moore is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and has been practicing for 27 years. Looking back Dr. Moore stated, “I decided to be a veterinarian at such a young age that I can’t even remember how young I was, likely 4 or 5 years old.” Dr. Moore adds, “Dr Duty has been with us over 10 years and is the mother of twins, Dr Rainer is a more recent graduate, he and his wife have 2 children.  Dr Pappan’s practice is limited to surgery and is with us two days a week on our surgery days.” Rose-Rich is primarily a small animal practice for dogs and cats, but Dr. Mac still sees livestock a couple days a week. The doctors are supported by a staff of 20. Leslie Walenta, the office manager, has been with Rose-Rich for over 25 years since she was just a kid working in the kennels.  Many of the staff has been with Rose-Rich for over 10 years.  They are a talented and dedicated crew with tremendous love for animals and their care and health.

So with a practice as dedicated and experienced as they are, it was only a matter of time until they ran out of space in the older building. Says Dr. Moore, “We had so thoroughly outgrown the old building that there was really no choice, but to expand.  We carefully contemplated ways to incorporate the old building into an expansion but its plumbing, wiring, and weight bearing walls couldn’t allow for our needs.  It was sad to see the ‘old girl’ go a couple weeks ago and many clients have asked for a brick because the practice is special to them.  We saved dozens for that purpose.”

When we asked Dr. Moore how it all started coming together, she said “My husband Michael, who has managed the building project, and I started working on the project 3 years ago.  We broke ground in the summer of 2009.We wanted to use regional architecture but Houston doesn’t have a classic look of its own like some cities across the country.  So we borrowed from the Texas 19^th century architecture of limestone arches and towers like many public buildings of that time.” Adds Dr. Moore,   “Then we brought in the idea of a two story plaza with talavera tile and fountain reminiscent of a coastal house’s walled courtyard.  The palm trees in the lobby remind us of the nearby beach and we used earth tones for a warm and welcoming feel.  Our patients as well as their owners should feel relaxed as they come in.” The new clinic offers their clients some of the most state of the art medical equipment and an amazing hand painted mural on the ceiling in the main area.

Robin Schwenke, who is a client and Richmond native, painted the mural.  “She looked like Michelangelo in a harness up on the second story indoor roofline of the Lobby painting the sky.” Says Dr. Moore, “Her animals are so realistic and many of the animals painted in the lobby, playroom, and luxury suites are the animals of the staff members.  She even painted my 34 year old horse in the barn room of the luxury suites.” The new hospital is over 10,000 sq feet with an extra large lobby that looks like a plaza or park.  It features a hand painted sky, a 3 tiered fountain, park benches, beautiful talavera tile, a second story balcony, and a 15ft silk palm tree to complete the park theme.

There are 7 exam rooms, an ICU, a spacious surgery suite and treatment room, digital x-rays that display on touch computer screens in every exam and treatment room, boarding kennels for over 125 and a full grooming salon.  There are also 8 luxury suites, all themed and hand painted such as the Jungle Room, Under the Sea, Sports Mania, the Royal Suite, and a Day at the beach.  The suites have full length windows, TVs and cameras for you to watch your pet over the internet via the Rose-Rich website.  They have two large outdoor play yards and an indoor playroom for Doggie Daycare.  The second floor houses a large conference room and offices. The 40 year old building didn’t really have a separate ICU, but now they have space for 10 in the new building with the ICU visible from the treatment and surgery rooms.  They can house well over 100 animals with runs, large kennels, 3 sizes of cat condos (1 style has 5 ‘floors’ and is 6ft tall!) and the luxury suites. Dr. Moore states “We started in July and have already moved in thanks to the outstanding work of our contractor Rosenberger Construction.” The landscaping will be completed in May and the open house is right around the corner. Michael adds, “Our open house will be Sat May 22^nd from 1pm until 7pm.  We will have fun activities for adults and children such as “what’s that in the xray of the dog’s tummy” also known as ‘what in the world did you eat?”  We will have the surgery room set up for Teddy Bear surgery for the kids to be a ‘surgeon’ with cap, gown, and gloves.   Bring your camera!”