Dear friends,

It is with sadness, but also a feeling of deep gratitude towards you, that I write to you today to inform you that I am closing my practice, The Lotus Center for Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, permanently.

Opening this practice and running it for the last 18 months has been an amazing experience for me; full of joy and fear, and laughter and tears. Each of you has taken part of this journey with me and I am so grateful to all of you for being willing to trust me with your pet’s medical care.  It still seems a miracle to me that I opened the door and people actually showed up! I have grown and learned from this experience and I hope that in some small measure, you each feel that you have gotten something from me, too.

I also want to thank my employees, Jeanelle (Green) Mendenhall and Kim Sparks, who each lent their skills, compassion, humor, and wisdom to this wonderful place.  Behind the scenes, it has been my husband, Alan Kalish, who has struggled with the bookkeeping task of trying to make ends meet – my unsung hero – and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for everything he has done.

For my dog Lotus, the figurehead of the clinic and the best dog in the entire world (do not argue with me about this), I send all the love and gratitude I have for requiring me to set the standard for compassionate care so high and for inspiring me to take the risk of starting my own practice.

• We will stop seeing appointments on Friday, October 2nd, 2009. 
• We will be answering the phone through Friday, October 9, 2009.
• I can be reached by email at claudia@lotusvet.com until December 31, 2009.
• I can be reached by postal mail, which will be forwarded to me, at
  The Lotus Center, 7206 Gooding Blvd., Delaware, OH 43015
        until approximately October 25, 2010.

We are sending medical records to all currently active clients through US Mail, including the originals of any records from previous veterinarians and copies of the records covering treatment at our facility.

Please contact me regarding prescription renewals you may need for your pet until you are able to establish a relationship with a new doctor.  I have included a list of three veterinary practices located close to our facility.  I believe that your pet would receive good care at any of these clinics.

For prescription requests, I must comply with the legal requirement that I have examined your pet within the last twelve months in order to be able to prescribe medication.  In addition to that restriction, heartworm medication can only be prescribed up to the date that the next heartworm test is due in the event that that date is less than 12 months from your pet’s last exam.  Medications that require routine laboratory testing to monitor for side effects can only be prescribed up to the date that the next blood test is due.

A few of you have inquired about my future plans. Two of my family members are dealing with illnesses that have required me to travel out of state several times.  It is my immediate goal to focus on those loved ones and see to it that they get all the care they need.  After that, I intend to resume practicing medicine but I do not know where or when. 

It has been my honor and pleasure to met you and care for your pets.  I wish all of you good health and happiness and trust that you will continue to provide your pets with all the love, attention, and medical care needed for them to experience long and healthy lives.

Sincerely,

Claudia Kalish