Partners Animal Hospital opens in Lakewood Ranch

Greyhawk Landing’s Reagan McDonald wasn’t always a veterinarian. She started her career as a computer programmer. 

“I didn’t want to sit in a cubicle for the rest of my life writing code,” McDonald said. “This was always something I wanted to do, and life allowed me to take the chance, so I did.” 

McDonald has been practicing veterinary medicine since 2010 and is now the medical director and managing partner at Partners Animal Hospital Lakewood Ranch. 

There are nine Partners Animal Hospitals across Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina. 

The Lakewood Ranch office opened June 11 at 15020 E. State Road 64, Suite 103. The hospital hosted a ribbon cutting with the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance and the Manatee Chamber of Commerce July 10.

The 4,300-square-foot facility features seven exam rooms, two of which are dedicated to cats only, a pharmacy, dental suite, surgical suite, and an outdoor dog run. 

In addition to vaccines, diagnostics and emergency care, the office also offers acupuncture. 

McDonald said acupuncture is becoming more common in veterinary offices as people look for different modalities of care.

“I’m integrative, so I do Eastern and Western (medical treatments),” she said. “I like the addition of acupuncture for pain control as an adjunct for some of the other things we do.”

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

McDonald said science backs up the practice. 

Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine reports improved mobility, reduced stiffness and improved overall comfort after dogs were treated with acupuncture. Some dogs are also able to reduce their reliance on pain medication when acupuncture is included in their overall treatment plan. 

The needles are so tiny that McDonald said most dogs don’t react. In fact, acupuncture often makes them sleepy. Cats can be treated, too.

For now, McDonald is the only veterinarian at the practice, but the intention is to have four veterinarians on staff in the future. 

Partners is one of only two East County veterinary offices that are “Fear Free certified.” The program guidelines prioritize “the emotional wellbeing of the patients, as well as the staff and clients.” 

Certification requires the practice to have a standard operating procedure for “preventing and alleviating fear, anxiety, and stress upon arrival at the practice, during the visit, and during discharge.”

Practices to alleviate fear include limiting restraints, providing treats, and greeting patients with species-specific calming pheromones. 

Jennifer Atchley, manager of the practice, encourages pet parents to bring blankets to appointments. 

“If it smells like you, it’s going to make them comfortable,” she said. “I want the animals to feel comfortable, safe and secure.” 

Atchley has worked in the veterinary field for over 16 years in clinical and leadership roles. 

She’s seen dogs eat a lot of different things over that timespan. Figuring out what the dog ate often turns into a guessing game. 

The most bizarre thing to emerge from a dog’s stomach was the contents of a laundry basket. The dog ate everything from underwear to a baby's socks. 

Courtesy image

While the animal hospital only treats dogs and cats, one of the nurses has experience with lions, hyenas and elephants. 

Jaida Cain traveled to Zimbabwe in 2022 when she was a student at St. Petersburg College. 

It was the experience of a lifetime in the span of two and a half weeks, where Cain felt every emotion from fear to awe. 

She cried the first time she saw elephants in the wild and feared for her life while in a boat being chased by hippos. 

“Hippos are very fast,” Cain said. “They run and hop through the water.” 

The lions got even closer, but were less aggressive. Cain could hear them at night from inside her tent. Of course, she didn't venture out to look, but trail cameras confirmed the rustling was indeed lions. 

But unlike the wild baboons, the lions kept to themselves. The baboons were only after food in unoccupied spaces, but if they noticed so much as a crack in a window, they ate everything in sight. 

While the stories are as wild as the animals, some of the treatments were rather ordinary. A lion needs to be dewormed just like a dog.