As one of the oldest veterinary clinics in area, The Woodlands Pet Clinic in the Panther Creek Village Center has been seeing customers since 1981. When current owners Peter and Susan Cragg took over in 1986, the clinic was seeing a steady stream of customers throughout the day.

As the clinic's only doctor, he immediately dove into the veterinarian lifestyle, sometimes working 12 days in a row, Peter said.

"It was just me, a technician and a receptionist," he said. "We ate, slept, breathed and lived the whole veterinary medicine thing, and we loved it."

Since that time, the clinic at Panther Creek has doubled in size and the Craggs opened a second location in the Grogan's Mill in 1992. The Panther Creek location employs two full-time and one part-time doctor, and Grogan's Mill employs another full-time doctor.

The larger Panther Creek clinic has four exam rooms, a surgery suite, dental area and treatment room. The clinic's staff is capable of performing diagnostic tests, physicals and lab tests on clients' pets to gauge an animal's wellness.

When it opened, The Woodlands Pet Clinic was among the first to introduce a nutritional aspect to its practice.

"The main thing we focused on back then—which was a new concept for vets at the time—was nutrition," Peter said. "There are special diets to help with joint issues for dogs that limp, animals with kidney disease, overweight animals, animals with urinary problems. Instead of one size fits all, we've taken away the cookie cutter and we're tailoring the treatment quite specifically to the pets."

Nutrition counseling is one of several ways the clinic seeks to prolong life through methods that stress prevention.

"The focus is wellness and how to have a healthier dog or cat through their senior years," Susan said. "If we can detect some of these issues early, all we may have to do is modify the diet. It saves the client a lot of money, and the animal doesn't suffer."

The Craggs—pet owners themselves with four dogs and one cat—cited their love of animals for why they decided to get into veterinary medicine. Peter's involvement with animals extends to working with animal shelters and conducting nature programs at schools to teach students about animals with live turtles and snakes. Peter has also been involved with the craft of falconry in the past and has had special training to treat birds of prey.

"We are crazy about animals," Susan said. "The reward of working in a clinic is integrating that pet into your family. You can visit with them, become friends with them and really care about them."

Community involvement

Throughout his years living in The Woodlands, Peter Cragg has become involved in the community in several ways related to his knowledge of animals. In addition to conducting educational nature programs at schools, Peter has served as a scout master and has been recognized by the Montgomery County Humane Society for involvement with the county's animal shelter.

"For an eight-year period I would go up to the Humane Society animal shelter on Hwy. 242 and work with them," Peter said. "There was definitely a need to keep those guys healthy and adoptable."

Grogan's Mill expansion

Peter and Susan Cragg, owners of The Woodlands Pet Clinic, are exploring a possible expansion of their Grogan's Mill location. Although a timetable for the expansion has not been established yet, Peter said he would like to see the clinic double in size.

In its current state, the Grogan's Mill clinic serves mainly as an outpatient clinic with one full-time doctor and an exam room. Peter said the expansion would likely involve bringing it closer to a full-service hospital, adding surgery and dental capabilities, among other upgrades.

Services summary

• Physicals
• Blood work
• Surgery
• Dental health
• Vaccines
• Pet nutrition counseling

The Woodlands Pet Clinic

25206 Grogan's Mill Road, The Woodlands, 281-364-8333, www.grogansmillpetclinic.com

4775 W. Panther Creek Drive, The Woodlands, 281-367-7733, www.panthercreekpetclinic.com