By Dr. Heckler

I grew up in Lake Station attending St. Francis grade school until sixth grade then moving to Miller and attending St. Mary of the Lake and later Andrean High School (Class of 1967). After high school I attended Purdue University and graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine in 1975. I explored opportunities as a Veterinarian in other states before returning home to start this practice in 1982 literally on a shoestring. With $20,000.00 I rented and equipped a 1,200 square foot storefront building. After two years, due to enormous demands on space, I expanded the clinic to 2,400 square feet.

In 1989 Award Winning Architect John Knapp was enlisted to design the present 5,000 square foot building. There are presently four partners (Dr. Heckler, Dr. Cooper, Dr. Clements, and Dr. Weitzel) and a total of six veterinarians (Dr. Zwingelberg and Dr. Lovick) staffing the primary practice in Lake Station and our second practice (Porter County Pet Clinic) in Valparaiso with a total number of thirty employees.