BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - Some parts of Turnera Croom’s story might sound pretty typical, like how her desire to become a veterinarian started as a childhood dream.
Her vet practice, Dr. Croom Mobile Veterinary Service, is less so.
For one thing, Croom doesn't have an office. When clients call or make an appointment, she goes to them, rather than the other way around.
“I think it’s really neat,” said Rachel Laughlin who lives in Portage and has three cats, Mahlie, Ruckus and Dahlia.
“Our cat Ruckus, she does not like the car. If you try to put her in a carrier she will flip the heck out, so the idea of not having to put her in the car to get her to the vet is amazing. And, even worse, with all three of them, we would probably have to take multiple trips, so having the vet come to the house is a relief.”
The fact that Croom makes house calls takes the stress off clients in numerous ways, whether it’s because the animal can remain in a familiar environment or because the pet owner has transportation troubles.
“One of the biggest differences is, dogs who have anxiety problems, being at home, it allows the doctor to come to them, and it’s still something different. ‘Who is this? Why are they touching me?’ but it does help put the animal in a calmer situation,” said Toni White, one of Croom’s veterinary technicians.
Croom's range covers Southwest Michigan, with a focus on the Kalamazoo, Portage and Battle Creek area.
“That’s the direction of our society now, everything mobile, everything convenient,” Croom said.
"I wanted to make sure that my service allowed me to get to my fellow veterans who might be disabled as well as the senior clients who also might not be mobile.”
Ruckus does not like cars or carriers, which is why her owner Rachel Laughlin, turned to Dr. Croom Mobile Veterinary Service. (Photo: Natasha Blakely/Battle Creek Enquirer)
Croom’s interest in veterinary medicine was first sparked by her father, James Croom, who was a science teacher.
“He’s the one,” Turnera Croom said. “He really brought that out in me, I can say.”
Croom has memories of her father bringing home chameleons, baby chicks and preserved fetal pigs.
“I think this is what she watched me do all these years, and she decided when she was around seven she wanted to be a vet,” James Croom said. “I did what I could in the yard with her to bring all these interests she had into her environment. She said ‘I’m going to be a vet.’ one day, and I blinked and there she was, a vet.”
It wasn’t as easy as blinking, of course. After graduating from Tuskegee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001, Turnera Croom spent four years in the Army Veterinary Corps.
She led a team of Army veterinary technicians and Air Force surgical technicians training Air Force doctors in field surgery prior to their deployment.
“We trained them in varieties of techniques, using pigs, so that they wouldn’t be operating on their comrades for the first time without practicing,” Croom said.
Turnera Croom has a mobile veterinary service that covers Southwest Michigan. Croom has a pet of her own, a tortoise named Tortuga. (Photo: Natasha Blakely/Battle Creek Enquirer)
After that, Croom worked as a clinical research veterinarian at a research lab for three years, before getting a job as a public health veterinarian for the USDA.
“I was specifically the humane handling veterinarian, which meant that, even though the animals were going to be giving their lives for food, they still had the right to be treated humanely, and I was the person ensuring that happened,” Croom said.
Eight years later, in 2017, Croom decided to start her own practice.
“I’m just very entrepreneurial anyway, so it’s just a natural step I think to want to work for myself and to be able to hire other people, especially other veterans,” she said.
Croom's practice has a holistic focus. She uses vaccines and antibiotics but prefers to otherwise use natural remedies when possible. She also offers cannabidiol, also known as CBD, products, an option she emphasizes with clients.
“The CBD is important because not every veterinarian will offer CBD, because it can be somewhat controversial,” Croom said. “But seeing that I'm a veteran and use CBD products myself, I want to make sure that’s available to my patients and my clients.”
Turnera Croom (right) and her veterinary technician Toni White examine Ruckus. Croom has a mobile veterinary service that covers Southwest Michigan. (Photo: Natasha Blakely/Battle Creek Enquirer)
One of the services Croom offers is her Last Wishes euthanasia service.
"It's not like taking your dog to the vet at the office," said Kathy Bloch, one of Croom's Battle Creek clients, whose dog KC received the Last Wishes service. "With her coming to the house, it was just very, very special."
"In the condition my dog was in, she was almost 12 years old and, rottweilers, they usually don’t even live that long," Bloch said. "My girl was pretty healthy up to the end, and Dr. Croom, in her visits here, it just felt very good. You could tell she was somebody who cares, and I loved it, and my dog, she loved it."
Keeping the animals calm can help when they need shots and rabies vaccinations, she said.
A rabies shot is needed for pet owners to get a license, which has been required for dog, cat and ferret owners in Battle Creek since the 1990s. Battle Creek is adding online licensing registration as an option for pet owners in December, and Croom is already excited.
“I come to the home, I give them the rabies shot, I give them the certificate, and then, boom, they can go online,” Croom said.
Turnera Croom started a Future Veterinarians Program in 2017, where she takes a group of middle and high school students around a pet supply store and talks to them about veterinary medicine, animal care and more. (Photo: Natasha Blakely/Battle Creek Enquirer)
Croom also started a Future Veterinarians Program for students from 4th to 12th grade. She hold sessions in pet supply stores, and she’s particularly proud of it, because the program can be replicated anywhere “as long as I have a pet supply store and willing minds,” she said.
“I think it’s very important to have a program like the Future Veterinarians Program because it allows especially disadvantaged kids to see ‘Hey, you have a black female veterinarian,’” Croom said.
“The program allows for kids who are of color to be able to see and get to know a veterinarian of color and know that it’s possible for them. It’s not a barrier for them to become a veterinarian if that’s what they choose to do.”
For more information about Dr. Croom Mobile Veterinary Service call 269-873-1311 or visit drcoom.com.
Contact reporter Natasha Blakely at (269) 223-0114 or nblakely@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter at @blakelynat.
