ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - After it was suggested he not, Roger Cooper started to build his own business on the east side of Aberdeen in 1976.
Cooper Animal Clinic is still going strong.
He was discouraged from the venture by colleagues, business consultants and bankers, according to a Veterinary Economics article published in 1982.
But Cooper proved those doubters wrong. He, along with Frederick Hermann Associates, Inc., came up with the unique business design.
“I initially went to an architect with the idea that it’d be a Spanish-style architecture, but I also wanted to include the potential for solar, and so that’s why he came up with the unique roof design,” Cooper said. “That in itself has been good because almost everybody that would see this place, especially when it was early on, would recognize it. It was different.”
While the building has potential for solar energy, that’s not how it’s powered. However, the clinic does have a front solar porch.
Cooper came to Aberdeen in 1970 as a recent veterinary school graduate from Iowa State University, and his first job was at Aberdeen Veterinary Hospital. Along with another co-worker, he eventually formed Animal Health Clinic, before eventually opening at his own business, the Aberdeen American News reported.
During Cooper’s early years as a veterinarian, he worked on large animals, including production animals - those that provide meat, dairy, wool and other products used by humans - and animals in distress.
Eventually, he decided to step away from that type of work.
“As time went on, I chose to focus on the small animals because I knew I could do that the rest of my life as opposed to the back-breaking work that you get into (with) some large animals,” Cooper said.
Years ago, before he made the change, one of those large animals was unusual for northeastern South Dakota. He received a call from a client by Bath who had camels that were on loan from a zoo in Minnesota.
“When this camel was born, it had a condition that required additional antibodies to be delivered. So they had three camels out there, a male and a couple females,” Cooper said.
“We went to St. Luke’s (Hospital) and we got blood bags that they would harvest our blood, and we drew blood from the male camel that was out there and then transferred that to St. Luke’s to process the blood.
“Some place, I had a picture of me standing with an IV and a camel in front of the clinic,” he said. “Kind of a neat deal. You run into all different kinds of animals that people care about.”
Cooper has seen a recent trend concerning the importance of domesticated animals, be they dogs, cats, birds or others that can be found in pet stores.
“Companion animals have gotten much more important over the 50 years that I’ve been in practice,” he said. “I’m not sure why, but I think pet owners appreciate our pets more than they did back in the ’70s. … Today, people would just as soon take their pet to their pediatrician. They’re part of the family.”
As a veterinarian, Cooper has earned many honors, including a merit award from Veterinary Economic Magazine and Reader’s Choice Awards from American News readers.
Since starting his practice, Cooper has helped more than 22,000 customers. He knows this because when he went to print off mailing address labels for his retirement party, he had 749 pages with 30 contacts per sheet.
Once he’s finished working, he plans to travel the U.S.
“Dr. Cooper is very blessed right now. He’s healthy and wants to do a lot of traveling, and that’s something (he’s) not afforded to himself to this point, so it’s going to be a new journey,” said Adonica Kunnen, a friend of Cooper’s.
But he won’t be permanently leaving town.
“We’re still going to be around. We’ll be maintaining some of this property, so we’ll still be in the area and hopefully contributing,” Cooper said.
As for the clinic, he will turn the reins over to Amber Sombke, who is also a graduate from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Sombke, who is originally from Groton, attended Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota, and Northern State University for her undergraduate studies.
After graduation from Iowa State, she started at Cooper Animal Clinic.
“I’m hoping that we can keep Dr. Cooper’s legacy going strong. He has built an amazing foundation here for us, and I hope we can make him proud,” Sombke said.
“Maybe grow as a company and a clinic and be able to eventually serve more of the community of Aberdeen than we can right now.”
Currently, Sombke specializes in dogs and cats. But from time to time she will help a hamster. The majority of staff from Cooper’s tenure will stay with the clinic, Sombke said.
“I am very, very excited, very enthusiastic. I can’t wait to see what we can do here,” she said.
Sombke purchased the practice at the beginning of April.
“I’m pretty convinced that the clientele will be able to expect the same type of results that they did with us,” Cooper said
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