With 48 years of veterinary service, Animal Medical of Covington has been a staple for Newton County residents who have been looking to take care of their pets and animals.

Animal Medical of Covington is led by lead veterinarian Dr. Kristian Shriver.

When asked what separates his veterinarian office from others in the area, Shriver highlighted how his team’s ability to work with customers.

“My staff and I actually listen to the clients,” Shriver said. “Yes, we are busy, but we listen to what they have to say. We try to give them the best medicine we can but still accommodate their wishes the best we can as well.”

Shriver began in the office in 1998. After making the move from Gwinnett County, Shriver felt like his place in Covington was the right fit.

“My wife and I moved here because we both had jobs. Then we fell in love with the place and decided it was a good place to raise our kids and stick around,” Shriver said. “And to boot, I love the people around here. It is a very friendly community.”

Shriver earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from The University of Georgia in 1994 as well as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1998.

To go along with his degrees from the University of Georgia, Shriver ran the veterinary arm of disaster medicine for the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Shriver’s staff consists of 16 employees who have worked in the office for many years, and he attributes the success of the business to his team.

“It is the people who work here,” Shriver said. “We have people that have worked for me for 17-plus years. It does really have a family-feel. People tell us about their grandkids and tell us about things that are going on in their life. 

“Everyone is like family. I know it sounds cliche, but that is really how it is.”

Among Shriver’s staff, he has one veterinarian, three full time groomers, two receptionists, seven assistants and three high school work based learning students.

Similar to the staff, Animal Medical of Covington also has long-term clients.

“We have several [customers] who pre-date me here. That was 26 years ago,” Shriver said. We have people who move away and come back to us. They move away and still drive the distance to come see us.”

Animal Medical of Covington offers many different services, ranging from general medicine all the way to surgeries and non-invasive cancer diagnostics.

Among the other services are dentistry, diagnostics, ultrasounds in their in-house lab, laser therapy for arthritis, boarding and grooming. Pet products, health products, nutrition, shampoos and flea products are also sold in the office.

“Our groomers were voted best in the county, so I have to brag about them, of course,” Shriver said.

As new technology continues to be introduced into the field, Shriver and Animal Medical of Covington lean on embracing new forms of treatment to offer to their clients.

“Just like with anything else, the technology is what changing things a lot. Things that we were doing when I came out of school have changed tremendously because of technology making it a lot better,” Shriver said. “For example, we used to treat arthritis with just pills. Now, we treat it with therapy to decrease inflammation. There is now an arthritis vaccine. We do supplements, we do rehab, we do a lot of things that, when I first came out of school, It wasn’t even thought of.”

Animal Medical of Covington is located at 7120 Industrial Blvd, Covington , GA 30014. The hours of operation are 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday as well as Friday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Saturday. The office is closed on Sundays.

The practice is members of the Newton County Chamber of Commerce as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association and Georgia Veterinary Medical Associates.

In 2019, Animal Medical of Covington was voted as the Best Veterinarian and Best Animal Hospital by The Covington News. 

Through the awards and years of business, Shriver gave all the credit to his team.

“The staff…that’s who makes it. I can’t brag enough about them,” Shriver said.