This home service is available on the weekends.

“If you have a cat or dog who isn’t feeling well, you contact us and I can come and do an exam in your home,” VanGorder said.

He can also take blood samples from an ailing pet and send them to a lab. Results are usually available within a few days, he said.

Should a pet need X-rays, VanGorder refers the client to a clinic. Happy Paws also is not designed to respond in emergencies. But those who need or want a weekend visit at their own house can easily arrange that with Happy Paws.

At left, Dr. VanGorder meets Charlotte, a boxer mix, at the door of her Marsh Creek home. Charlotte is 16 or 17 years old, according to owner Vicki Confer.

One of VanGorder’s clients had a St. Bernard with back trouble, and the client could not lift that much dog into and out of a vehicle. VanGorder was able to treat the injury with medications and the dog recovered without having to leave home.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of elderly clients who… have a hard time getting themselves and their animals to the vet,” he said.

Happy Paws also offers in-home euthanasia for animals at the end of life.

Gina Gramling is the practice manager. She schedules appointments, orders supplies, and handles the business end. If needed, she also goes on calls, although that is rare, she said.

Both have worked at a regular vet clinic, and still work in a regular veterinary setting. They know that clinics often receive requests for house calls.

“We saw a need and desire for this,” VanGorder said.

He works at Lewis Veterinary Clinic in Linden, and to avoid a conflict of interest, Happy Paws does not provide service in the Jersey Shore area. Its main service area extends from Lock Haven through State College.

Happy Paws started in January and is already seeing business picking up, he said. It makes for busy weekends, VanGorder said, but he’s looking forward to the service growing even more.

“It’s rewarding in a lot of ways to come into people’s houses and help right there,” he said.

Happy Paws treats dogs, cats, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, and other companion animals. The practice has even given VanGorder the opportunity to examine a pet skunk and treat a pet duck with a leg injury.

“I’ve always had a passion for animals,” he said.

A native of Mill Hall, he did his undergraduate studies at Penn State and earned his veterinary medicine degree from Ross University and Kansas State two years ago. Since becoming a D.V.M., he has worked in this area.

Years ago, he worked at the Clinton County SPCA Shelter in Dunnstown.

“It started as a job,” he said, “but as I got more comfortable helping, I saw things that veterinary science might cure and what veterinarians could do.”

Gramling is a native of Marsh Creek and now lives in State College. She earned a bachelor of science in management from Lock Haven University. After an internship at the Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte, N.C., the center offered her a paid position that became “one of my favorite jobs,” she said. She was assistant director of education and coordinated school programs in North and South Carolina.

“I knew I wanted to work with animals, in some sort of wildlife education,” she said.

To reach Happy Paws, call 814-954-4668 and leave a message. Calls are returned within 24 hours, Gramling said.

Simple questions also can be addressed through Facebook. Look for the “Happy Paws Mobile Vet” page there, or visit the practice’s website: www.happypawsmobilevet.com.