Personality Portrait

Dr. Eric Riddell: Providing quality care to Raymond's furry friends
RAYMOND
11/19/2009

By Leanne Ouimet

In a home, just west of Buxton, there lives a family of 14. Dr. Eric Riddell, veterinarian at Jordan Bay Animal Hospital in Raymond, lives there with his wife, Kim, as well as Chico, Molly, Emma, Leeloo, Jillian, Dane, Trudie, Joey, Liam, Gwenny, Hannah and Tish. But don't be fooled, because they don't have 12 children. They have nine dogs and three cats. But to them, it doesn't make any difference.

''They found us,'' Riddell said. ''We didn't find them. That's our family.''

Riddell has owned the practice for the last three-and-a-half years. One of Riddell's top priorities, he said, is that his practice maintains a family atmosphere, where he can build strong relationships with his patients and his staff. He has taken this priority quite literally, as his wife serves as the animal hospital's practice manager.

But before Riddell's career became full of paws and whiskers, he was a touring musician for over a decade. One of the more successful musical ventures he had was with the band ''Spectacle,'' which specialized in commercial rock. Riddell said the band was considered a ''show band'' because, along with doing a medley of rock songs, they also would do performances of Jesus Christ Superstar or a comedy version of Grease. They performed all over the country in Florida, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe to name a few.

Originally from Canada, Riddell got his science degree from the University of Guelph and his veterinarian degree from the Ontario Veterinarian College, the oldest veterinarian college in North America. After spending time practicing in Andover, Mass., Scarborough and Kennebunk, he found his way to Raymond.

''We take this as seriously as if it were any other family member,'' he said.

Riddell truly does it all: dentistry, orthopedic work, ophthalmology, routine procedures such as spays, neuters, and check-ups and more. Recently, he has performed a splenectomy, removed a 1½ inch tumor from a guinea pig, performed surgery on a dog with a corneal ulcer, and healed some bite wounds on a cat. But the most interesting procedure Riddell ever performed was a cesarean section on a guinea pig, he said.

''I've been practicing for 17 years and even with routine surgery, every anatomy is different,'' he said. ''It keeps it fresh.''

Riddell said that one of his favorite parts about working at the animal hospital is seeing the happiness on the faces of pet owners when their pet walks out the door happy and healthy again.

''I like working in a place that offers cutting edge surgery and medicine and quality care,'' he said. ''It can be stressful and very emotional because for most people, it's not just their pet. They're really like children.''

As for his passion in life, he said that becoming a veterinarian allowed him to combine all the best elements of medicine, by becoming knowledgeable about a variety of different species and being able to work both with his patients and his ''pet parents.''

''It's not just a job really,'' he said. ''It's a lifestyle.''