BY MALLORIE MCCOY
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Founded in 2022 by Dr. Rachel Kring, Liberty Mobile Veterinary Services provides Auburn-Opelika and surrounding communities with pet-care in a more accessible way.
Kring graduated from Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016. However, her love and care for animals began long before deciding to attend veterinary school.
Kring recalls her childhood dog experiencing an accident resulting in a broken front leg. Kring’s family pup returned home a week later, healed and happy.
“I remember a couple days later I went to the vet to pick him up and he was just a happy dog again and I was like, ‘I want to do that. I want to be able to help animals when I get older,’” said Kring. “That’s what made me want to do this.”
Following graduation, Kring began her veterinary medicine career at FurBuds Veterinary clinic in Opelika. Since then, she has practiced pet medicine at two other clinics in surrounding areas.
Kring worked at Smiths Station Veterinary Clinic when the idea sparked to open her own clinic. With six years of experience under her belt, Kring felt it was time to begin her own veterinary practice.
“The owner of Smiths Station sold his clinic to a corporation that didn’t share my values, and that was the moment where I decided I was going to start the mobile clinic,” said Kring. “I believe in freedom, spiritually and physically, and so that’s why I also want to provide freedom for people with their pets. Now you can have the option to do mobile care.”
After leaving the Smiths Station clinic in May 2022, Kring soon began setting up Liberty Mobile Veterinary Services. The business was up and running within two months, and Kring steadily began to grow a client base through house visits.
She started her mobile clinic in her family vehicle, a Toyota Highlander, while her medical van was being built for 13 months.
“I was able to start building a client base and actually provide the service,” Kring said. “I just had to turn away surgeries, couldn’t do spays or neuters or laceration repairs or anything like that.”
Once the medical truck was approved by the state in 2023, Kring’s mobile clinic was up and running with ease. Liberty Mobile Veterinary Services offers all of the pet-care services a stand-alone clinic does, but with more accessibility for pet owners to secure medical care.
“Now, with the vet truck, I can do X-rays, surgeries and dental cleanings,” said Kring. “And we do blood work on the truck where we’re getting results in 10 to 15 minutes. I don’t have to send blood work out all the time now. Still, I send out specialized blood work, but that’s most clinics.”
At this time, Kring has an average of six appointments per workday, but depending on the day, there is a possibility of fewer available appointments due to surgical operations. Lynn Wooten, Kring’s assistant who has worked in the veterinary medical field for over 20 years, helps aid Kring during various services and drives the truck from appointment to appointment.
Kring takes appointments in seven local counties within Alabama, but majority of her clients reside in Opelika, Auburn, Dadeville and Phenix City. As for next steps in the mobile veterinary business, Kring looks to open a kennel facility on her property in Dadeville, Alabama.
“We are considering doing a mobile boarding business,” said Kring. “My husband is possibly going to build a kennel facility at our property, and then we would offer a service where we would go pick up dogs and bring them back or offer for people to bring their dogs here and board dogs at our property. That’s probably our next big thing that we are considering doing.”
Liberty Mobile Veterinary Services is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays are by appointment only, but all other days of the week appointments can be taken the day of reaching out. Kring can be reached by call or text at (334) 734-9265.
“In this clinic setting, not only do I have more freedom to be with my family and do what my family needs, but I can also provide more freedom for the owners as you’re getting to know our whole staff,” said Kring. “It’s definitely a little bit slower paced to a degree, but I think it just seems more meaningful to me.”
