CareVet of Oconto Falls retains ‘Hometown’ feel

Matthew Day

Staff

February 9, 2026

OCONTO FALLS – Gail Yatso, hospital manager at CareVet of Oconto Falls, said the uptick in pet ownership across Northeast and North Central Wisconsin mirrors a nationwide rise in dog and cat ownership.

“There are so many more pets,” she said. “And pets… become like family members, and… need a lot more care.”

However, even as demand increases, Yatso said CareVet of Oconto Falls – which recently rebranded from its original name, Hometown Veterinary Clinic – continues to serve as a reliable hub for small-animal care in the area.

“The closest single-doctor practice is 15 miles away,” she said. “Otherwise, north of us, there are minimal clinics.” 

And when regional pet owners’ animals need emergency care during nights and weekends, Yatso said the closest available facilities are in Appleton, Wausau or even Madison. 

Due to the area’s relative scarcity of small-animal care, Yatso – who established Hometown with her husband, Paul, a veterinarian, in 1990 – said as the couple began contemplating retirement, they took the clinic’s future very seriously. 

“If this clinic wasn’t here, there wouldn’t be anyone – besides that one single-doctor practice – we’re looking at 30 miles away for just getting vaccines, let alone sickness and [small-animal health] issues,” she said. 

Recognizing the clinic’s importance, Yatso said they vowed to keep the clinic in good hands to ensure its future. 

“When Paul and I decided to sell two and a half years ago, we did a lot of searching for a good fit to take care of the staff, keep Hometown growing and keep a veterinary clinic up here,” she said. 

Yatso said they eventually found the perfect fit, Yatso said, in CareVet – a St. Louis-based consolidator of veterinary practices which – per pets.care – owns, operates and/or controls more than 200 veterinary practices across 35-plus states. 

“CareVet just shined differently among the other companies that were looking to buy [Hometown],” she said. “They were really staff-oriented and education-oriented.” 

Yatso said it’s now been two years since the clinic has been doing business under CareVet’s ownership as Hometown Veterinary Clinic.

With her and Paul set to retire this month, and with the two past years having further assured them of CareVet’s integrity, she said they decided in December to officially rebrand Hometown as CareVet of Oconto Falls. 

“Some people already figured out that we had sold, but there wasn’t a big announcement [when we did]…,” she said. “When we decided to rebrand, the exciting thing was that nothing was going to change but the name, because we’ve already been established for two years.” 

Hometown history 

Before they owned the clinic, Yatso said Paul was a mobile veterinarian, primarily focusing on large animals but also making house calls for small ones. 

“Then, the small-animal clinic that was in town here was up for sale,” she said. “We purchased the practice and decided to build on this land that we owned, and established a brand-new small-animal clinic.” 

Yatso said the clinic operated as Hometown Veterinary Clinic from 1990 until its recent rebrand.

Though she had run a business prior to opening the clinic, she said the industry was entirely new to her.  

“I came into this because I was married to a veterinarian, and I really never had pets besides maybe a rabbit or a parakeet…,” she said. “But I was a country girl, and I just thought the medicine [part] of it was fascinating.” 

As time went on, Yatso said she grew accustomed to the practice, from the relatively routine (trimming nails and administering vaccines) to the downright unglamorous (testing urine and feces samples). 

While palliative care is undeniably one of the most challenging parts of the job, Yatso said there was another side of the practice that never failed to tug at her heartstrings, albeit in a much more delightful way.

“I do come out of my office every time there’s a puppy or a kitten [visiting],” she laughed. 

‘Nothing’s changing but our name’

After more than three decades running Hometown, Yatso said she and Paul began pondering a step away from full-time practice and owning the clinic. 

With so much passion for the field and for their clients, she said until discovering CareVet, they struggled to find the right buyer. 

“The other ones that were out there, talking to them just felt like… if [Hometown] didn’t work with their corporate mission, that maybe they could easily close the door and just walk away,” she said. 

Part of the appeal of CareVet, Yatso said, was that the company was founded by a fellow veterinarian – Kent Thornberry – who understands the field, rather than a detached leader solely focused on the bottom line and rigid corporate controls. 

“The wonderful thing about CareVet – they don’t tell us how to do medicine,” she said. “They support us so we can do the best medicine – so we can do our gold standard.” 

What the company does do, Yatso said, is provide expanded resources and advanced medical tools while facilitating enhanced client services – support she said she wished she’d had as she built up Hometown from scratch. 

“Having been in the industry for 30 years, I could see where the [CareVet’s] buying power, the education, the benefits – all of those things that I struggled with [for Hometown] – were right there,” she said. 

Yatso said the support covers inventory, communication, social media, hiring practices and finding/negotiating the lowest possible pharmaceutical costs. 

Though the sale wasn’t formally announced, Yatso said after selling the clinic, she “never kept it a secret that we sold, and some people could figure it out.” 

But with retirement looming, Yatso said CareVet suggested a rebrand – something that had been effective with similar clinics. 

She said she and Paul were all the more willing to change the name due to the clinic regularly being mistaken with other “Hometown” clinics in Wisconsin, and appreciated the clarity of “CareVet of Oconto Falls.” 

With the clinic long operating under CareVet, Yatso said by the time the rebranding became official, clients wouldn’t detect any difference beyond the clinic’s signage and letterhead. 

“Nothing’s changing but our name,” she said. “Same great staff, same doctors, except we have a whole lot more benefits and education and a bigger team supporting us behind the scenes.” 

Fur years to come 

Yatso said when she and Paul agreed to sell Hometown to CareVet, they also agreed to stay with the clinic for two more years. 

“We weren’t ready to retire, and have really enjoyed working with CareVet,” she said. 

Now, with both set to retire in the coming weeks, Yatso said she and Paul are preparing for the changes. 

“I will definitely miss the veterinary world,” she said. “I won’t stop studying, and we’ll always be talking about it, since I’m married to the doctor, and you don’t lose that.” 

Since Paul’s license will remain valid, Yatso said it’s possible he’ll “do some relief work.”  

It’s the region’s pet owners, though, who she said should feel relieved, since their go-to veterinary clinic has a stable future. 

“By switching the name to CareVet [of Oconto Falls], I believe it will help maintain the clinic to be here,” she said, “because it’s not just Paul and Gail – it’s a whole team that will keep it going.” 

Yatso said she has full confidence in the CareVet of Oconto Falls team. 

“I can’t imagine how the Hometown feel will change just because of the name change, because the staff that’s here, they’re Northeast Wisconsin people…,” she said. “I think we’re a whole different breed up here in Northeast Wisconsin – friendly, wonderful and willing to help everyone and our neighbors. And we really love cats, too. We really do. We all have too many.” 

As pet owners themselves, Yatso said she and Paul had extra motivation to solidify Oconto Falls’ only veterinary clinic. 

“Paul and I, we just live 10 miles away – this is our veterinary clinic,” she said. “When we retire, I want them to be here for us.” 

Though she has full confidence in CareVet of Oconto Falls’ staff, Yatso said she has some advice as she reflects on her career. 

“I think you should enjoy every moment and live in the moment, so you don’t quit learning,” she said. “And I believe everyone should take ownership in their job, career, whatever we want to call it. If you take ownership and enjoy it, it all comes together and you make it through the highs and lows of the career.” 

Visit CareVet of Oconto Falls’ Facebook page and carevet.com for more information.