Longtime veterinarian leaving Elizabeth practice to teach

Dr. Marybeth Cline founded Riverside Veterinary Hospital in Elizabeth 35 years ago.

A change is coming to the Elizabeth area for residents’ furry, feathered and scaly family members.

In July, Riverside Veterinary Hospital in Elizabeth celebrated its 35th year providing care to area pets, supporting the community and helping local humane efforts.

The practice recently completed reaccreditation with the American Animal Hospital Association, putting Riverside in the top 15% of animal hospitals nationwide. It provides various services to all kinds of pets and animals.

For the 35th anniversary, Dr. Marybeth Cline, DVM, founder and medical director, announced that she is handing over her practice to new medical director Dr. Ben Mirro and Practice Manager Karen Weissert, as well as the many technicians and assistants that have belonged to the practice since she started it.

Mirro joined the Riverside staff in 2016. Originally from the area, he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology at the University of Pittsburgh and attended Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he earned his doctorate degree in 2015.

“The same skilled, caring team that has always cared for your pets will continue to be here to meet your needs,” Cline said in a statement on the Riverside website. “It was vital to me that the practice remain privately owned, not to become part of an unfeeling corporate conglomerate as many veterinary practices have. I am thrilled to be leaving this business I built in the best possible hands, with the best possible people.”

Cline added that the rest of the staff makes up “the best team in the business” and it would not be possible to reach 35 years without them.

Born and raised in Forward Township, Cline went to Hiram College to study biology and general science. She developed an interest in animal genetics and behavior.

She then traveled the world, studying the behavior of migrating waterfowl and graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. She returned home to Western Pennsylvania to start the practice the same year on her family farm.

As Cline starts a new chapter in her life, that she calls “pre-tirement,” she leaves with love for the people she worked with and the different pets she met.

“It has been quite a ride, but I am 35 years older, and I have the best crew and the best people at Riverside. It was maybe a good time to make a change,” Cline said. “I don’t think about it as a retirement because I get up and go to work. So that isn’t what retirement sounds like. I love being part of their family’s journey, and you get to be part of the family. That’s pretty cool.”

She started teaching veterinary technology at PennWest University three years ago and has accepted a full-time teaching position as an assistant professor and director of the Veterinary Technology program.

Veterinarians teach every day, according to Cline, and it’s a big part of what she did at the practice, so she found moving to academia to be an easy transition. It is also less pain on the knees, unlike at the practice, where she was often sitting on the floor with animals.

“We take complicated medical things and we teach pet parents what’s going on, what’s it going to take, what their role in the treatment team is because we can make diagnosis and send medications home all we want, but if the client can’t get the homework, it’s all for nothing,” Cline said. “They are part of the team, too, and part of that process is teaching. Our role as teachers goes a long way.

“My family will tell you that I am the most observant person you know because my patients don’t talk. You have to be a pretty detailed observant and see the little subtle changes to tell you which direction to head in. A lot of it is teaching that to clients and technicians and to new doctors.”

The Veterinary Technology program at PennWest is nearly six years old now, according to Cline, with 180 students and 63 incoming freshmen in two weeks. It is the biggest program in Southwestern Pennsylvania and one of the biggest programs in terms of enrollment in the country.

The program is hands-on, and has grown organically over the years, allowing students to work in X-ray, feeding and grooming animals, ultrasound, surgery and more. There are many labs, machinery and three play yards for 10 dogs, 12 cats, rabbits, rats and more. Those interested in bigger animals can visit local farms.

This year, they are working with a rescue program to foster the dogs, and the students are going to provide their shots, microchips, spay/ neuter and basic medical care. They will also walk the dogs on campus and do the same thing for cats.

“The students make it exciting. It’s exciting to see them grasp these concepts,” Cline said. “I remember when I was in that chair, when I was learning these things and how cool I thought it was when I was learning all that stuff. To see them come on the first day kind of overwhelmed with everything and then see them a couple years later, the confidence grows and the skill levels grow. Those are cool moments.”

Cline’s professional interests include pharmacology, zoonotic diseases, animal behavior, animal reproduction and large animal medicine and surgery.

She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, the Association of Veterinary Technology Educators, the National Police Bloodhound Association and the American Bloodhound Club.

In addition to her duties at the office, Cline rescues, raises, trains and shows her many bloodhounds and has various animals at home.

She is also enjoys speaking on animal health issues and bloodhounds and is the editor of the American Bloodhound Club Bulletin.

“She is world renowned for the bloodhound breed,” said Cline’s husband, John Klimchak. “She rescued them for years and adopted them out. Numerous dogs throughout the years she has found good homes for.”

Klimchak said his wife also served briefly as the first female mayor of Elizabeth Borough after the town’s mayor passed away suddenly. Council unanimously voted her to fill the position, but she did not want to get into politics any further.

“She is pretty modest. She has been in the community and has one of the longest standing skilled businesses in the Borough of Elizabeth,” Klimchak said. “It’s not closing, but she is just moving on.”

Cline said she is honored to have been trusted with all of their clients’ pets, adding that the practice is a pillar of the community and isn’t going anywhere.

“I think after this time, you owe what you know when you get to this point,” she said. “So here I am. I have taught clients and lots of people over all these years, and I think maybe it’s time to teach the next generation of students.

“My time is needed here, and Riverside is being left in good hands, so now is the time to make that jump. (Riverside has) the best crew, and they have been with us a long time. The continuity will be there, and these pets are in wonderful hands. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t have left.”