Mirthwood Medicine
HOLISTIC VETERINARY MEDICINE & MORE
We are an eclectic group of people - doctors, artists, musicians, techies, spiritualists - working together to heal and inspire, to bring our corner of the world into balance and to connect it with those places where the dream is shared by our kindred spirits
A note to our potential clients...
Mirthwood Medicine veterinary is a practice primarily comprised of just two people - Dr. Hannah McCormick and Neil Wright who assists, runs the website, & handles most of the calls, emails & texts. When we're out on house calls, we cannot answer the phone or return messages out of respect for our clients, or just because we're not in cell range.
Whenever our day ends (often after dinnertime) we will go back to the office and try and return calls until 9pm or so, but we're not always able to do this if we're out too late.
Everyone is important to us and we know you have questions about your pet that you want answered, but it is truly hit-or-miss with our timing in returning phone calls so please understand that we may not call you back as soon as you are hoping, in which case by all means give us another call (or text to our business number).
Better yet, fill our our contact form on the page below so we have most of your details before calling you back. It saves time and improves our accuracy. Also, please tell us if you believe your pet is having an emergency (seizures, breathing trouble, etc.) and we will try to prioritize you when we return messages.
Also, be aware that we are not a 'traditional' veterinary practice. We specialize in home euthanasia and alternative medicine (laser therapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutraceuticals, etc.). We do not do X-rays, blood work, ultrasound, puppy shots, spays, neuters or any kind of surgery. You are better off with your regular vet for all of those things. Lots of people are calling because they want a vet to come to their home, but we are not set up for 'traditional' medicine or emergencies. We will try to help if we can, but we don't have the equipment to handle that kind of care. Please call your regular veterinarian or BEVS (Burlington Emergency Veterinary Services) in VT if you have having an emergency.
If you are looking for end-of-life care, elder pet care, euthanasia or alternative treatments for lameness or cancer situations, then we are looking forward to meeting you and discussing your pet's needs...
Thank you so much - Dr. Hannah and Neil
About Mirthwood
Mirth (murth) n. - gladness, joy
Mirthwood is 300 acres of enchanted forest in the Saranac Hollow of the Adirondack mountains.
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The name was given to us by the forest itself in 2016.
Dr. Hannah McCormick chose this place to build the Saranac Veterinary Clinic in 1984.
She sold the clinic in 2022 to pursue her dream of creating a holistic veterinary practice and a space for creatives, artists and healers of every kind.
Mirthwood People
Mirthwood Medicine is a collective of people and minds both scientific and artistic. We create, we heal, we explore and we share - with each other and with like-minded people who want to contribute their time and talents in pursuit of making a better place in this little corner of the world
Dr. Hannah McCormick, DVM
Veterinarian
After graduating from the Cornell College Of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Hannah McCormick practiced large and small animal medicine in Westport, NY.
In 1984, she moved to Saranac, NY and built the Saranac Veterinary Clinic which she ran for over 35 years, all but the last few years as a solo practitioner.
During this time, she conserved, re-used and improvised to provide compassionate animal care that everyone could afford, even creating a special fund for pets with less-fortunate owners who needed a little extra help with costs.
In 2022 she sold the practice, now in Redford NY, and created Mirthwood Medicine, a veterinary center focusing on holistic animal care, end of life in-home care, acupuncture, laser treatments, herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutraceuticals and more.
Neil Wright,
Musician, IT, Vet Assistant
After studying Electrical Engineering at RPI, Neil left engineering for a career in professional music, singing and performing on Keyboards and saxophones throughout the US and Canada, opening for or performing with such musicians as Ray Charles, Aaron Tippin, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, The Pointer Sisters and others.
Returning to the North Country in 2013 to care for his aging parents, he found a kindred spirit in Hannah McCormick, who invited him to work with her at her clinic, which he did from 2016-22.
Now he works with her through Mirthwood as vet assistant, webmaster, IT, animal communicator and creative.
He performs with several groups and artists in Northern NY and VT and writes and records music in his own recording studio.
Laurie Wright
Veterinary Assistant
Laurie has over 30 years of experience caring for animals in various capacities as a veterinary assistant, receptionist and technician for hospitals and clinics in eastern Pennsylvania and New York.
Health and healing have long been interests of hers and she is devoted to the use of essential oils, nutritional health and holistic foods, supplements and nutraceuticals.
An avid gardener, she mixes florals and herbs in wonderful displays each year with special attention to creating homes and food for butterflies, bees and other denizens of the local forest.
Come winter, any little creature of the forest will find tasty snacks waiting to warm them up at her many feeders for the little ones, be they flying or scampering.
She assists Dr. Hannah and her clients with Mirthwood Clinic animal care and home euthanasia services.
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Michael David Burns, Artist
michaeldavidburns.com
From Michael:
​A local from Nicholville, embarking on my dream... As an artist, this all started for me years ago when my elementary school art teacher set the initial stepping stones, inspiring a dream to capture and perpetuate the beauty and grace of creatures by painting their images on rocks.
I've found that to truly bring life and preserve each unique creature, it requires the proverbial corner stone of... well... the perfect rock that captures the feel emitted by the original picture. Following this search and rescue operation, come the layers of paint and hours of time which give birth to, or resurrect a creature, freezing its moment in time.
My artist intuition, upheld by years of practice and expressed through fine brushes and acrylic paints, can create a piece for you, to live in your heart. I create original artworks for my clients, and often for their friends and family. When a one of my pieces touches the heart of another... my love for art is well spent... memorials, portraits, scenes, etc. these are the perfect gifts for animal lovers, and nature admirers. Treat another, or treat yourself!
I paint more than just stones, but canvas and wood as well, and my talent goes beyond portraying just animals, but landscapes, portraits, etc. Allow me to touch your heart...
Visiting
Mirthwood
Find us with GPS at:
3900 State Route 3
Saranac, NY 12981
Please note:
Clinic hours are
by appointment only
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As we provide mobile veterinary services, we may be traveling to or from a client's home, barn or stable, etc.
We want to be sure and be 'home' when you drop by!