When it comes to operating on and treating animals, Dr. Alva Jackson has seen it all. The veterinarian has worked on everything from Canadian wolves and African rodents to arctic foxes and camels.

Now, the veterinarian has returned to his hometown and opened a practice of his own, Markland Veterinary Clinic, where he’s narrowing his focus back to cats and dogs, though he still will take on patients of the equine and bovine variety.

“My dream was always to open a clinic in Kokomo, so I’m really excited,” said Jackson.

Jackson aims to reach the lower-middle income families by offering affordable prices. His hope, he said, is that pet owners will be able to get their pets the care they need but might not have been able to afford otherwise.

He’s kicking off his practice with a $5 rabies vaccine special that’s running through the end of June.

“I live a pretty good life; I don’t need to charge outrageous prices,” said Jackson. “People that you know who are lower-middle income that want to take care of their pets, they can bring them here. We can take care of them for a lower cost. The quality is still the same.”

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The veterinarian also is on call 24/7, and his “emergency room” visits to clients run around $50 to $75, which he said is much lower than typical emergency visits.

“That’s a benefit to a lot of clients because a lot of times if you go to Anderson, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, to walk through the door is $100, $125. But since they’re my clients and I’ve taken care of their animal, I have a history with their animal, I’ve treated their animal, and they’re on my records, that’s all I charge,” he said.

Jackson made the move from working in Wabash to Kokomo, and he is seeing some residents from there now at his Kokomo clinic, as they’ve found his prices are more affordable. He still sits on the board of the Wabash County Animal Shelter and is the head veterinarian in Wabash County.

The veterinarian also is heavily involved in rescues and currently is working with several, including Scratching Post in Peru. In the first two weeks Jackson was open, he did 30 spays and neuters on the rescue’s cats.

For individuals, he’s offering neuters for $35 and spays for $45. He offers a deeper discount to rescues.

Markland Veterinary Clinic is located at 1515 E. Markland Ave. For more information, call 765-868-7090.