The Country Vet
Call us: 585-412-6055
HomeTravis Yates, DVM
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Our Veterinary Team:
The Country Vet is family-owned and operated right here in Canandaigua, NY. Since our clinic opened in 2009, we've built upon the principals of good medicine, client education and team work. Our team of knowledgeable vets and dedicated staff work together to provide a veterinary clinic we are all proud to be a part of!
Committed to the health and welfare of our patients and the education of our clients!
Dr. Yates is the founder and owner of The Country Vet. A graduate of the University of Georgia's School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Yates started his career in mixed animal practice in a rural area of Georgia. After a couple of years of practice, he joined the US Army for an adventurous stint before "settling" his family in New York. Upon moving to Canandaigua, he worked for John "Jack" Wright at Phelps Veterinary Hospital until Dr. Wright's untimely passing in 2009. The Country Vet was started shortly thereafter, and quickly outgrew the small office space of its beginnings. The current location was a definite labor of love, with much of the work being done by Dr. Yates and his family, but it turned a local eyesore into a thriving veterinary practice.
In his "spare time", Dr. Yates can usually be found working around the clinic or at home in the yard, building various projects and starting new adventures. He enjoys spending time with his wife and children, and is active in the Red Jacket Rotary and BSA Troops 29 and 6029 in Canandaigua.
Michael Casale, DVM
Dr. Casale began working at the Country Vet not long after the doors first opened. He was an invaluable help in remodeling the old farmhouse that is now our clinic. Much of the woodwork inside the building can be credited to his work!
Originally from "downstate", Dr. Casale is a graduate of the Royal University of Bologna in Italy. He practiced several years at Canandaigua Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Casale also sits on the Farmington Town Board. His spare time is spent with his wife, Katherine, and a house full of grandkids. He also enjoys gardening, woodworking and studying history.
Kevin Coughlin, DVM
Barbara Kauffman, DVM
Marlene Button, DVM
Dr. Coughlin graduated with honors from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University in May 2008. Following his graduation he spent a year working as an associate veterinarian at Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center in Juneau, Alaska which functioned as the referral center for Southeast Alaska. Animals from smaller southeast Alaskan communities were often flown into Juneau so Dr. Coughlin could provide care not offered in their location. It was there that Dr. Coughlin became well skilled in more advanced orthopedic and reconstructive surgeries as well as emergency medicine and critical care.
After his time in Alaska, Dr. Coughlin relocated back to his hometown of Rochester NY. Dr. Coughlin spent 3 years working at Stone Ridge Veterinary Hospital in Greece as a general veterinary practitioner prior to partnering with Dr. Falcheck at The Country Veterinarian in Spencerport. Dr. Coughlin purchased the County Veterinarian in February of 2014 and later sold the business in January of 2020. Dr. Coughlin then retired down to the Finger lakes region. He joined us at the County Vet in Canandaiguia on a part-time basis in April of 2021.
In his free time Dr. Coughlin can be found running trails with his boarder collie mix, mountain biking and canoeing. He also enjoys leading his sons cub scout den and volunteers at the Richmond Fire/EMS services as an ambulance driver.
Dr Button grew up on a dairy farm in Yates County, and graduated from Marcus Whitman High School. She graduated from the NYS College of Ag and Life Sciences at Cornell with a Bachelor of Science degree. She turned down a job as a Cooperative Extension agent to attend (and graduate from) the NYS College of Veterinary Medicine, also at Cornell. Once licensed in NYS, she began her career as a mixed practice veterinarian at the Perry Veterinary Clinic. (Lots of snow and dairy cows in Wyoming County!) She eventually gave up large animal work due to allergy issues. Prior to coming to The Country Vet, she worked at several practices, but most recently, the Millstone Veterinary Clinic in Dundee, where she worked for more than 20 years.
She currently shares her home with 3 cats, but intends to get another dog at some point.
As a daughter of a conservation officer and a nurse, growing up raising orphaned wildlife would seem to simply lead straight into a career in veterinary medicine.
However, it was a varied and meandering route - involving majoring in Physical Education, competing in diving for the U of M Women's swim team, teaching Physical Education in Australia, working with The Youth Conservation Corp at Crater Lake National Park, VisionQuest in Arizona counseling at-risk teens and even being a crew member of a sailboat - that finally led to a veterinary degree from Michigan State in 1993.
Dr. Kauffman began her veterinary career in a rural, mixed animal practice in Colebrook, NH where she worked for 5 years before moving back to NY to be closer to her family. In 2000, she took a position at Seneca Animal Hospital as the sole practicing veterinarian, rebuilding the practice that Dr. Buell had started in the 1950's. Dr. Buell sold the practice in 2011, and Dr. Kauffman started the Seneca Lake Veterinary practice and continued until COVID when she felt it was a good time to "retire." Obviously, retirement didn't stick, and she now continues to follow her calling with us here at The Country Vet.
What she's come to like best about veterinary medicine is being an "advocate" for the care of a family pet. Dr. Kauffman feels that there is so much value in having the whole family involved and invested in the good care and well-being of the 4-legged members. She gets immense satisfaction in seeing exuberant dogs happy to come in for a veterinary check-up and cats and kittens who "acknowledge" that coming to see the vet might not be such a terrible adventure after all!
Dr. Ashley Putman, DVM
Dr. Ashley Putman knew she wanted to be a veterinarian from the time of childhood. She followed her dreams and graduated from the dual DVM/PhD program at Michigan State University. There, Dr. Putman primarily focused on dairy cattle health and disease. She then trained at Henry Ford Hospital as a scientist, where she learned about human metabolic diseases such as fatty liver. After her training and relocating back to the Rochester area, Dr. Putman wanted to join a practice where she could make a positive impact on pets and their owners. The Country Vet seemed like the perfect fit!
When not working at the clinic, she can be found leading various projects as a veterinary scientist. Dr. Putman also enjoys spending time with family, being at the barn with her horse, hiking with her dogs, and raising puppies to be guide dogs for the visually-impaired.
