Riser Animal Hospital

Welcome to Riser Animal Hospital, your local veterinarians in Skokie.

Riser Animal Hospital was built and founded in 1950 by Dr. Wayne Riser, DVM, and served as a model for state-of-the-art animal hospitals built later. Dr. Riser was one of the founders of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and had a special interest in hip dysplasia and histopathology. References to his work can still be found in current publications.

Dr. Riser worked as a solo practitioner until Dr. Chuck Olt purchased the practice in the 1960s. Dr. Edna Guibor joined the partnership shortly thereafter. Dr. Thomas Russell replaced Dr. Olt in partnership, and then Dr. Michael Riley replaced Dr. Guibor when she retired. Dr. Russell and Riley operated the practice as a two-doctor practice until Dr. Emil Baukert joined the practice in 1977. Dr. Baukert assumed full ownership from 1998 until selling the practice to Dr. William Sutkay and Dr. Ingrid Baksys in June 2015.

Riser is now a six- doctor practice with a long history of quality small animal medicine and surgery combined with client-oriented service. This can be directly attributed to the staff’s motivation and care towards animals and their caregivers. With this history of commitment to excellence in mind, an award was received from American Animal Hospital Association for 50 years of continuous membership. Riser Animal Hospital has over 60 years of meeting their high standards and hold the highest level of certification.

To be an accredited AAHA member, a hospital must meet the association’s high standards of quality veterinary care. Riser Animal Hospital is regularly evaluated by trained AAHA professionals to ensure that we maintain the standards and provide the best veterinary care possible. AAHA standards of excellence cover the following areas and services in our hospital.