Johnson Veterinary Services Welcomes You!

Johnson Veterinary Services, Home to Marietta East Cobb Veterinarian Dr. Erik Johnson

Help and Advice for small animals, companion animals, koi, pond fish, reptiles and more.

I’m Dr. Erik Johnson and I’m proud of my knowledgeable, dedicated staff of techs / nurses. They are the best support team in Marietta, bar none. Some have been here for 20+ years, and most of my nurses stay until they start families, and babies ruin it up. (ha ha ha)

My specialty in treating your companion dogs and cats, is a logical / practical approaches to cases. For example, if your pet has an inoperable brain tumor, what logic (or what vet) compels you to spend another two thousand dollars finding out the tumor’s latin name? Do we really need to know exactly how deadly the tumor is, once we know that by its location and impact alone, it’s imminently deadly?

Another example: If your pet is 17 years old, are we worried about putting it on a medication that has long-range side effects as long as it creates immediate comfort?

Another example: Do you want your epileptic dog on the “latest-and-greatest-Western-fad” Keppra (which barely works at all) only to spend a few thousand dollars to figure out why it’s not working when (and until) Phenobarbital would work perfectly well, as it has for fifty years? Or thinking outside the box with zonisamide (which really works and is also ‘new’?)

We’re not talking shoddy medicine. We’re talking about experience, and not wasting a poor dog’s time-suffering, or an owner’s finances.  Veterinary medicine is fraught with fads and “the latest and greatest” and sadly, the simpler, older approaches often have the most predictably successful results.

Practicality:    Stopping the costly diagnostic algorithm as soon as you know there are no more TREATABLE conditions to find.

Practicality: Approaching a work-up by beginning with the most common disorder and working your way down instead of dumping the whole lab and pharmacy on every remote possibility on the first day.

Practicality: Giving you ALL your options from “top-shelf-spare-no-expense” across the board to “this is what happens if you do nothing” …And then I’ll share with you exactly what I would do if your pet is actually my own “Ajax“.

Thank you for considering my clinic for your pet’s needs. I will try not to let you down.

Our location is:

  • Johnson Veterinary Services
    3100 Roswell Road Suite #113
    Marietta GA 30062 
  • TEL (770) 977 5377
    FAX (770) 973 0301

That’s the corner of Roswell Road and Old Canton Road. Frankie’s Italian is in the same shopping center with us.

Hours of operation:

Monday and Thursday: 8:00 a.m. til 5:00 p.m. (Sometimes we close a little earlier or a little later, please call)

Tuesday, Friday and Saturday: 8:00 a.m. til 12:00 p.m (Sometimes we close later, please call)

Wednesday and Sunday:   Closed.

 

Hours Are Subject to Change Based on Demand

Mon (8 am to 4-5 pm)
Tues. (8am to 12-1pm)
Wed. (Closed)
Thurs. (8 am to 4-5 pm)
Fri. (8 am to 12-1 pm)
Sat. (8am to 12pm)
Sun. (Closed)

Call Ahead
Hours set by appointment and are subject to change

The closing hours are determined by the “last appointment” time.
Some afternoons it seems everyone’s gone fishing, so I do, too. Other times, we stay til 6pm and even a little after. So before you drop by, please call ahead.

Clinic Location

We’re at the corner of Old Canton Road and Roswell/120 in East Cobb, Marietta Georgia 30062

Frankie’s Italian Restaurant is in our shopping center. (Or we’re in theirs we can’t tell)

We’ve been here since 1996.


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“Meet the Doc”

I’m Georgia-native since 1975 and went all eight years of college to University of Georgia. Got my doctorate in 1991 and opened my own place in 1996. I own three dogs, and innumerable fish and turtles.

I attended undergraduate school at University of Georgia where I got my Bachelor’s degree in Poultry Science in 1987. I attended University of Georgia Veterinary School from 1987 through 1991. I entered practice in 1991 and finally opened my own clinic in 1996.

When I was a kid we used to go to a vet who took the animals into the “back area” for everything. Which is fine. Except I always wondered what they were doing, and I thought “If they can’t do this in front of us, do we want them to do it?” (What’s so secretive?) So I decided that when I opened my own place, I’d do as much as I could with owner-present for the reassurance of the pet AND the owner. So that’s how it is to this day. That’s how my mentor Dr Mason used to do it, too.

I lived in Marietta Georgia since I was 10 years old. We moved here in 1975. I went to East Valley Elementary, Dodgen Middle School and Walton High School. My roots around here run deep. I had great teachers in all of those schools. I remember Miss Haley and Miss Weinberg at East Valley, Mrs Manley (Science Teacher) at Dodgen, and then at Walton, Miss Parrott, Miss Kendrick, Dr Stephens, Dr Hansen, Bob Cowles, Carol Bowen, so many quality influences. Well. I never actually had a class with Miss Parrott but if you saw her in the halls as a 16 year old boy, you would remember her forty years later, too! 

When I opened my clinic in 1996 on Robinson Road, I declined to take a shift down at the dog pound putting homeless animals to sleep. Every vet was supposed to sign on for a weekend to come kill dogs and cats. That’s the way it was. But I didn’t go to school for 8 years to euthanize healthy animals. The penalty? I couldn’t be listed with the other Cobb County Vets on the Animal control Spay / Neuter Roster. So at the outset, I was invisible, and not recognized to perform certificate surgeries for Cobb County. (Still not, still won’t euthanize homeless dogs.)

Fortunately, kind customers discovered me and spread the word and I got away without killing a single healthy / adoptable pet in my whole career.

Now look, I don’t blame any vet for euthanizing dogs back then. It’s all we had. I was a spoiled brat and said “No” –  and got away with it. That’s the only difference.

My Mom died of cancer. My Dad lives. I have two brothers. They’re great. One’s Kurt and he’s a real estate agent in Woodstock Ga. My brother David is in Dallas Texas and he’s a designer. I have three kids who are all grown up and living on their own, thank God.

I binge watch shows like Game of Thrones, “I, Zombie”, Vampire Diaries, Banshee, Hell on Wheels, Longmire, Arrow and more. I eat too much and I’ve been on more than 200+ diets. I love to paddle a kayak and I never feel happier than when I am on or near some water: the beach, a river or a lake.

  • Where did you grow up?
    1. We moved a lot. I was raised in Temperance Michigan, Clinton New York, then Marietta, Georgia. In all instances, I was not happy until or unless I was knee deep in green water grabbing critters.
    2. As far back as I can remember, I was catching fish, frogs and turtles.
  • What University do you hail from?
    1. I am a proud graduate of University of Georgia undergraduate, poultry science major (I still keep dozens of chickens, pheasants and peacocks)
    2. Veterinary degree is also from University of Georgia.
  • Besides Ajax, do you have any other pets?
    1. In the past, I’ve had lots of birds, like peacocks and chickens, lots of cats, too many dogs, crabs across numerous species, turtles of all kinds, thousands of gallons in South American fish, some Pig Nosed turtles for a breeding project, a Geochelone sulcata of 125 pounds named Atlas, some Wood Turtles (also for breeding project) a ton of other freshwater fish, Koi, and even a half dozen Bearded Dragons. Just basically way too many pets. I’d like to do a 5,000 gallon biotope tank of big cichlids. I’d like to do a heated outdoor breeding facility for Fly River Turtles.
    2. Isabella Johnson is a Shih-Tzu x Cavalier King Charles Cross.
    3. Luna Boona Johnson is my newest addition and is a 2.8 pound chihuahua. I got her in 2018 and she’ll be a year old in July 2019.
  • Using your Vet talents – what is the one thing you would like to accomplish or discover during your lifetime?

New work on intestinal microbiota and it’s impact on the immune system and other functions in people is blowing me away. I’d like to be part of introducing this to the animals that need it.  drjohnson.com/fmt

  • I also wrote a book.

marietta veterinarianRegarded as the first and last word on fish health for the pond fish hobbyist, in this second edition, every page has been updated and improved. After losing more than 70 pages of older information, the book still expanded from the first editions’ 160 pages to over 200 pages. This book is written in a conversational tone and meant to be understood and applicable to the beginner and advanced hobbyist alike. Well-reviewed by consumers and peers, this book is written authoritatively by a veterinary practitioner with 20+ years treating fish.

 

 

Dr Erik Johnson is a Marietta, Georgia Veterinarian with a practice in small animal medicine. He graduated from University of Georgia with his Doctorate in 1991. Dr Johnson is the author of several texts on Koi and Pond Fish Health and Disease as well as numerous articles on dog and cat health topics.