Boothbay Animal Hospital The staff of the Boothbay Animal Hospital break outside the new animal hospital offices on Route 27 in Boothbay. From left are Lucy Cressey, Jill Plummer, Dr. Dean Domeyer, Amanda Widbiller, Dr. Molly Berberich and Lori Buckingham.

The staff of the Boothbay Animal Hospital is very pleased to announce that the opening day for the new hospital is right around the corner. As of Monday, January 7, the health care professionals at the Boothbay Animal Hospital will be seeing patients at our new location on Route 27, next to the Boothbay Playhouse.

We are very proud of our new facility and how we have addressed many of the shortcomings of the existing hospital. There will now be ample parking with lighting to help with these dark winter evenings, and no longer will clients have to back out onto busy Route 27 as they leave! Access to the building is easier also with no steps to climb.

Once inside the new facility, clients will be served by a spacious new waiting room with separate dog and cat owner waiting areas. The waiting room is designed to improve personnel and client 'traffic flow' as they move about the hospital, especially addressing congestion around the front reception desk. There will be a separate location for 'checking in' as well as 'checking out'.

The hospital staff is also excited about the new facility. Dr. Dean Domeyer worked with Dick Perkins to design the new building based on years of experiencing what works, as well as what doesn't, in veterinary hospitals that he has worked in and visited.

A centrally located pharmacy and lab will serve the outpatient forward part of the facility, as well as inpatient area more efficiently. The new surgery suite will support three surgery tables, have much better lighting, and provide larger areas for storage and or prep.

A major improvement is the incorporation of a separate X-ray room that still allows access from the surgery suite. A much larger, better-organized treatment area with three prep/treatment tables and opposing bank of cages makes the treatment of medical and surgical patients much easier for the staff and patients as well.

A new separate isolation ward will keep the hospitalization of very sick or contagious animals separate from other pets in the hospital.

As a note, we have chosen not to offer additional boarding at the new office with the intent of continuing to offer what we think we do well, without additional distraction.

The staff is especially excited about our new staff lounge, which will provide an inviting place to share lunch, or thoughts during staff meetings.

The intent of the new facility is to provide our clientele the same quality medical care we have always offered, in a much-improved atmosphere. We will have the same staff and the same business hours.

We look forward to seeing all of our loyal clientele at the new facility as of January 7, and ask that they please be understanding as we "work out the bugs."

We will be closed on Saturday, January 5 for moving, but our sister office in Wiscasset will be open from 2 to 5 pm. We also ask that clients please avoid bringing healthy pets in for routine care during the first few days after we open to avoid congestion.

Watch for an announcement about an opening reception near the end of January when you can take the Grand Tour of the entire facility.