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Animal Emergency & Pet Care Clinic of High Country Expands, New Facility Opens in Early May

Animal Emergency and Pet Care Clinic of the High Country Co-Owner David Linzey (left) and Mandi Johnson, Hospital Manager, stand outside the new expansion facility. Photos by Ken Ketchie

By Jesse Wood

Animal Emergency and Pet Care Clinic of the High Country plans to open its new facility off of N.C. 105 in early May. This construction project is an expansion and splitting up of the current services that Animal Emergency and Pet Care Clinic of the High Country currently offer.

The current facility – to be known as Animal Emergency Clinic of the High Country – will continue to be the base for the 24/7 emergency operations, while non-emergency operations will move next door, according to co-owner David Linzey.  

“I think the emergency clinic services a real niche in the area and I think it’s been established long enough and everyone associates us as an emergency clinic,” Linzey said. “But the challenge for us and the reason we did this is to try to let people know we do offer non-emergency [services] and nobody gets that unless they are already clients.”

The new facility – to be known as Pet Care Clinic of High Country – will handle non-emergency scheduled appointments, such as vaccinations, spay/neuter, dentals and other non-emergency treatments.

The new building, which is about 6,440 square feet in size, will also house Ridge Runner Pet Lodging, which will offer pet lodging and daycare services. While the company has offered pet boarding for medical situations in the past, Linzey said he now has the room to offer pet lodging for clients who are leaving town for the weekend, for example, or pet daycare for those who want to drop their dog off while they are away at work.

The dogs inside will be separated by 28 “little rooms” or pods, and the cats will have their own space, dubbed the “cat condos,” that offers a view with perches from floor to ceiling. A deck bridge in the back leads to about an acre of wooded land for the animals to roam free. A tall fence will be installed to keep the animals contained and safe from the highway.

With this new facility, the vet service can be accessed via two driveways, one old and one new that feature plenty of parking. Plans filed with the Boone Planning and Inspections department call for more than 50 parking spaces between the two lots.

Enterline & Russell is the general contractor. Bill Dixon of Appalachian Architecture and Mike Trew of Municipal Engineering Services Company are listed in the project plans filed. The entire project, including site work, construction and the purchase of equipment and furnishings for the clinic, is estimated to cost $1.5 million, according to Linzey.

This expansion marks another notch of growth for the company. In 2005, the Linzey and his wife, Debi, established the Animal Emergency Clinic of the High Country, PLLC to provide after-hours emergency veterinary care. At that time, local vets operated on a rotational schedule causing a layer of confusion for pet owners in a moment of crisis.

In 2010, the company decided to add regular-business-hour routine care for clients under the current Animal Emergency & Pet Care Clinic of the High Country, PLLC, and then in 2011, the operation moved into its current home, the custom-built facility off of N.C. 105.

For more information, click here. 

The front of the building faces N.C. 105.
The front of the building faces N.C. 105.
The new facility is located next door to the current clinic.
This back deck leads to about an acre of wooded area for the dogs to run free. This is a contained area.
This back deck leads to about an acre of wooded area for the dogs to run free. This is a contained area.

The parking lot will be paved soon!