Local Business Keeps Its Doors Closed While Fixing Damages From Father's Day Windstorm

From the street, the Brookside Animal Hospital looks fine but as you get a closer look, you'll find a "closed for renovations" sign that's been posted on the door for nearly 12 months.

"So, it'll be a year June 19th since the storm and it's been a nightmare," said veterinarian Dr. Stacey Smith. 

Right now, it's easy for Dr. Smith to walk through the metal beams in her future clinic.

"There's going to be a hallway to your left to get to the pets, but you can also go this way to go to the pets," she said, but for much of the past year other thoughts ran through her head. "Do I need to find another job, do I need to go work for somebody else, do we need to build a clinic somewhere else, do we need to rent somewhere else."

June 2023, her business came to a complete stop when she got a call from one of her employees.

"She called me, she was just in tears. She said it was just so bad, so bad," Dr. Smith said. 

The 100 mph straight-line winds tore off the roof, leaving an open wound for rain to destroy everything inside. 

"I was always trying to think how can we make it better, and then it blew away and it was just so heartbreaking," Dr. Smith said. 

During the closure, Dr. Smith found other ways to make sure her patients get the care they need. 

"More recently we've been offering some house calls to try to keep everybody taken care of for routine things but there's only so much you can do on a house call," she said. 

It's something many of her customers were thankful for.

"It is just so convenient. I mean 10 minutes, you don't have to sit in the waiting room, you don't have to stress the animals out with other animals around," Jennifer Brooks said.

Dr. Smith is counting down the days until her clinic's next big milestone.

"We're going to have a heck of a five-year celebration so mark your calendars."

Dr. Smith said she hopes to open her doors again on July 15th but isn't sure if she will continue the mobile care services.