Left Hand Animal Hospital looks to move

Katie Thomas and Nancy Bureau, owners of the Left Hand Animal Hospital, announced during the Niwot Business Association meeting last week that they hope to be changing locations.

The local veterinarians announced that they are under contract to purchase the Neighborhood Learning Center of Niwot, which would move the hospital’s practice to 304 Franklin Street later this year. The new location would be close to their current facility at 136 Second Avenue.

Current zoning for the property allows a veterinary clinic (without outdoor holding facilities) through Special Use Review through the Boulder County Land Use Department, which generally takes several months. The move would give the hospital more space and the ability to change the interior to fit their needs.

“We’re a growing Niwot business so we wanted to get into more space that we can customize,” Thomas said. “We would end up closing (the sale) in the summer and moving within a year.”

In a letter to NBA members, Thomas and Bureau said that they are working with architects to design the building in a way that would keep the feel of the current neighborhood.

“While there will be some exterior changes like adding a vestibule with a wraparound porch to the front of the building, we will be keeping the look and feel of the building very similar to what it is now,” they said in the letter.

Left Hand Animal Hospital has been in operation since 2014 in Niwot and serves roughly 2,500 customers.

“We have a lot of steps in front of us,” Thomas said. “It’s not going to be for at least six months or more. We’re excited to stay in Niwot, we really like it here. We do a lot of community outreach, all of our staff get paid volunteer hours and we do one percent give-back jars. We’ve tried to integrate ourselves into the fabric of Niwot with volunteering with community events. Our staff does that a lot which is great.”

The Neighborhood Learning Center of Niwot, owned by Alan and Kim Schwarz, has been in operation for more than 30 years. The building was originally constructed as a church, and was converted to a preschool before the Schwarz’s purchased it. The owners, who also live on the property, announced that they plan to retire from the preschool business, which will remain open through the current school year, and thanked the community for the many years of support.