An open letter to our wonderful community, from Drs Mitchell and Fitch:

As Bonnie Brae Veterinary Hospital has grown and legislation has changed, Dr. Fitch and I have found ourselves having to dedicate more time to meetings and management and less to the medicine. That isn't what we wanted. Obviously, we also are approaching a time when we will eventually want to have more free time. While that's still a few years off, we wanted to make sure that what we spent years building continued to progress with our vision, rather than that of someone else. We also wanted to ensure that the employees we've come to think of as family would be well taken care of.

We spent a lot of time evaluating different options. In early December 2017, Dr. Fitch and I decided to partner with a great group of like-minded veterinary hospitals in the South. We're happy to be able to focus on the pets and clients we love and leave the boring management stuff to Jess and her team.

What does this mean for our clients? It means that we can dedicate our time to preventative medicine and healing. In today's environment, in order to be able to provide the best services possible, we felt it was important to join with a group that allowed access to materials and a knowledge base to better serve our clients and most importantly, their companions. It means that our legacy, Bonnie Brae Veterinary Hospital, will not suddenly become one of those cold, sterile, impersonal cookie cutter hospitals.

Dr. Fitch and I have agreed to stay on board until such time as we decide to hang up our hats and enjoy retirement. When that time comes, we plan to have a very capable team with our same vision and goals in place to continue what we started. We hope that the community will embrace them, as they have us.

As always, we thank you for entrusting us with the care of your four-legged family members. We look forward to continuing to be there when you need us.