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After 80 Years, Building a Bigger Home for Branford Veterinary Hospital

BRANFORD, CT - Branford Veterinary Hospital (BVH) announced in November, 2017, the construction of a new veterinary hospital for 2018. The building will be located on Route 139 (125 North Branford Road) in Branford at the site locally known as the old Bahnsen Farm. It replaces the current facility built in 1937.

"We are beyond thrilled to announce the new hospital," said BVH owner Scott Gavaletz, D.V.M. "The people and pets of Branford deserve this, and we are very excited to be able to provide it for them. Its taken almost two years of planning and preparation, but we're now starting construction and we expect to be moving in next summer."

The new hospital will be a Colonial saltbox reproduction built by Pat Munger Construction of Branford.

As Dr. Gavaletz explained, "We have great admiration for the history of the practice and the history of Branford itself. The property- the old Bahnsen farm- has been a landmark in town for over one hundred years. We wanted to continue the legacy, so we modeled the hospital after the farmhouse. We wanted the new hospital to look like its been here for one hundred years."

The new ADA compliant facility will be 5,800 square feet and provide 16 parking spaces, compared to 2,000 square feet and 4 parking paces in the current building, located at 201 East Main St. 

The new hospital building will have four exam rooms, separate cat and dog waiting areas, glass-enclosed cat and dog medical wards, a comfort room, three doctor's offices, and a conference room. The building can accommodate all of the animals the practice sees, including dogs, cats, exotics, wildlife, and even an occasional goat or pot-bellied pig.

Founded in 1937 by Dr. Phillip Gerlach, BVH originally cared for farm animals of rural Branford. Among the notable cases seen over the years have been an alligator found in a local pond. In 2017, the practice assisted Hope, the emaciated rescue dog taken in by Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter. Hope beat all the odds and survived severe neglect.