By Mary O’KEEFE

Montrose Pet Hospital at 2444 Honolulu Ave. is celebrating its grand opening on April 10.

The new pet hospital is owned and operated by local resident Dr. Kym Mitchell. Some may know Mitchell from her work at the Rosemont Pet Hospital and others from room mom duties at Valley View Elementary.

She started her career as a veterinarian 19 years ago. Mitchell knew she wanted to be a veterinarian at a young age.

“All I wanted to do was read animal books,” she said.

She is definitely doing what she loves and when the opportunity came for her to purchase her own hospital she just knew it was the right time. Her children are getting older so the room mom requirements have lessened and all the signs seemed to be pointing in this positive direction.

“The main thing I want to do is be able to educate people. When I was [working at other places] we didn’t have the time to spend with people to explain what we were going to be doing and why,” she said.

Mitchell explained that owning her own hospital will allow her to take the time she feels is needed to get to know the pet parents and to talk to them about not only what needs to be done to ensure the health of their pet but also why it needs to be done.

“A lot of times I would tell a [person] that I would have to run blood tests on their pet but not explain why or what we may find,” she said.

Her hospital was finishing its last bit of remodeling on Wednesday. She has hired her staff, which she calls her “team,” and is anxiously awaiting the doors to open.

Another decision that Mitchell made for her company was to go green. She will take her laptop into the examining room and keep notes as she examines. She is also making it a point to purchase sustainable materials for her remodeling and for the daily operations of the hospital.

“I saw how successful the recycling program was at Valley View,” she said.

Mitchell wanted to bring that green mindset to her own business.

She is also planning on offering a form of pet babysitting for those who dine and shop along Honolulu Avenue. The pet hospital is next door to the still under construction Trader Joe’s market. Mitchell is planning to open her doors to those who choose to walk their dogs to Montrose Shopping Park.

People who want to have dinner or shop but don’t want to tie their dogs up to a parking meter can drop them off at the hospital where they will be well cared for, she said.

Mitchell is hoping that her hospital will have the hometown feel that is so compatible to the Montrose Shopping Park.

She invites everyone to stop by her grand opening on April 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There will be a technician from Los Angeles County Humane Society who will be doing free micro chipping and adoption. And keeping it local, Montrose Pet Hospital will have a local Girl Scout troop with their homemade dog and cat cookies. Visitors will be able to meet the staff and take a tour of the hospital.

  grand opening, Montrose Pet Hospital