Silverthorne’s Veterinary Hospital celebrated the opening of its new facility with a party on May 10.

Patrons and their four-legged friends received tours of the new 8,000-square-foot space from staff members while free food and beverages were served outside and local band Moonstone Quill filled the air with tunes.

Silverthorne Veterinary Hospital serves dogs, cats and small animals of the Summit County community. Owner Justin Milizio, a doctor of veterinary medicine, founded the practice with his wife in 2017. Milizio said of the new space in an email, “We now have extra space in our lobby, exam rooms, hospitalization wards and surgery to keep pets more comfortable. Our expansion of hours and services will also help to provide pet owners with more peace of mind for when an emergency does arise.”

Previously located in Silverthorne Town Center, the hospital officially opened its new location at 301 Brian Court in Silverthorne on March 31. The hospital is eight times bigger than the old facility, a space the practice outgrew a number of years ago.

The new facility boasts six exam rooms, including one exclusively for cats with cat-calming pheromone equipment, a comfort room for families whose pet may need to be put to sleep, and an isolation room with direct access from the parking lot for contagious animals. There’s a brightly lit, sterile surgery room, five hospitalization wards, a dental care area, and a number of kennels with heated floors and oxygen. The hospital houses equipment for radiology, ultrasounds and chemotherapy, to name just some of the new facility’s spaces and tools.

The second floor of the hospital provides 4,200 square feet of employee housing, a need many Summit businesses find is pressing for their staff. Silverthorne Veterinary Hospital now boasts three units with two to three bedrooms in each. The plan, according to Milizio, is to provide for both full-time staff and two student externs. Two units are already occupied. The hospital employs 22 staff including four veterinarians.

The hospital currently operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Milizio has said in the past that there are not enough nighttime emergency veterinary services in the High Country. He said he plans to expand to 24 hour service in the future, but it will require incremental staff expansion to get there. The employee housing on the second floor should help him get closer to his goal.

“We have the technology and trained staff to provide a higher level of compassionate care for the pets of Summit County, ” Milizio said in an email. “Our goal is to help people locally, without having to go to Denver as much as people have in the past for emergencies and other advanced treatments.”

Silverthorne Veterinary Hospital provides wellness exams and vaccines for preventative care as well as emergency services for ill or injured animals.

To read more about the hospital’s services, visit its website, SilverthorneVeterinary.com/