Open For Business: North Andover Haverhill Animal Hospital

Next time your beloved dog or cat needs shots or a checkup, you have a new option in North Andover.

held its open house on Saturday, welcoming the community to check out its state-of-the-art facility at 1627 Osgood St.

It's a surgical referral, wellness center and full hospital for pets -- primarily cats and dogs --  and offers advanced diagnostic instrumentation, digital x-ray, an in-house laboratory, an intensive care unit, dental care and on-site and online pharmacies.

The facility was technically open a couple months ago, but this was its official grand opening. Dr. Tom Murtha of North Andover greeted guests with pizza and handshakes, along with volunteers from the Salem, N.H., Animal Rescue League.

And so far, business has been good.

"Oh yeah, we're booking up," Murtha said. "We've been booking a lot of surgeries and advanced treatments as well."

The Doctor is In

Veterinary medicine is in Murtha's blood -- his father was a veterinarian in Lancaster for a quarter century.

Murtha learned about animal care and developed his compassion for animals at his father's practice and while working on their family's farm growing up.

Murtha pursued his father's path and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and later Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine before starting his career in the Boston area in the late-1980s.

He practiced veterinary medicine in the greater Boston area for two decades before deciding to move his operation to North Andover.

In addition to his private practice, Murtha also served overseeing welfare of Massachusetts race track greyhounds for 22 years and founded Healing Hands Foundation for Animals, a nonprofit organization that surgically treated injured racing greyhounds so they could be adopted.

Close to Home

Murtha recently decided to open a new practice where he lives, in North Andover.

"I've lived in North Andover for a decade, and I had sold my previous practice to a corporation," Murtha said. "My land lease was up and I couldn't find a suitible location [near Boston] so I sold to a corporation and worked for them doing surgery for two years. I lived in North Andover and loved the area and always wanted to practice here, so here I am."

NAHAH is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 978-965-8387 for more information.