HAHIRA — Dogs and cats, listen up. You have a brand new medical facility here... comes with kennel boarding options when the humans take a vacation. And it’s clean, modern, well organized, available in an emergency. But hey, you know how it goes. You’re liable to get poked and prodded anyway.

Well who knows what the animals are saying, but pet owners from surrounding counties are coming to the Hahira Veterinary Clinic at 600 Hwy. 122 West, on the left as you come into Hahira from I-75.

Douglas S. Ruff, doctor of veterinary medicine, opened the brand new facility on Sept. 10, 2007, after spending a year doing freelance work while he planned out how he wanted his own clinic to operate.

Ruff had worked for a Valdosta veterinarian for six years prior to his decision to freelance in July 2006, just until he could plan and build his own clinic in Hahira.

Ruff worked at the Thomasville Animal Hospital, did a one-day-a-week service at Moody Air Force Base, and supported several other local veterinarian operations to pay the bills while he and his wife Jann and his father met with an architect and then a builder to pursue his dream of owning his own clinic.

The brand new 5,400-square-foot facility was built by Cauthan Construction Company of Valdosta.

Ruff loves how his plans were brought to completion by Cauthan. “They did an exceptional job. They made this happen,” Ruff said. “I really wanted to set this clinic up and do things the way I would do them. This is really a dream come true. They did a phenomenal job.”

Entering the lobby, one might think they’d entered a doctor’s office for humans, at least, until you see the shelves of Science Diet dog and cat food products. The reception desk is broad, and several exam rooms allow the pet owner to be present when Ruff makes his initial evaluation.

This place has a surgery suite, a separate X-ray room, ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for critical patients, exam tables in a central area for general treatment, a washroom for bathing the pets, and even a more spacious exam room for larger dogs. Also, Ruff has a lab in-house for processing blood and urine samples for diagnosis.

He finds that the kennel side of his business is popular. “We had one guy board a dog here for three months,” Ruff said.

“We’re definitely planning to expand the kennel area.”

Ruff keeps cats separate from dogs in the kennel area. Cats get to enjoy a “Cat Condo” that’s set up by windows in the rear kennel room, so cats can enjoy sunshine, look outside to stay preoccupied, and safe, isolated from the nearby dogs.

Ruff has received business from pet owners from Lowndes and surrounding counties, so he’s glad he hired enough staff to keep pace. Three full-time and two part-time veterinary technicians are on board, and his wife Jann does the bookkeeping.

The Ruffs have four children, three girls ages 2, 4 and 5, and one son, aged 4 months. Don’t leave out their pets that include a Labrador retriever, a Chihuahua and a cat.