Passionate Paws Animal Hospital feels like a spa and is definitely not your traditional veterinary clinic. 

The waiting room is decorated in soothing blues with comfortable chairs to wait in.  But don’t think that Dr. Susan Bonilla and staff isn’t taking the best care of your animals.  The exam rooms are tailored to provide a stress-free area; the feline room includes a cat tree instead of an exam table while the canine room has an orthopedic pet bed by Ultimate Healthy Pet Beds from Charlotte, N.C., on the floor.

Passionate Paws focuses on preventative health and their goal is to educate their clients about how to keep their animals as healthy as possible.  This might include vaccinations for only what your animal needs; preventative dental to avoid secondary heart, liver, or kidney disease; or acupuncture, laser, chiropractic, physical therapy or regenerative medicine, which is similar to stem cells and is comprised of a platelet rich plasma. 

Passionate Paws opened their doors in August 2016.  Since then, they have already won Best Vet and Best Groomer in Union County by the Charlotte Media Group – “Best of Weekly” Readers Choice.

However, they won’t stop there.  Passionate Paw’s goal is to be certified by American Animal Hospital Association to prove they are operating at the highest standards of veterinarian care.  They should receive this certification as well as a Feline Friendly Certification by the end of the year. 

The Feline Friendly Certification will include a separate cat waiting area, a cat only exam room, and training for all the staff in how to correctly handle felines.  They are also in the process of obtaining their Fear Free Certification.  Personally, Dr. Bonilla is certified in acupuncture, physical therapy, and chiropractic care. 

The Groomer at Passionate Paws, Brittany Davis, also tailors the animal grooming experience to be as stress-free as possible.  They only book six grooming appointments a day in order to focus on quality.  While Davis only grooms dogs, she provides them with a full-service experience including: nails, ears, baths, anal glands, and de-shedding with a Furminator. 

Client interaction at Passionate Paws is friendly and open. Dr. Bonilla and staff want to help prioritize the animal’s needs and sometimes that means that the first appointment with a new client can take up to an hour.  This allows the staff to get to know the animal and the “pet parent” and make sure they are providing the best possible care. 

It is much more of a family atmosphere than a corporate environment.  Dr. Bonilla’s husband, Stephen Bonilla, also works at the animal hospital as the Hospital Administrator and does everything else the hospital requires including HR, marketing, and accounting.  

Passionate Paws gives back to their community and works closely with the South Charlotte Dog Rescue, including recently hosting a fundraiser for them.  Pups For Pints was held at DreamChaser’s Brewery in Waxhaw and was co-hosted by CG Realtors.  Coming up on September 23, 2017, Passionate Paws Animal Clinic will be partnering with local Girl Scout, Jessica Sedotto to offer low cost microchips.  Sedotto will be completing her Gold Award and Passionate Paws is excited to work with her on this great community service project.

Passionate Paws Animal Hospital – 1526 Providence Rd S #110, Waxhaw, N.C. 28173; (704) 256-7576; passionatepawsanimalhospital.com