Passionate Paws Animal Hospital in Waxhaw won the Union County Chamber of Commerce’s Rising Star Award at the chamber’s annual Red Carpet Gala on Dec. 7 in Monroe. Dr. Susan Bonilla and hospital administrator Stephen Bonilla accepted the award before a packed house at the gala.

Dreamchasers Brewery in downtown Waxhaw was also one of the three finalists for the award. Before the winner was announced, a video of each of the three nominees was played.

“We do integrative pet care,” Dr. Bonilla said in the video. “We do vaccines, we do dental, we do digital dental x-rays. We have full-body x-rays and we do surgeries and blood work. We also do acupuncture and chiropractic and physical therapy. We want to get to know your fur babies, that is what we call them. We want to make sure we do everything your baby needs to be healthy and prevent diseases.”

Passionate Paws, which also does grooming, was founded in 2016 and they are located at 1526 Providence Rd S #110 in Waxhaw.

“The community has really welcomed us with open arms,” Dr. Bonilla said.”We get to know our clients really well.”