A veterinary hospital in Cork is set to close its doors next month.
The team at Gilabbey Veterinary Hospital based in Togher has been operating since the 1950s.
The hospital, which was acquired by UK company CVS in 2018, employs 38 people including seven visiting specialists and consultants.
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Last week CVS published their financial statement for the year ending June 30th 2022, which showed the Irish branch had a €4.9 million net liability.
The company also owns Troytown Greyabbey Equine Services in Kildare as well as 186 practices across the UK and the Netherlands.
Gilabbey Veterinary Hospital works closely with Fota Wildlife Park, Irish Guide Dogs as well as the Garda Dog Unit, Cork Beo reports.
The hospital has been serving Leeside for over 60 years and was known for giving "every animal the care we would like our animals to receive."
It was founded by Mr Liam Guerin in 1957 in Gilabbey Street before moving to its current location in Togher.
In a statement, the hospital said they have "made the difficult decision to permanently close Gilabbey Hospital from Friday, 31st March 2023."
They said: "As you are aware, the hospital has been temporarily closed for several months as the building requires major renovation.
"This has resulted in limited facilities making it difficult to meet our high standards of service and clinical care. It is due to these factors and after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close Gilabbey Hospital as of Friday 31st March 2023."
Customers have been told they will have to find new vets as they will cease serving and to "register their pets with a new vet practice as soon as possible..
They said: "With the closure of Gilabbey Veterinary Hospital our emergency out-of-hours provider – MiNightVet Cork – will also be closed from Friday 31st March 2023.
"It is therefore important that you register your pet with a new veterinary practice as soon as possible and they will be able to advise you of their out-of-hours provision should you have an emergency when the daytime vets are closed.
"We thank you for your custom over the years and wish you and your pets the very best for the future."
There are several other veterinary practices in the area to which some of the Gilabbey Team will be transferring in the coming week.
Other local practices available are:
- The Vet Clinic – 2 Lower Mill Road, Town parks, Midleton, Co. Cork P25KV61 (Tel 021 4632586)
- Glasslyn Vets Station Road Bandon Co. Cork. P72FY72 (Tel 023 8841404)
- Abbeyville Veterinary Hospital – 1 Clashduv Road, Togher, Cork. T12ET29 (Tel 021 4317019)
- Riverview Veterinary – Unit 2, WestPoint Trade Centre, Link Road, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. P31 DT80 (Tel 021 4874879)
- Millview Veterinary Clinic – Victoria Cross Road, Cork. T12NX92 (Tel 021 434 6311)
CorkBeo has reached out to both CVS and Gilabbey Veterinary Hospital for comment.
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