HOLLAND TWP. — Pet owners across the area can rejoice, as a local veterinary group has received approval from the Holland Township Planning Commission to open an all-hours emergency clinic.

Representatives from RWE Design Build said the applicant — Gregory O’Brien of O’Brien Veterinary Group — plans to use the former Family Video at 369 136th Ave. as an Emergency Veterinary Care Center.

More:Family Video to close both Holland locations

The clinic will save local residents from making the drive to Grand Rapids for emergency care. The company has had success converting former Family Videos into clinics in the past.

The new location will be the group's fourth in the region.

Deana Scheidt, director of business development for Emergency Veterinary Care Center, said local pet owners currently drive to Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo for all-hours care.

“In an emergency situation with your pet, that could potentially mean the life of that pet,” Scheidt said.

Scheidt said primary care veterinary offices have been overwhelmed, and some no longer offer after-hours care.

Nicole Sharp, sales representative at MWI Animal Health, travels across the area visiting local clinics. She echoed the sentiment that a facility like this is needed in Holland.

“I see a huge need to have an emergency clinic here along the lakeshore,” Sharp said. “As a pet owner, I have to drive to Grand Rapids to clinics there and, when you do that, you're losing a lot of time with that pet and could have potentially saved their life if you could go to someplace local.”

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The plan is the second proposal to fill a former Family Video in the Holland area in the past month. In mid-November, the Holland Planning Commission heard a site plan request to turn the former Family Video at 536 W. 17th St. into a new Dollar General, including a 1,548-square-foot addition to the existing building.

The commission ultimately denied approval of the site plan and an additional waiver for decreased window space, asking developers to address concerns and submit a new plan.

— Contact freelancer Austin Metz at ametz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: All-hours emergency vet clinic planned in former Family Video