Our Mission & History

Our Mission

The Animal Hospital of Nashua Strives to provide state of the art veterinary medicine as needed by our animal patients and as requested by our clients.  We want our hospital to be performing at a technical level, causing us to be legendary in the veterinary community (academically and professionally).  All of our staff agrees that the best technical medicine and surgery is only one part of excellent medical care - good patient care and bedside manner is crucial in achieving the optimal outcome of a pet's illness, injury or routine preventive health care.

The Animal Hospital of Nashua also feels that pet owners deserve and appreciate excellent service and the second goal of the hospital is to create a service organization that is recognized in our geographical service areas as the best of the best.

In addition to our patients (your pets) and our clients (you), the Animal Hospital of Nashua works to build a service team of outstanding people that look out for the personal and professional needs of each other while providing for the needs of our clients and patients.

We at the Animal Hospital of Nashua want to be viewed as the place to go for answers to pet owner's questions about their pet's well being (medical, surgical, behavioral and general care questions).

The Animal Hospital of Nashua wants to embody the cliche: "High tech, soft touch"

Our History

The Animal Hospital of Nashua opened its doors for the first time on April 22, 1985.  In the early years, the hospital was a very small veterinary clinic with Dr. Bishop the sole veterinarian and his wife being the entire staff.  At that time, Dr. Bishop was the "new kid on the block" amongst many other quality veterinary hospitals in the area.  

He lived the theory of "high tech, soft touch" - especially with the hospital situated in Nashua NH. where many worked in the computer industry and commuting to the Boston area was common.  In other words, whether his clients came to him after a hard day at work, a long commute or a long day with the kids, it was important that the clients and their pets were given his utmost attention with a soft touch (while being technically proficient).

The other strong philosophy that Dr. Bishop followed in launching the Animal Hospital of Nashua was his believed in urgent care and critical care.  His overall feeling was that a veterinarian needs to "be there" for the client and their pets in times of an emergency.  throughout its evolution, the hospital has never strayed form this basic premise.

Every pet that Dr. Bishop saw as treated as it were the most important thing in his life.  Dedication and passion, with a strong medical expertise, was the driving force.  Today, it is still the philosophy and vision of all the dedicated doctors at the Animal Hospital of Nashua.

This history and roots of the Animal Hospital of Nashua are deeply embedded in these basic components of dedications and passion for pets and pet owners.

Dr Bishop, in his youth, living in rural dairy farming are of the mid-west.

Dr. Bishop enters Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and performs in the top tier of his class.

Dr Bishop graduates as a veterinarian and accepts full-time associate veterinarian position at the Dover Veterinary Hospital in Dover NH.  He and his family convert to being New Hampshire-ites.

Dr Bishop spends two years as one of the veterinarians at a small animal veterinary emergency clinic in Massachusetts treating only urgent car, critical care and trauma cases.

1985

Dr. Bishop and family move to Nashua NH and open the Animal Hospital of Nashua.  The original site is at 155 Main Dunstable Road and is part of a professional medical building.  This is at the beginning of a national trend to integrate veterinary hospitals with other medical facilities.  Being the first to do this in NH Dr. Bishop had to convince the building owners that it was appropriate for him to practice next door to a human cardiologist, a human pediatrician, and a human dentist.  His argument:  they already allowed in a computer software company and besides the animal hospital doesn't smell!

One man cannot do it all.  The first associate veterinarian is added to the staff.

The hospital is bursting at the seams and more room is needed.  The Animal Hospital Of Nashua moves across the street to the current site.  A 6,000 square foot hospital is built as a modern interpretation of an old New England bard that allows for more medical treatment areas, more surgical areas, a larger client reception area and move convenient parking.

The decision is made to discontinue pet boarding and grooming, to concentrate on achieving the highest level of medical and surgical care for our patients.

The veterinary medical profession is changing the rest of the world and more of the veterinarians are having families.  To solved the dilemma of family life versus being on call 24-hours daily, the decision is made to staff the hospital 24-hours daily, 7 days a week with medical staff that includes veterinarians specialized in emergency and critical care.  A first for New Hampshire and one of only a handful in the New England area, a staffed 24-hour veterinary hospital assures round-the-clock care for the patient and guarantees a veterinarian in the hospital at the time emergency care is needed.  The Animal Hospital is proud to offer this service and again is at the forefront of a national trend to provide 24-hour on-site veterinary care.

The concept of 24-hour urgent care for animals, while maintaining a general practice, is warmly embraced by the community and other veterinary hospitals that find it beneficial to refer their client's emergency and critical care needs.  The whole organization continues to grow and Dr. Bishop realizes that by filling the role of Medical Director, he can produce more widespread effects in the care of the pets by working through his incredible veterinarians.  This increasingly complex task of directing the professional staff of veterans, technicians and support staff requires him to suspend seeing outpatients appointments and to concentrate on controlling the general course of the hospital.  The incredibly caring and knowledgeable staff of veterinarians has grown to be eleven dedicated professionals to provide the "front line" care for the pets.

The Animal Hospital at Ferry Road comes on-line.  It is a small, full service veterinary hospital located next to the Humane Society for Greater Nashua.  The doctors are Dr. Judith Surdam and Dr. Michelle Posage, both Animal Hospital of Nashua veterans.  this facility offers the best of both worlds:  the warm feeling of a smaller facility plus the high tech advantages of being connected with the Animal Hospital of Nashua.

The hospital continues to grow and to take on more and more specialized medical and surgical techniques.  Equipment, such as ultrasonography, endoscopies, and critical care items, allow the staff to offer more advanced medicine and surgery with confidence.  The number of are hospitals referring to the Animal Hospital of Nashua continues to grow and referrals and case transfers are being received by such institutions as Angell Memorial Hospital and Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine.

We will continue to listen to what our clients want and what our patients need.  We are looking to add staff specialists in such areas as orthopedic surgery, dermatology, exotic medicine and alternative medicine.  Our amazing staff of veterinarians constantly are educating themselves to keep them at the top of their form and are constantly looking for ways they can help the health and well being of our pet's lives.x