WILLIAMSBURG — The handwritten sign taped outside the Williamsburg Animal Clinic on Thursday asked visitors to check their attitude at the door. “We found out at the same time you did,” it read, signed by “heartbroken staff.”
Inside, red-eyed veterinary technicians handed over medical records to longtime clients, some of whom came only to say goodbye. The clinic, which has served the Hilltowns for 32 years, closed Friday, leaving some 2,000 people without a veterinarian and six employees out of work.
Employees learned of the closure Tuesday. Pet owners found out the next afternoon, in an email from the clinic’s owner, Virginia-based Inspire Veterinary Partners Inc.
Inspire began operating the practice in January 2025, renting the building at 99 Main St. from veterinarians Robin Karlin and Bud Allen, who ran the clinic for decades. Attempts to reach Inspire officials by phone and email this week were unsuccessful, and the reasons for the closure remain unclear.
“They basically have no money,” said Amber Wiecorek, a veterinary technician. The clinic employed four technicians and two veterinarians, she added.
Veterinary technician Paris Boibin, who has worked at the clinic for 15 years, echoed other employees and customers, calling the closure “devastating” and “very heartbreaking.”
“IVP failed its employees and all its clients,” she said.
Emily Cavin of Plainfield said she was stunned to receive the email informing her that the clinic would close. She stopped by Thursday on her way to another appointment to find out what happened.
Cavin, who has been taking her cats to the practice since the 1990s, was particularly surprised that the closure notice did not include referrals to other primary-care veterinarians. She said a longtime veterinary technician told her the staff had received only two days’ notice of the closure.
“You work here 15 years and you find out you just lost your job on Friday. That’s horrible,” Cavin said.
She said the practice was locally owned when she first began bringing her animals there. She was disappointed when it was later sold to a corporation.
“It was such a great place,” Cavin said. “It’s very sad.”
In its email to clients announcing the closure, IVP said: “We are grateful for the trust you have placed in our team and for allowing us to care for your pets over the years. Our priority during this transition is ensuring you have continued access to your pet’s medical information so you can establish care elsewhere without interruption.”
The email said that medical records can be obtained on the clinic’s website under the “Contact Us” section. A notice with the link has also been posted on the clinic’s door.
For emergency care, the email referred clients to Integrity Veterinary Center, 518 Pleasant St. in Northampton; Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital, 141 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield; and Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital, 134 Capital Drive in West Springfield.
The closure leaves a hole in Hilltown veterinary care. The closest other options are at least 20 minutes away from Williamsburg, and even farther for community members deeper in the Hilltowns.
For Jennifer Milikowsky of Westhampton, the Williamsburg Animal Clinic was more than a place to take her dogs for routine checkups. She has been bringing her three rescue dogs there for seven years, relying on the staff to help manage a long list of complicated medical issues.
The three dogs take about 18 medications combined and require prescription dog food. She has two three-legged dogs with arthritis, one of them named Ralph, who was with her when she stopped in Thursday. Her third dog has kidney disease and is blind and deaf.
“These guys are a huge, huge lifeline for me,” Milikowsky said.
When she received an email Wednesday informing clients that the clinic would close Friday, she initially thought she had read it incorrectly. “I was just shocked and couldn’t believe it,” she said.
Milikowsky said she was upset by the closure but not with the employees, who she believes would never have chosen to leave their clients in such a difficult position.
“I feel for them. I imagine they’re in a really challenging position right now,” she said.
The timing was particularly difficult because her dogs had appointments scheduled for the following week and beyond.
She immediately began looking for another veterinarian. “My dogs are like kids to me, so I want to make sure that we’re not missing things,” she said.
Lois Cross of Williamsburg said her dog, Niki, has been coming to the practice for 10 to 12 years. She was also “devastated” when she learned the clinic would be closing and came in to make her last visit.
Cross said she plans to seek out an independent veterinarian rather than another corporate-owned practice.
“I don’t want to go to another corporate staff because corporates can totally pull the plug on practices at any time,” Cross said.
