MONTAGUE — Windy Hollow Veterinary Clinic has started treating the region’s four-legged family members at its new, all-electric 4,300-square-foot clinic at 2 Fosters Road.
The clinic, which has been operating since 1998 and has been owned by Dr. Peg Piwonka since 2014, was previously run out of a 1,200-square-foot space with a single exam room and no dedicated breakroom for its 17 employees across the street at 68 Sunderland Road.
Piwonka’s vision of a new building emerged during the pandemic as the practice saw a 40% increase in patients. With this increase in demand, she was looking to expand the business.
In early 2023, Piwonka and Wright Builders Inc. President Seth Lawrence-Slavas began working together to pre-plan a new building when the 2 Fosters Road lot went up for sale. A barn stood on the property previously, and the surrounding land and buildings helped inform the aesthetic and design of the new Windy Hollow Veterinary Clinic.
“I think it was really important that this was an agricultural feeling, and it’s against the grain of that typical commercial building,” Lawrence-Slavas said.
“You just drive by and think it’s a house and a barn,” Piwonka noted.
The building, with a price tag of $2.1 million, is an all-wood construction, and the wood siding is eastern white pine from Guilford, Vermont, that has been colored a shade of auburn red using a pine tar pigment. With the building prioritizing energy efficiency, Lawrence-Slavas said the insulation, windows and solar capabilities meet high air-quality standards while achieving energy efficiency and a net-zero goal once solar panels are installed. Piwonka said the clinic has applied for a United States Department of Agriculture grant for the solar installation.
While the building is energy-friendly, Piwonka said she envisioned the space as being staff-friendly and pet-friendly, too. Two goals she had in the building process were creating a dedicated staff room, along with a comfortable waiting room that allows for separation between animals coming in for care. To her, having a comfortable building can help calm pet owners, which can translate to their pets.
“If it’s calming when they’re in here, that does directly translate to their animal, and that makes a big difference in how we can provide care,” she said.
In this new facility, there are five exam rooms with one used as a comfort space for euthanasia, a large waiting room, and equipment for lab testing and surgery. Some of the equipment was purchased new, while some was transferred from the old office, Piwonka said. The office offers care to dogs and cats, as well as other small mammals like hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets and the occasional chicken. Additionally, the old Window Hollow Veterinary Clinic building is now serving as office space for Whispering Willow Home Euthanasia, also owned by Piwonka.
Filling a need
Across the region, Piwonka said there is a continued need for veterinary care, even with a network of regional providers. Just down the road from Windy Hollow Veterinary Clinic off Route 47 is the Sunderland Animal Hospital. Also in Montague, Dr. Lauralyn Brown provides veterinary care services, and in South Deerfield, pet owners can access emergency care at the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital. Still, even with these and more providers in Franklin County, a national veterinary shortage exists.
“So it seems like there’s a lot, but there’s a huge need, and there’s a big shortage of vets right now,” Piwonka said.
Data from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the USDA lists 46 states as having a shortage of veterinary services in 2025. Although Massachusetts is one of the four states not included on the list, this marks the highest shortage of care recorded by NIFA.
Anecdotally, Piwonka said there are multiple offices, including hers, looking to fill open veterinarian positions. With the new building available, she said, there is an opportunity to begin allowing for expanded emergency care and more patients.
“If you’re going to have a project like this, you’re not going to build a building that you’re going to grow into in a year. You want it to work for you in five or 10 years,” she noted.
As Piwonka and the staff continue to provide care in the new building, she said she hopes the space where people bring their pets for medical treatment is reflective of the human-animal bond that can be as strong as the bond with any other family member.
“We can’t underestimate how important our pets are to us and our families,” she said.