By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — It’s a hospital. It’s a daycare center. It’s a grooming facility. Can’t come in? Then book a house call. But it’s for animals, all kinds of species, from dogs and cats to birds and horses.

That’s how Dr. Phillip Putter describes “Spot On Vet,” the new “luxury” veterinary medicine and pet-care center that opened Tuesday at 950 Post Road East, the previous site of a Men’s Wearhouse store.

“It’s all in one spot, that’s why we call it Spot On Vet,” Putter said, because whatever a pet needs, the business will strive to provide.

Services offered by Spot On Vet include emergency medical care, day care and boarding for sick, injured or recovering animals in what Putter calls luxury accommodations, where pets are hosted in clean, well-lit cubicles with small beds (originally made for toddlers). Each boarding room also has a camera so absent owners can watch their recovering pets, and a television plays the pet’s favorite music or program. Some owners post photos of their pet’s (human) family as comforting reminders.

Spot On Vet also offers dental care, a full pharmacy, facilities to conduct major surgeries including orthopedic procedures, medical testing that often can’t be done in a regular veterinary office, physical therapy and even a valet service to pick up pets from home. 

Putter and his wife, Rebecca, opened their first Spot On Vet hospital in Stamford nine years ago after they had operated a house-call-only veterinary practice for two years. The Westport pet-care center is the second Spot On Vet facility, with four full-time and one part-time veterinarians and a full support staff.

Rebecca Putter, who has both public health and business degrees, oversees the business side of Spot On Vet, while her husband oversees the medical side.

“It’s a family business,” Phillip Putter said.

Spot On Vet is built on the “fear-free” concept, he said, where every possible step is taken to keep pets calm, happy and healthy during time at the facility. This includes releasing pheromones — chemicals produced by animals that influence behavior — into the air to make pets more comfortable, and a separate entrance for cats or for dogs who don’t mix well with other dogs. The center also offers alternative medical practices, he said, such as acupuncture.

Medical care and observation of all pets is of primary importance at Spot On Vet, he said, whether they are animals recovering from serious surgery or illness in the ICU, which is under constant observation, or pets that come for the day.

“Unlike regular boarding, our medical boarding provides trained professionals who can administer medications, monitor for illness and respond quickly if your pet needs medical attention,” Putter said.

The veterinarian has treated all kinds of animals over the course of his career, he said, from sharks to horses, and the Westport center welcomes what he calls “exotic” pets such as chinchillas or birds, and “pocket pets,” including gerbils, hamsters and rabbits.

He’s expecting to treat larger animals at the Westport office than in the more urban Stamford environment, he said, but horses or other large animals also can be treated via house calls, which are available weekly on Wednesdays.

Spot On Vet, 950 Post Road East, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed Sundays. Office hours will be expanded in the future. Day care will be available starting Monday, Sept. 9, with medical boarding starting the week after. Emergency calls also will be available around the clock in the future.

To make an appointment, call 203-303-9933 or visit the Spot On Vet website.

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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.