The Netherlands-Although Texas A&M will include a Mid County veterinarian as one of its young alumni under the age of 12 in 2021, Dr. Brady Hanson is preparing to introduce his newest animal hospital to the community.

Hansen, the owner of the Neighborhood Veterinary Center, already runs the former Wilcox Veterinary Clinic in Groves. But what everyone is talking about is the large buildings behind the shrinking Starbucks in 2019.

Although the animal hospitals will not open until January, they will open on Monday (December 13).

The 39-year-old Hanson has been working as a veterinarian in the area for nearly nine years. He was born and raised in Dallas, and has lived in various places-Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, and even lived in Scotland for two years. But in most cases, he spent most of his life in Texas.

The construction of the new animal hospital started in August 2019, and the center is undergoing trial operation as the construction is completed. But once completed, this two-story center will be different from any other place in Zhongnan County.

"For every pet I have ever raised, I feel that I have become a part of me and me," he said. "I really like medicine and biology, I just think this is my answer. Being a veterinarian is very different from what I imagined when I was a kid. It's a stressful career, but it's also very meaningful."

According to Texas A&M, he now runs multiple centers and employs more than 120 employees, aiming to provide affordable treatment to animal owners.

Since its establishment in 2014, only 108 of A&M's 555,000 former students have been selected for the spotlight of 12-year-old young alumni under 12, and he is one of them.

"This year's 12 young alumni under the age of 12 Spotlight Award winners are inspiring because they have achieved great professional success and served the community and Texas A&M, leaving their mark in our world," Porter S. Garner III, President and CEO of the 79th Association, said in a written statement.

All 12 winners will be published in Texas Aggie Magazine in 2022.

It started as a one-dimensional plan on a piece of paper, and later developed into an all-encompassing veterinary hospital.

"A company actually did this design, but I started with a rectangle and designed the flow of the room-surgery, rehabilitation, etc.-and told them what I needed," Hansen said.

Initially it was about 12,000 square feet, but the completed project just exceeded 16,000 square feet.

"I did make it a bit bigger because I wanted to fit into it rather than grow from it," he said.

Hansen will keep the Groves clinic open, starting with approximately 45 of its 65 employees in the Netherlands and another 20 in Groves. In a year or two, he plans to remodel or rebuild it.

But for now, the focus is on opening new state-of-the-art buildings.

"We have been doing these very complicated orthopedic and neurosurgery operations, and we are in a building like a house," he said. "It recirculates the air. It was built 40 years ago. So our idea is to build something cleaner and more sterile for dogs."

Hansen is not an expert and makes sure all his clients understand this. However, he did focus mainly on surgery.

"All veterinary clinics do surgery, and some also do orthopedic surgery," he said. "This is what I have been focusing on and what I like to do. Ninety percent of what I do is surgery."

The air entering the operating area has been disinfected and flows in one direction. In fact, the entire hospital is a one-way flow to provide a more hygienic environment.

The Holland Center is now open from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays, and from 8 am to noon on Saturdays. However, this will change at some point.

"The goal is to eventually reach 24 hours, but it will take a while," Hansen said. "I didn't build it into an emergency center or a 24-hour service center, but what happened in the past few years has changed my goals and thinking about the hospital."

Once this happens, there will be an apartment upstairs-with bathroom and balcony-and two other rooms for employees in need to stay overnight. For employees, there is also a lunch area and a gym equipped with dumbbells and aerobic exercise equipment.

"I have been trying to stay in shape all my life. Many girls are very busy. This is a very stressful job, so for them, it is something to do before work, at lunch or after get off work," Hansen said. "They don't have to pay for it, they can relieve some of the pressure and stay in shape."

For animals, there are separate areas for dogs and cats, as well as isolation areas for infectious animals. There is a button door at the back of the kennel, which allows them to get out easily. There are 2,000 square feet of storage space alone, and all neighborhood veterinary clinics have on-site pharmacies.

"I just want to have a place where people can receive advanced surgery at a more affordable price," Hansen said. "Do not euthanize dogs because they cannot afford the cost of surgery."