.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} While Dr. Anil Regmi was trick-or-treating with his child last October, his neighbor in-formed him that a building was for sale near Regmi’s veterinary clinic in Urbandale. Regmi stopped by the former meat locker the next day and decided it was the perfect place to relocate his Urban Pet Hospital and add a resort for dogs and cats.

Soon after, Polk County Bank agreed to lend him the $350,000 he needed to buy the building and another $300,000 to renovate it, friend and attorney Charlie Wittmack helped him fill out the paperwork, and Dean Upton agreed to leave his veterinary practice to work under Regmi, focusing on animal physical therapy.

If all these steps had not fallen into place in about six months, Urban Pet Hospital and Resort would not be under construction today, Regmi said. Now he is hoping to move his operation, currently located in a strip mall at the corner of 100th Street and Douglas Avenue, to 3601 104th St. by Labor Day.

“I’m sure a place this unique will bring publicity and draw people to Urbandale,” Regmi predicted. He also believes the location will make it convenient for people in the suburbs to drop their pets off on the way to work and pick them up on their way home.

Regmi originally considered expanding his existing office, but a zoning ordinance prohibited him from kenneling animals. However, his new 10,409-square-foot building, located just off Douglas Avenue, needs extensive work.

The floor in the center of the building already has been torn up and the insulation underneath removed. Wooden frames outline a few smaller rooms near the main entrance, including a bathroom, and most of the large rooms are filled with wood, insulation and scrap materials.

“The building is so unique,” said Larry Hague of Engineering Design Services, which worked with Regmi on the layout. “It’s built like a vault.”

Some of the challenges of renovating a meat locker include installing an extensive drainage system that needs to connect to several individual kennels and tearing down walls six inches thick, Hague said. Construction began about five weeks ago.

When complete, the building will have a main lobby with a black granite countertop shipped in from India. Near the front entrance will be rooms for the veterinary practice, including a checkup area, surgery center and dental station. The space will be larger than Regmi has at his current location.

In a room next to the medical area is one of the new business’s highlights: a swimming flume designed for canine physical therapy and recreation. The small pool will have an adjustable current that keeps the dogs swimming in place at a certain pace. A harness system next to the pool will lift dogs that cannot walk in and out of the water.

The pool will support Regmi’s orthopedic work, helping dogs recover more quickly, as well as allowing owners to exercise their pets with an appointment. Using a pool like this for recreation makes it “the only one like this in Iowa,” Regmi said.

Next to the pool will be a hallway lined with individual dog kennels. Regmi plans to equip each kennel with a stereo, DVD player and television, which will help soothe canines and also train them to handle loud noises, such as fireworks around July 4th. The kennels will also feature murals designed by local artist Emily Main.

The resort is designed to handle about 30 dogs at a time, with the potential to add enough kennels for 100 dogs. A neighboring room will allow the dogs to interact in a large indoor play area, which will have rubber flooring, tunnels and other equipment. Regmi will add a grooming station near a north-side entrance.

A smaller room in the building’s northeast corner will be turned into “cat condominiums” for about 30 to 40 felines. Across from the rooms will be a large aquarium to allow the cats to watch fish swim.

Some of the kennels will be connected with webcams, so employees can monitor the animals and owners can log onto a Web site to check on their pets during the day. Pets will also receive a quick checkup when dropped off and picked up.

Regmi has six employees for the new center, including two veterinarians – himself and Upton. He predicts that could double as the center is completed.

Already his clients have expressed interest in the pet resort and people have stopped by the building asking when it will be open, Regmi said.

As someone who came to the United States from Nepal with only a few dollars, Regmi said, “I never thought this was possible.”