Dr. Neal A. Rose of Broad Street Veterinary Hospital called Caroline Wickham nearly every day in late 2006 when one of her schnauzers was diagnosed with cancer.

A couple months later, the schnauzer, Jamie, lost her battle with cancer.

"When the time came, Neal came to our house to put Jamie to sleep," Wickham tearfully recalled about the death of her pet. "Neal sat on the floor with me. When he gave Jamie the injection, we sat and petted her until it was over."

Wickham has been taking her pets to Broad Street Veterinary Hospital for more than 40 years.

"Neal is truly an individual who does what he does because he loves it," Wickham said of Rose, who joined the practice in 1972. "The depth of caring and compassion he has is unbelievable. I know I can call him anytime if I need him."

Rose became an owner in Broad Street Veterinary Hospital in 1990 and its sole proprietor in 1993.

The hospital has operated for 70 years. Dr. Taylor P. Rowe opened Broad Street Veterinary Hospital in April 1938. He was joined in 1941 by Drs. Buford Philpy and John Ely.

Rose found out about Broad Street Veterinary Hospital when his professor at the University of Georgia received a request from Rowe asking for a few "good Virginia students" to interview.

"We connected right away," Rose said about Rowe. "Afterward I came to Virginia and talked with him. We worked out an agreement and I started work in 1972 for a salary of $11,500."

Rose realized he enjoyed working with animals when he attended what is now Anderson University in South Carolina. He recalls that there weren't many veterinarians near his family's small farm outside of Columbia, S.C.

"My brothers had farms and they had to do animal treatments because of the lack of veterinarians," he said. "I used to help my uncle do rabies clinics. We had some rabies cases and someone had to give the shots. I always loved medicine and I enjoyed animals, so it was a nice fit."

When Broad Street Veterinary Hospital first opened, it treated both large and small animals within a 100-mile radius.

The area around Broad Street and Roseneath Road was much less developed at the time.

"When Dr. Rowe built the hospital, people asked about parking and he told them they could park in all of the fields around here," Rose said. "By the time I came [in 1972] we were just treating cats and dogs."

The hospital is among the oldest designated American Animal Hospital Association practice still in its existing building, Rose said. "And we are one of, if not the oldest, AAHA hospital in the nation, which we are real proud of."

The hospital has undergone many cosmetic changes since opening. A massive renovation in 1990 modernized the building.

The hospital now includes a surgical suite, inside area for dogs and cats to exercise and an expanded onsite pharmacy. Ninety-five percent of the lab work is now done there.

"Our digital X-ray unit is the highest technology," Rose said. "We have a whole room devoted to that."

Rose and the one other veterinarian at the hospital provide a number of services such as regular check-ups, routine exams, vaccinations and illness-related problems as well as emergency cases.

"When animals are in need, you need to be there for them," Rose said. "We also do a lot of surgeries. We work with a lot of fractures and broken legs."

Harry Robertson is a longtime client of Broad Street Veterinary Hospital. As owner of Hanover Fly Fishers, Robertson and Rose have traveled together to various fly fishing destinations worldwide.

"Dr. Rose is very sensitive to animals and to nature, and that makes for a good veterinarian," Robertson said.

Rose is always in tune with what's going on in the veterinary world, said David Musick, who owned the former Musick Hardware just east of the hospital.

"He's very knowledgeable and he's always upgrading the appearance of the hospital," Musick said. "He makes people feel at home. He's well respected."

When Rose speaks to organizations about his work, he enjoys exploring the lighthearted side of the business such as the time he removed a pair of bikini underwear from a dog that was suffering with an intestinal blockage.

The dog "had eaten the underwear but it wasn't the man's wife's underwear," Rose said. "It started their divorce. In that case the dog wasn't the man's best friend."

Then there was the time that a man brought in his cat and asked if she was in heat.

"I asked 'Is she attractive to other males?' because it's hard to tell if a cat is in heat," Rose said. "The man looked at me and said 'Are you calling my cat ugly?'"