There are over 280 million people in the United States, and over 140 million cats and dogs. This paper investigates the economics of operating a boarding facility as an ancillary business to a small animal veterinary practice. The case study concentrates on a one doctor, small animal veterinary hospital, and reveals that the clinic's profit from the boarding facility is minimal, and steadily diminishing. The financial information is extrapolated into the hypothetical construction of a new veterinary facility to determine if including a boarding facility as part of a new hospital design is a wise economical decision in today's economic environment.