Veterinary Equipment List You Need When Setting Up Your Clinic
Opening a new practice or remodeling your current facility can be a huge undertaking, especially purchasing all the veterinary equipment necessary to ensure you provide high-quality care. Although the following list is by no means comprehensive, it covers essential items you need when furnishing your veterinary hospital.
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Veterinary equipment for the reception area
1. Client seating
In light of the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you must follow specific protocols when designing your client waiting area. You have to accommodate seating options with a safe distance apart for single pet owners and small families. If your waiting area is not very large, you may consider placing plexiglass barriers between seats if you cannot maintain a safe enough distance. Positioning seating with ample space between clients also allows for a safe distance between pets, especially cats from dogs and nervous pets from overly friendly pets. Try to block off seats if your current seating is too close to provide an appropriate distance, as shown in the image below:
2. Weighing Scale
Although you’ll want a small scale for pediatric patients that you can carry into exam rooms, using a walk-on scale in your lobby will help weigh all your patients are as soon as they walk through the door. Many pets are leery of getting onto the scale, so you may consider one built into the floor to help disguise this piece of equipment.
3. Product displays
Product displays that allow your clients to browse additional pet health products before checking out can add to your revenue. Stock shelves and other displays with prescription and over-the-counter diets, dental care items, and grooming supplies. Also, create an area behind your reception desk to display parasite prevention. Keep these items safe but visible, allowing clients to ask questions about the best preventives for their pets. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may choose to keep all items behind your reception desk to eliminate extra sanitizing.
4. Sanitation station
A sanitation station is a must in your lobby, current pandemic or not. Outfit your sanitation station with hand sanitizer, paper towels, spray disinfectant, and a trash can. These items will allow your clients to clean up their pet’s accidents in your lobby and allow them to sanitize their hands at every opportunity.
Veterinary equipment for exam rooms
1. Exam tables
Sturdy exam tables are a must to help put your patients at ease during their appointment. Furnish your cold exam table with a nonslip mat for maximum patient comfort. Exam tables can also double as cabinets to provide handy storage space for veterinary supplies, parasite prevention samples, and client education materials.
2. Physical exam equipment
You should include a stethoscope, thermometer, and combination otoscope/ophthalmoscope as they are vital parts of any physical exam. Other valuable tools may include a Wood’s lamp, flea comb, penlight, and various supplies necessary for diagnosing diseases, such as blood collection tubes, microscope slides, syringes, cotton-tipped applicators, and more.
3. Treat and toy basket
Veterinary visits can be scary for pets and their owners alike, but fun and tasty distractors like toys and treats can reduce stress levels and make for a more pleasant experience. You can accomplish much more than usual in the exam room, from nail trims and blood draws with this trick. Dogs generally like whipped cream or ice cream cones and for cats, you can try canned tuna.
Veterinary equipment for medical record keeping
1. Tablet or laptop
Many veterinary practices have made the switch to paper-free or paper-lite medical record-keeping. Whether you choose to use a cloud-based practice management software or one that runs off the central server within your facility, equipment designed to input physical exam findings, share test results with clients, and research unusual cases is necessary. Depending on the size of your exam room, you can either carry an iPad or use a laptop/desktop computer to promptly update the medical records.
2. Filing cabinets
If you opt to stick to some or all paper medical records, you’ll need ample filing storage. Check your state’s legislation regarding how long you must keep medical records before disposing of old records properly.
Veterinary equipment for the surgery suite
1. Surgery table and lights
A surgery table with ample lighting is essential for performing elective and life-saving procedures. You can choose from a simple stainless steel surgical table to a piece of equipment that you can heat or has a hydraulic feature.
2. Anesthesia equipment
Anesthesia equipment consists of an anesthesia machine, vaporizer, and scavenging system. Most general practices opt for anesthetic machines that use isoflurane.
3. Patient warming unit
Keep your patients warm during and after surgery with a warming unit, such as a Bair hugger.
4. Monitoring equipment
Although monitoring equipment cannot replace a highly trained veterinary technician, monitoring equipment will help evaluate your patient’s health while under anesthesia. Include a blood pressure monitor, capnography, pulse oximeter, and electrocardiography equipment.
5. Dental unit
A high-speed dental unit that consists of scaling and polishing handpieces will help battle the rampant dental disease among almost all pets over age 3.
6. Autoclave
As a practice after every surgery, you must sterilize the instruments. For this, you can use a steam autoclave as shown in the image below. Before sterilizing, you must clean the instruments using an ultrasonic cleaner, so remember to add that to your list.
Maintain a sanitary environment with our FREE housekeeping checklist
Our free downloadable veterinary checklists will help you maximise efficiency, save valuable admin time, and improve the pet owner experience within your practice. Download them now!
Veterinary equipment for the treatment area
1. Drug and supply storage
Without a stocked inventory, it’s tough to treat your patients. Outfit your treatment room or another location with cabinets or shelving to house your medications. Be sure to include a lockbox in which to store your controlled substances securely.
2. Patient Cages
You would need cages at your practice for your patients who generally come in for treatment, those who require a longer hospitalization stay, and your surgical patients.
3. Refrigerator
Use your medical refrigerator to store vaccinations, temperature-sensitive medications, and specimen samples. You can easily purchase a used or discounted refrigerator through social media groups or an appliance outlet to save some money without skimping on function.
Veterinary equipment for the laboratory area
1. Digital radiography equipment
Very few practices still use processing tanks and film for their X-rays. Instead, search for a modern digital radiography machine to quickly and easily take radiographs and view images. Although not absolutely necessary, we recommend having a dental radiography machine is also recommended, since up to 60% of the tooth structure lies below the gumline.
2. Microscope
A microscope with at least three objectives (10x, 40x, and 100x) will help you diagnose everything from ear infections to thrombocytopenia.
3. Blood analyzers
Although you can certainly send all your samples to an external lab for processing, having results within 15 minutes allows you to begin a treatment plan much sooner. Basic blood analyzers that give you CBC and chemistry results are a good place to start, and you can add a machine that tests clotting times for additional patient health information.
4. Centrifuge
A centrifuge is essential for spinning down fecal, urine, and blood samples to obtain in-house results.
Where to find veterinary equipment
Large veterinary suppliers can provide most of your equipment, but you can also search for specific manufacturers of certain items to find the tools you need. 2 trustworthy Vet suppliers, you can get in touch with are Patterson Veterinary and MWI Animal Health. For vet equipment like a Bair hugger and dental unit, you can try manufacturers of such specified equipment like 3M or Midmark Animal Health. If you’d rather purchase a package plan for all your veterinary equipment needs, consider a company like Apexx Veterinary Equipment to furnish your entire hospital.
List of Veterinary Pharmaceutical, Device, & Diagnostic Companies and Veterinary Distributors
Final thoughts
Outfitting your veterinary practice with the proper equipment is a huge and tough task to undertake. However, you don’t need all the bells and whistles when you are at the planning stage of your practice launch. Instead, stick to the basics you need to provide quality care to your patients, then upgrade your equipment or purchase more specialised tools as needed.
The right equipment enables quality care, and the right tools transform how you deliver it. Discover how Vetstoria Online Booking and Websites streamline administrative processes, automate scheduling, and enhance seamless clinic efficiency.
Top 8 Veterinary Podcast Sites You Must Follow and Why
Veterinary podcasts are an episodic series of verbal and digital audio files that a user can download to a personal device for comfortable listening. As a veterinary professional, you likely have a love of learning and discovering new things. However, it’s so tough to find time to expand your knowledge, explore new things and stay updated with the vet industry trends. So, what better way to do so than through a convenient veterinary podcast? Listening to veterinary podcasts is the most time-efficient option for you, as you can do it in the car, in the shower, or in the kitchen, and learn great ways to make the most of your career. Here are our top picks for informative veterinary podcasts that you can sign up for
Free Download: Time-Saving Veterinary Checklists
1. WhiskerTalks
Hosted by WhiskerCloud CEO Adam Greenbaum, WhiskerTalks is a podcast that offers marketing and business tips for the veterinary industry. Many of the episodes also discuss well-being, practice culture, and employee satisfaction and happiness. Each episode lasts about an hour, so they’re perfect for a longer commute or while you get ready for work in the morning.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 You Should Be Promoting Employee Growth - This episode discusses how to promote a positive culture within the workplace by encouraging upper management to focus on employee growth and happiness.
🟣 Veterinary Medicine Must Embrace Technology - This episode shares how to automate more aspects of your business, saving you time, energy, and ultimately, money.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers, Owners, Social Media Managers, and Marketing Managers
2. The Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast
The Modern Veterinary Practice Podcast examines ways of increasing efficiency, improving your team's work environment, elevating your clients’ experience, and driving profit into the business. Each episode lasts between 20 and 25 minutes, making them manageable chunks to squeeze into your day.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 Examining the Evolution of the Veterinary Client Journey - If you’re struggling to communicate with your clients in the way they want and provide stellar service, this episode is for you.
🟣 Reimagining Pet Health Plans - Re-thinking the current services you offer your clients can help grow your practice, all while catering to what your clients want in order to care for their pets.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers and Owners
3. The Veterinary Marketing Podcast
The Veterinary Marketing Podcast, publishing episodes weekly, typically discusses how to attract, engage, and retain clients using digital marketing. If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t have enough time to implement an effective digital marketing strategy, this podcast will help you quickly and easily reach your clients online. Episode length varies greatly, from just a few minutes to an hour, with most episodes remaining on the shorter side.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 How Content and Email Marketing Can Help Your Practice Grow with Abby Herman - Tips on how to best use content and email marketing to remain at the forefront of your clients’ minds are shared in this episode.
🟣 Time-Saving Tools and Tips to Help Get More Marketing Done - The tips shared in this quick episode will save your marketing manager's time, helping your practice’s digital marketing team become more effective and efficient.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Social Media & Marketing Managers, Veterinary Marketing Agencies
4. The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast
The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast helps busy veterinary professionals improve every aspect of their lives, covering topic areas like stress, compassion fatigue, client issues, time management, leadership, team building, and practice management. If you need help creating a balance between your work and your life, this is the podcast for you. Most episodes last about half an hour, but some are longer.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 Client Fatigue and Exhaustion - unpleasant, demanding clients are a major issue in veterinary medicine and it affects employee happiness, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. While you have no control over the attitude of a client, you can make sure your unhappy employee is taken care of. This episode teaches you how to boost employee satisfaction, and to handle challenging clients better in the future
🟣 Complaining with Karlene Belyea - Chronic complainers, whether clients or co-workers, can become incredibly pervasive in practice culture and negatively affect teams, but this episode discusses how to change chronic complaining habits and promote a positive attitude.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers
5. The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast
The Uncharted Veterinary Podcast covers a wide range of topics, including client communication, toxic co-workers, workplace efficiency, and marketing. This podcast is designed to increase your success and enjoyment from your career by handling the difficult daily parts of practice that don’t often get discussed. Each episode lasts about an hour.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 Front Desk As “Other” - Most veterinary practices are divided into “the front” and “the back,” and this episode talks about how a CSR can bridge the gap between the two in the name of better patient care, better customer service, and a happier workplace.
🟣 What Really Keeps Technicians Engaged and Satisfied - Happy technicians who are satisfied with their role and their practice are worth their weight in gold. This is episode will show you how to keep these essential team members engaged and productive.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers, Marketing Managers, and Veterinary Marketing Agencies
6. The Veterinary Viewfinder Podcast
The Veterinary Viewfinder Podcast stays on top of current events by touching base on all veterinary-related topics, from breaking news and industry updates to innovative tech and mental health issues in the field. Each episode lasts about half an hour, the perfect amount of time to make these weighty topics easily digestible.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 How Positive Leadership Can Save Your Practice with Josh Vaisman - Positive work cultures begin with positive leaders, which can help maintain a cheerful outlook during stressful workdays. Through this episode, you will learn how to find positivity in daily practice and what to do when you encounter negative vibes, poor managers, and toxic teammates.
🟣 Are We Confusing Our Clients? Baffling Invoices, Exam Room Jargon, & Inconsistent Recommendations In Veterinary Practice - Clients can become confused and even upset when faced with inconsistent communication within a veterinary practice. This episode will help you discover how to boost customer service and better care for your clients by remaining clear and consistent.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers and Owners
7. The Inventory Nation Podcast
The Inventory Nation Podcast is a weekly podcast designed to give you tips and strategies to level up your inventory by hearing stories from other veterinary professionals. They’ll be sharing what works for them, their successes, and their strategies, so you can learn from others just like you and tackle your biggest goals along the way. Episode length ranges from half an hour to an hour.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 Your Top 3 Inventory Frustrations and What To Do About Them - Inventory management can be a time-consuming challenge, but this episode helps you handle your inventory better, saving your team time and effort.
🟣 Inventory Monster, Online Pharmacies, and More with Stephanie Goss - This episode discusses how to choose the right online pharmacy to meet both the needs of your practice and your clients by offering this convenient service. It also contains tips on how to designate an inventory specialist, rather than adding this time-consuming duty to other tasks.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers, Owners, and Inventory Managers
8. The PAWSitive Leadership Podcast
The PAWSitive Leadership Podcast offers everything a practice manager needs to know by providing relevant content, material, guidelines, instruction, feedback, and pro tips and tricks granted by real-life experience. With topics from areas like marketing, Recruitment, and legal, you’ll definitely want to listen to this podcast. Each episode runs about 45 minutes to an hour-long.
Here are two of our favorite episodes:
🟣 More Than a Website with Adam Greenbaum at WhiskerCloud - During this session, Adam dives deep into data analytics, SEO, good habits to build the practice brand, and the importance of having a website that works for the practice and clients.
🟣 What Vet Med Gets Right (and Wrong) About Compassionate Euthanasia with Craig Lassen - This episode teaches you to serve your clients better by being a pillar of support during their most difficult times.
Who should listen to these veterinary podcasts: Practice Managers, Marketing Managers, Marketing Agencies
Final Thoughts
Veterinary podcasts are an excellent source of the latest industry news, tips and tricks to make your practice and team more efficient, and methods of communicating with and reaching your clients. With various durations and innumerable topics, podcasts will provide you with tons of useful listening material. Start creating your podcast playlist now.
Vet Supplies: 10 Things You Must Check Before Choosing The Right Supplier
Before we dive into vet supplies, consider yourself a Master Chef or baker, or someone who dabbles in the kitchen on occasion. Would you understand the importance of quality ingredients? Without fresh and high-quality ingredients, your recipes will fall flatter than that soufflé you attempted. 🍮
The same holds in veterinary medicine. It's almost impossible to provide excellent care for your patients without high-quality products, equipment, and tools. Knowledge, experience, and a well-rounded skill set go a long way toward practicing gold standard medicine. However, you need the proper vet supplies as well to offer a great pet owner experience. Forming a sustainable relationship with the right vet supplier will ensure you receive top-of-the-line products to continue providing optimal care. The following is a checklist of 10 things you must evaluate in potential suppliers before forming a business relationship.
Free Download: 5 Veterinary Time-Saving Checklists
Make sure the supplier,
☑️ Offers high quality products
Product quality is perhaps the most vital aspect to check in potential suppliers. You have to find a comfortable balance between quality and cost in your vet supplies. Although you can't perform a test run on every item before you order it or even see it in person as you would in a store, you can do some research to determine product quality. Sift through customer reviews and search chat forums for personal experiences with particular products, especially when hunting for that elusive white tape that won't rip off your patient's skin when removed. Make sure you ask the supplier about their return policy if you receive products that fall short of your expectations.
💡 Quick Tip: Discuss products you're interested in with a sales rept, and see if they can bring in a sample or schedule a demonstration of a new-to-you product.
☑️ Will be available for constant vet supplies
High-quality products are ideal, but if you can never order them because they're constantly out of stock, they're of no use to you. Ask your supplier how they handle shortages and backorders and consistently provide a great product, despite limited availability. Making sure products are constantly available will give you peace of mind for purchasing regularly required products.
☑️ Has a wide range of products
You will find suppliers that focus only on a specialized range of products and equipment or ones that offer a broader range of items to fulfill all your needs in one go. However, if you're looking for common antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, or more difficult-to-find medications, vet supplies, and products, you should consider picking them if the supplier can complete your order list without a hassle. Generic and name-brand options will round out a comprehensive inventory, helping you provide quality care.
☑️ Is completely reliable
Does your current supplier frequently call you to say they couldn't complete your order or that it may take longer than usual to arrive? Or, you may receive shipments that belonged to another veterinary practice. Sounds chaotic. If you enter a business relationship with a supplier, you expect reliability and consistency on product quality, availability, and shipping speed. Before choosing the right supplier, you need to question them on the systems they use to obtain and ship goods reliably and ask to be walked through their ordering process to ensure it's easy to use with no chance for mistakes.
☑️ Can deliver your order fast
Quality products are no good to you if they fail to arrive when they're needed. When you're running low on an essential item, like anesthetic drugs or euthanasia solution, speedy shipping is a must. Large supply companies typically have fully stocked warehouses throughout the country, making shipping products overnight or within two days. When evaluating potential suppliers, discuss their typical shipping times and how they handle delays.
☑️ Offers affordable vet supplies
Higher prices generally equate to higher quality and advanced service, but that is not always the case. Many suppliers offer excellent deals when items are purchased in bulk and often provide payment plans to help spread out the cost of large purchases. Shop around for the best rates on the products you need, but don't sacrifice quality when searching for a bottom-dollar price.
☑️ Has a reputation for satisfied clients (reviews)
People tend to voice their complaints in the heat of the moment more frequently than they leave compliments, so keep that in mind when skimming through a supplier's customer reviews. Search on Google, Yelp, and Facebook business pages for a supplier's reviews, and ask colleagues for recommendations on preferred suppliers.
☑️ Offers a friendly customer service
The customer service team can make or break a business. A friendly, helpful customer service representative can cement your relationship with a supplier, providing unparalleled support, advice, and the inside scoop on upcoming deals and promotions.
☑️ Has an efficient system for quality control & delivery
Suppliers with control over their supply chain and processes boost their reliability and ensure quality products. Control over shipping options, quality control measures, and storage methods helps ensure a supplier can provide top-notch goods and flexible service in unexpected situations.
☑️ Suits your cultural factors
A supplier's business ethics and general culture can be a dealbreaker if they don't align with yours. You should share the same values that provide a mutual benefit in your business relationship. For example, you may choose a supplier that only ships items in recycled shipping materials or boxes that provide a much smaller carbon footprint than other companies.
Final thoughts
Evaluating potential suppliers on various aspects of their products, quality, reliability, and culture will help narrow down the field to find the ideal veterinary supplier. When choosing your veterinary product supplier, you can use our list to begin the evaluation process and add other vital criteria to create a personalized checklist of must-haves.
Employee Spotlight - Nikki Marzook
Welcome to the latest entry of our employee spotlight blog, where we introduce a member of the Vetstoria family to you all. This month we interviewed Nikki Marzook, Vetstoria's very first Sales Development Representative (SDR).
Q: How would you describe yourself?
I’d describe myself as someone who is relatively calm, quiet, friendly, and pretty intuitive in a different way 😜. Spent most of my previous career in retro electronic & print media, legitimate music (Sony, Universal, Virgin, EMI &, etc.), and a brief stint in publishing. I love my family and friends, but when it comes to new faces, I prefer meeting furry friends over Humans ( I just had to say what I am sure many of you feel).
P.S - Senior citizenship status is now in sight, unlike my hairline 👨🦲!
Q: How long have you worked with Vetstoria, and what is your role in the company?
It's been a great journey for almost 5 years. I was privileged to have started working with Vetstoria’s CTO and Co-Founder, Damjee, and now working with colleagues across varied departments and regions. I have had to do a couple of things in between opportunities at Vetstoria, but now I work on sales for APAC, which is a role I took on close to two years back. Sorry for the vague dates, but I guess being generation X is a valid enough excuse. 👴
Q: What is one thing you are proud of achieving at Vetstoria?
I am most proud of being the very first SDR and contributing to the continued growth of the APAC sales team and Vetstoria. APAC is close to my heart now, and I love what I do.
Q: What do you consider to be the best part of your daily role at Vetstoria?
I enjoy reaching out to and communicating with different people across borders, most of whom share my love for animals.
Q: What does working within the veterinary industry mean to you?
It means a lot. Especially since I have an opportunity to help pets and the amazing people who take care of them, it is a privilege to be able to make the lives of Veterinary professionals across the globe as easy as we can because I believe that the service they provide deserves admiration and blessings in superabundance.
Q: What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
Spending time with A 16-year-old son, 9-year-old daughter, a furry little grandson, a house to run, and of course, a wife to love as well pretty much sums it up for the most part. I also enjoy fixing up stuff.
Q: How have you been coping with the recent COVID situation, and do you have any words of advice for your fellow veterinary industry professionals who are struggling with it?
Coping well, I’d say, considering all things. My family and I have been able to stay safe so far, and we just got our first dose of the vaccination.
Do make the best out of what we are facing, and the positives that will undoubtedly come out of this will ignite the changes you want to see in life at least get you that much closer. 👍
Q: In your view, what’s the most important thing someone should master when working remotely?
I have been working remotely for over a year now. There are many factors such as time management, focus, rest, exercise, family, and alone time. It will help if you stay connected with your colleagues and teammates as much as possible. At Vetstoria, we communicate with each other pretty much every day, and we use many communication software that helps us stay connected and updated.
Q: If you could take only one animal with you to a desert island, what would it be?
Well, it would be a turtle since it won't feel as deserted as I probably would
Q: Words of advice for your fellow Vetstorians?
As we continue to accelerate our growth and the global footprint, it is essential to empathize with your colleagues as we are a global team with varying backgrounds and life experiences.
“Different Strokes For Different Folks - Furry & Otherwise”
Q: What future developments are you excited about at Vetstoria?
Innovation and evolution are certainly not things that should be ignored. I have seen this in the media and music industry, in which I spent over a decade. The last few years working with Vetstoria have shown me how much emphasis is placed on these two principles whilst respecting everyone whose lives are touched by our technology. I know of a few exciting features slated for release soon, but the one I really look forward to is the big one that our CEO, Julien Renard, has yet to reveal!
Vet Holidays 2022: The Ultimate List for Marketing Campaigns
Conducting marketing campaigns is a must these days for modern veterinary practices, but it can sometimes be difficult to come up with ideas. This is where vet holidays come in. Leveraging veterinary holidays to create engaging content for marketing campaigns is a sure-fire way to keep your audience captivated.
You can post on social media celebrating these holidays, hold contests, and of course, ask for photos as a way to interact with pet owners via social media. Aside from that, you can communicate special discounts, offers, or competitions via email and host them on your website.
To help you get started, we've compiled a list of some of the most popular vet holidays that you can take advantage of in 2022 (or any year for that matter) with a simple marketing campaign idea for each month.
Free eBook: Digital Marketing for Veterinary Practices
January Vet Holidays
Monthly:
National Train Your Dog Month
Adopt a Rescued Bird Month
Unchain a Dog Month
Walk Your Dog Month
💡 Encourage your followers to get out with their pooches by sharing maps of routes for daily walks or host a “walk with the docs” event where the public is invited to bring their dog and walk with veterinarians from your clinic.
Daily:
1st: New Year's Day
2nd: National Pet Travel Safety Day
2nd: Happy Mew Years for Cats Day
5th: National Bird Day
14th: Dress Up Your Pet Day
20th: Penguin Awareness Day
21st: Squirrel Appreciation Day
21st: National Hug Day
22nd: National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day
24th: Change a Pet’s Life Day
24th: National Compliment Day
29th: Seeing-Eye Guide Dog Anniversary
February Vet Holidays
Monthly:
National Cat Health Month
Dog Training Education Month
Responsible Pet Owners Month
Spay & Neuter Awareness Month
Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month
Pet Dental Health Month
💡 February offers a significant opportunity to raise awareness around dental problems in pets, including treatments, and preventative care for pets' knashers. You can also run a promotion on dental this month.
Weekly:
7th - 14th: Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week
21st - 28th: National Justice for Animals Week
Daily:
14th: Pet Theft Awareness Day
17th: Random Acts of Kindness Day
20th: Love Your Pet Day
22nd: National Walk Your Dog Day
23rd: Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
23rd: Spay Day USA
25th: World Spay Day
March Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Poison Prevention Awareness Month
Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month
Weekly:
7th - 13th: Professional Pet Sitters Week
21st - 27th: Poison Prevention Week
💡 Post a different household poison every week of this month. Especially things that pet owners might not know are poisonous. You can also talk about correct storage to prevent accidental poisonings.
Daily:
1st: Pig Day
3rd: World Wild Life Day
3rd: If Pets Had Thumbs Day
8th: International Women's Day
14th: National Save a Spider Day
17th: St. Patrick’s Day
23rd: National Puppy Day
23rd: Cuddly Kitten Day
28th: Respect Your Cat Day
April Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
National Heartworm Awareness Month
Prevent Lyme Disease in Dogs Month
Pet First Aid Awareness Month
💡 April is not short of veterinary holidays. For this month, get your vets to write quick tips and guidelines for pet owners to provide first aid to their pets. Consider including ways to stop bleeding, initially treat bug bites or stings, toxic substance ingestion, etc. You could even post a list of items to put in a pet first aid kit. You can even name the campaign "Vet Advice."
Weekly:
1st - 7th: International Pooper Scooper Week
10th - 17th: National Wildlife Week
11th - 17th: Dog Bite Prevention Week
11th - 17th: National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week
17th - 23rd: National Pet ID Week
18th - 24th: Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week
Daily:
2nd: National Ferret Day & Good Friday
5th: Easter Monday
6th: National Siamese Cat Day
7th: World Health Day
8th: National Zoo Lover’s Day
10th: National Hug Your Dog Day
10th: National Farm Animals Day
11th: National Pet Day and Celebrate Shelter Pets Day
11th: Dog Therapy Appreciation Day
18th: Pet Owners Independence Day
19th: National Cat Lady Day
23rd: National Lost Dog Awareness Day
24th: World Veterinary Day
25th: National Pet Parent’s Day
25th: World Penguin Day
28th: International Guide Dogs Day
30th: Adopt a Shelter Pet Day
30th: Therapy Animal Day
May Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Chip Your Pet Month
Pet Cancer Awareness Month
National Pet Month
Lyme Disease Prevention Month
National Service Dog Eye Examination Month
Weekly:
2nd - 8th: Be Kind to Animals Week
2nd - 8th: National Pet Week
💡 You can ask clients to submit their pet stories a few weeks ahead of time and then share them on your marketing channels during this week to help reinforce the positive aspects of pet ownership and spotlight some of your clients and patients. If you have enough stories, consider sharing them throughout the whole month.
3rd - 9th: Puppy Mill Action Week
Daily:
1st: National Purebred Dog Day
3rd: National Specially-abled Pets Day
4th: Bird Day
8th: Animal Disaster Preparedness Day
20th: National Rescue Dog Day
23rd: World Turtle Day
June Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Adopt a Shelter Cat Month
National Pet Preparedness Month
National Microchipping Month
Social Pet-working Month
Weekly:
6th - 12th: Pet Appreciation Week
21st - 25th: Take Your Pet to Work Week
Daily:
4th: National Hug Your Cat Day
10th: World Pet Memorial Day
💡 Encourage your followers to share pictures or stories of their favorite gone-but-not-forgotten pets. With their consent you can share them on your marketing channels to pay your tributes.
18th: Ugliest Dog Day
21st: Take Your Cat to Work Day
21st: National Dog Party Day
24th: Cat World Domination Day
25th: Take Your Dog to Work Day
July Vet Holidays
Monthly:
National Doghouse Repairs Month
Pet Hydration Awareness Month
Lost Pet Prevention Month
💡 We're halfway through our list of vet holidays, but we still have more to come! For the month of July, try launching an email campaign with a list of ways to identify pets, including collars, microchips, photo ID websites, etc.
Weekly:
18th - 24th: National Zookeeper Week
27th - Aug 3rd: Feed a Rescue Pet Week
Daily:
10th: National Kitten Day
11th: All-American Pet Photo Day
13th: Cow Appreciation Day
15th: National Pet Fire Safety Day
15th: I Love Horses Day
16th: World Snake Day
21st: No Pet Store Puppies Day
26th: Dog Photography Day
31st: Mutt’s Day
August Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Itchy Pet Awareness Month
Immunization Awareness Month
💡 You can print out a guidance sheet for pet owners with a list factors to consider when vaccinating their pets and offer it at your reception area.
Weekly:
1st - 7th: International Assistance Dog Week
Daily:
1st: Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs
8th: International Cat Day
10th: National Spoil Your Dog Day
10th: National Lazy Day
17th: National Black Cat Appreciation Day
22nd: National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day
26th: International Dog Day
30th: National Holistic Pet Day
September Vet Holidays
Monthly:
National Disaster Preparedness Month
Pet Sitter Education Month
Happy Healthy Cat Month
Service Dog Month
Pet Insurance Month
Animal Pain Awareness Month
💡 Provide audience with an animal pain scale so they can best evaluate when their furry friend is uncomfortable. You may also choose to have veterinarians write brief descriptions of how to tell if animals are in pain.
Weekly:
13th - 19th: Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week
19th - 25th: National Dog Week
19th - 25th: Deaf Dog Awareness Week
Daily:
1st: Ginger Cat Appreciation Day
4th: National Wildlife Day
8th: Dog Walker Appreciation Day
12th: National Pet Memorial Day
18th: Puppy Mill Awareness Day
18th: Responsible Dog Ownership Day
25th: International Rabbit Day
28th: World Rabies Day
October Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Adopt a Pet Month
Animal Safety and Protection Month
Pet Wellness Month
Weekly:
1st - 7th: National Walk Your Dog Week
3rd - 9th: Animal Health Week
17th - 23rd: Veterinary Technician Week
Daily:
4th: World Animal Day
13th: National Pet Obesity Awareness Day
💡 Use a Hills Treat Translator share to show pet parents how even small amounts of human food can add up to one plump pet.
17th: National Fetch Day
29th: National Cat Day
November Vet Holidays
Monthly:
Adopt a Senior Pet Month
Pet Diabetes Month
National Pet Cancer Awareness Month
National Senior Pet Month
Weekly:
7th - 13th: Animal Shelter Appreciation Week
💡 You can launch an animal rescue fundraising project and request your pet owner clients to contribute. Here's a blog that will give you 17 Effective Animal Shelter Fundraising Ideas.
Daily:
1st: International Pet Groomer Appreciation Day
1st: National Cook for Your Pets Day
7th: National Canine Lymphoma Awareness Day
December Vet Holidays
Monthly:
National Cat Lovers’ Month
💡 A quick and easy campaign idea would be to compile a short video or collage with pictures of your cat patients with their loving pet owners, thanking them for doing a good job of taking care of their cats.
Daily:
2nd: Mutt Day
10th: International Animal Rights Day
15th: National Cat Herder’s Day
24th: Christmas Eve
25th: Christmas Day
27th: Visit The Zoo Day
31st: New Year's Eve
New Employee Round-up: June 2021
As more veterinary practices join the Vetstoria community, our team has grown to help our customers worldwide!
We added 9 new members to our Vetstoria family across multiple regions (the UK, USA, and APAC) in June. We wanted to take a moment to welcome and introduce them to you.
Latischa Jones
Client Services Associate, United States
Latischa is the latest member of our Client Services team in the US. She was a military kid who spent her childhood traveling around the US and Europe.
Latischa has worked in the veterinary industry since 2003. When she is free, she enjoys cooking amazing seafood dishes. 🍤
Diluka Karunathilake
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer, Sri Lanka
We expanded our product quality assurance team further in June to make sure you get the best experience using Vetstoria. Diluka is our newest member working out of our Sri Lankan office.
He loves to play futsal when he is free, and his love for running has seen him take part in the 2018 Singapore marathon and a few others in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 🏃♂️
Diluka also likes to read books and travel whenever he gets the chance.
Dilan Jayamanne
Trainee Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
We are happy to have Dilan join our software engineering team, where we provide a totally immersive environment for all of them.
He is very passionate about software development and electronics, so he even has a Youtube channel covering these topics! There you go, we have a YouTuber in Vetstoria 😜 (don’t forget to subscribe to his channel: Dilan_JT). 🎥
Furthermore, Dilan volunteers teaching children how they too can build a career in IT.
Hasvin Gunasekara
Trainee Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
Hasvin is also a new member of our product development team, and we are excited to have him on board.
His interests are in researching and building machine learning programs. He also enjoys learning about new technologies and vehicles. 🚙
Suhith Nanayakkara
Trainee Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
Suhith is the third new member of our ever-growing and evolving engineering team based in Sri Lanka.
His passion strongly lies in software development, and he is very keen on exploring new technologies, stepping out of his comfort zone. Suhith loves playing cricket, traveling and recently discovered his interest in cooking delicious Sri Lankan cuisine. 🍛
Paul Zedek
Trainee Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
Paul is a great guitarist, adores music so much, and even has a YouTube page with amazing guitar videos. Make sure you subscribe to his channel too 😉: Paul Melchi Zedek. 🎸
He is always up for challenges involving work as he thinks it helps him step out of his comfort zone. Paul also loves to travel and hike whenever he gets the chance to relax and have some peace of mind.
Gibran Kasif
Trainee Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
What can be better than having a Minecraft game expert joining your product team? The skills he learned mastering such a complex game translate perfectly into his new role at Vetstoria.
He is very passionate about full-stack development and is keen to explore more to enhance his knowledge.
Pamudu Bandara
Trainee Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
For as long as Pamudu can remember, he wanted to become a Software Engineer, and this June, he made it happen. Cheers to dreams coming true!
He enjoys swimming and competing in karate and has taken part in several championships. 🏊♂️
Kasun Samarasinghe
Manager - Finance, Sri Lanka
Our new Finance Manager has had a wealth of global experience in a wide variety of industries.
He loves nature and traveling around Sri Lanka, his favorite being the hillsides. His connection to nature has led him to grow and maintain his very own garden. In fact, he dreams of running his very own farm after he is finished up with his illustrious career. 🌳
Employee Spotlight - Daniel Reilly
Welcome to our employee spotlight series, where we introduce a member of the Vetstoria family to you all. This month we interviewed our brilliant Chief Revenue Officer, Daniel Reilly.
Q: Could you give us an introduction to yourself?
I'm Dan, a startup guy since 2010 and a sales guy since birth, as I have always loved the art of persuasion! I was born in Queens, New York, and went to school upstate. When I graduated, I had no clue how "real life" worked, so a friend's father got me an interview at a brokerage in the city, and I was lucky enough to get the job. I spent 6 years as a broker before moving to Spain (the first time leaving the USA - what could go wrong! 😆) to study for an MBA at IESE. I've worked for successful companies like Groupon and Cardlytics, a few modest successes, and one failure (my own venture) before joining Vetstoria. I was introduced to Julien by a mutual acquaintance and one of the investors in Vetstoria, so it shows you that relationships are essential in life!
On a personal level, I've got a great partner and a cat. I enjoy the European lifestyle and am a keen music fan. Now, this starts to sound like a dating app advert, so I'll stop there. 😜
Q: How long have you worked with Vetstoria, and what is your role in the company?
I've been with Vetstoria since October 2020, so I'm still new. I'm the CRO, so I look after Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success. It's an exciting challenge working across departments and time zones, and it keeps me busy and stimulated. The culture here is excellent, and so is the product, so it's pretty easy to keep myself motivated.
Q: What is one thing you are proud of achieving at Vetstoria?
I haven't done much yet, but I'm proud of bringing a few excellent people into the organization and absolutely enjoy working with the fantastic talent we already have at Vetstoria. If I can lighten the load of the existing team and help push the numbers, I'll feel like I've done a good job.
Q: What do you consider to be the best part of your daily role at Vetstoria?
I love to hear the news of onboarding a new veterinary clinic. The best part of my day is when I get a notification that we’ve partnered with a new clinic that will soon be benefiting from our excellent product. It’s been happening more frequently lately, and I’m looking forward to it being a daily occurrence. 😜
Q: What does working within the veterinary industry mean to you?
We bring simplicity, automation, and a better customer experience to an industry that does a challenging and vital job. It’s a satisfaction to help them reduce stress and have a smooth working experience as they continue to help pets that need medical attention.
My cat relieves my stress. I hope my product can help provide better lives to those who keep my cat healthy!
Q: What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
I love to spend time with my partner and catch up with friends, talking about music, current events, what the future holds, and more. Additionally, I do a bit of reading, hiking, golfing, cooking, and, of course, a city break or two never hurts.
Q: How have you been coping with the recent COVID situation, and do you have any words of advice for your fellow veterinary industry professionals who are struggling with it?
Being locked down, not seeing friends and family, no local community - it has been tough! I'm a non-digital-native, so I prefer the physical to the virtual world, though I did buy a VR headset, and that's been entertaining. 😀
In terms of advice, the classics work well - keep calm and carry on. It's not easy, but it'll get better, and of course, get your exercise in and limit the wine intake. 😜
Q: In your view, what’s the most important thing someone should master when working remotely?
Discipline to stay off the sofa and Youtube! I've worked remotely for a while now and have learned that staying self-motivated is critical. I firmly believe that our tasks won't take care of themselves. Even if you've had an unproductive day, week, or even month, the future is full of potential, so you've got to keep increasing your pace and effort, closing the gap you created for yourself.
Additionally, going for a walk creating a bit of separation from your workstation will refresh you and clear your thinking for the next task! Even having a chat with a friend will help you put a little Intense-Relaxed mix into your day.
Q: If you could take only one animal with you to a desert island, what would it be?
Lira - she's a moggy that we adopted last year, and she's the best cat around! I didn't even know I liked cats, but this one's the top!
p.s. We didn't name her after the old unit of Italian currency - it's Spanish for harp. 😉
Q: Words of advice for your fellow Vetstorians?
Look back every 12 months and assess how far you’ve come, and check if it's up to your expectations. If not, take the initiative to do something about it.
Q: What future developments are you excited about at Vetstoria?
Really keen to see how our nascent partnerships approach scales - we're a part of an ecosystem, and leveraging the other members in it will hopefully continue to drive growth and success for our clients and us. Love seeing the wins continue to pile up as well - go revenue! 📈
6 of the Most Popular Veterinary Influencers on Instagram
Veterinary influencers on Instagram have the power to persuade their followers to choose one veterinary practice over another based on their recommendation or affiliation. They have this power because they’ve built trust with their audiences over time.
If you’re looking for ways to grow your practice and get more pet owners through the doors, we highly recommend developing solid relationships with influencers. This blog will help you get started with influencer marketing for your practice and list 5 of the most popular influencers you can consider today!
Veterinary Marketing Strategy: Read the Ultimate Guide for Veterinary Clinic Growth
Getting started with veterinary influencer marketing
🟣 Identify your main goal for influencer marketing - like promoting your services, increasing brand awareness, or acquiring new clients
🟣 Define the characteristics of a suitable influencer profile to achieve your goals - the type of audience, number of followers, their profile, quality of content
🟣 Discover the potential influencers - you can do this with the help of tools like BuzzSumo, LinkedIn, and Ninja Outreach or consult an agency to deliver sponsored imagery, branded content, and social influencer services
🟣 Decide on the rewards you want to offer the influencer in exchange for the publicity - financial rewards or free services from your clinic are common
🟣 Mutually agree on what the influencer would be highlighting - you can let the influencer visit your practice and experience your services by themselves
🟣 Measure the results acquired from the program - measure metrics like the number of new clients, ROI, or additional followers gained as a result of this campaign
6 of the most popular veterinary influencers you can find today:
1. Dr Evan Antin
Instagram Handle: @dr.evanantin
Followers: 1.3 million
Location: Colorado, United States
Dr Evan Antin is currently an Exotic, Small, and Wildlife Vet at Conejo Valley Veterinary Hospital based in Colorado, United States. What's more exciting is that Dr Evan has authored a book on the topic "World Wild Vet," which affirms his experience and knowledge in the veterinary field 👏. Furthermore, his Instagram page has over 1.3 million followers and has exciting content centered around wildlife and small animals. He currently has over 1,500 posts, and one of his latest posts received over 34.5K likes and 112 comments proving how engaged his audience is.
2. Chris Brown
Instagram Handle: @drchrisbrown
Followers: 628K
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Veterinarian and TV Host Chris Brown is hugely famous on Instagram with a total follower count of 628,500. If your clinic is based in New South Wales, Australia, he is precisely the influencer you should get in touch with. Dr Brown also generously takes part in and conducts campaigns that help animals in need. For example, he recently produced pet tips or ways to help animals affected by bushfires. His posts with animals are incredibly adorable, and he gets an average of 19-21K likes followed by around 400 comments. I bet you won't want to stop scrolling through his profile, and here's one of our favorites:
3. Dr Jan Pol
Instagram Handle: @thedrpol
Followers: 445K
Location: Weidman, Michigan, United States
If you’re anywhere near Michigan, United States, you should consider partnering with Dr Jan Pol. He is a highly influential and knowledgeable Veterinarian with around 50 years of experience in veterinary medicine. Dr Pol recently posted a series of Instagram videos (IGTV), covering a range of exciting topics, and is pretty active on his daily Instagram stories. Dr Pol's posts get an average of 25k likes and over 550 comments showing you how much reach it can give your practice if you partnered with him. Apart from endorsing your practice, his experience can be an excellent source of knowledge.
4. André Santos
Instagram Handle: @andresantosvet
Followers: 379K
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Dr. Santos is a very active veterinarian at Veterinary Hospital Restelo, who constantly updates his Instagram feed with his daily vet life💉🏋🏻♂️ and clinical cases, which you can find on his saved highlights.
Furthermore, he has 379K followers on his Instagram and over 1300 adorable posts with his patients. We see an average of 42K likes on his posts and around 650 comments. You can reach Dr Santos on his email address in his bio or directly message him if you want to get in touch.
5. Dr Lauren Thielen
Instagram Handle: @dr.laurenthielen
Followers: 59.7K
Location: Texas, United States
Another impressive veterinary influencer is Dr Lauren Thielen, who is an exotic animal veterinarian at ABVP diplomate - Avian Practice. Dr Thielen, from Texas, US, has over 59K followers on her Instagram and gets an average of 6k likes on her regular posts. Her pictures are undoubtedly amongst the most adorable ones you’ll find on social media, and looking at them will make your day. By posting the variety of species she consults, Lauren showcases that she is the right influencer if you want to reach parents of exotic pets. Here's a picture of her with a Ring-ailed Lemur:
6. Dr Michael Lazaris
Instagram Handle: @drlazaris_vet
Followers: 53.9K
Location: London, UK
A special mention for Dr Michael Lazaris who is not only a wonderful Instagrammer but also a forward-thinking entrepreneur. Together with co-founder Ellie Cavale, they opened the only independent veterinary practice in Clapham, South London after working many years as a vet globally.
Vets on The Common launched in Oct 2021, with Vetstoria online booking and triage already in place to save admin time. We are seeing this fast adoption of technology more and more with independent practices opening up post-COVD. It’s wonderful to see the resurgence of independent practices and how they have embraced online booking. All the best Michael! Sending love to everyone at Vets on the Common.
Final thoughts
Veterinary Influencers are an essential part of marketing a veterinary practice today, as millennials are now the largest segment of pet owners, with Gen Z ownership rising (most of whom are on Instagram day and night 😋).
We believe they are well worth the investment. You can quickly reach all their active followers if you choose the right influencer with your targeted audience. Additionally, working with the right veterinary influencer will drive traffic to your site and increase your veterinary brand equity.
The 6 Influencers in this blog may not be right for your practice, but it should give you a good idea of the potential out there! Give it a try.
New Employee Round-up: May 2021
As more veterinary practices join the Vetstoria community, our team has grown to help our customers worldwide!
We added 9 new members to our Vetstoria family across multiple regions (the UK, USA, and APAC) last month. We wanted to take a moment to welcome and introduce them to you.
Ishara Naotunna
Head of Product Marketing, Sri Lanka
Ishara joined our team in Sri Lanka as the Head of Product Marketing last month. She made various career moves previously, holding interesting titles like radio presenter and public relations officer.
Ishara has the three most adorable dogs, whom she calls Nickey Minaaaaj, Cookie, and Snowy. She's passionate about pets (as you can see) and has a strong interest in books, Dave Grohl, obscure music, and sketch comedies.
Thuvarakesh Velrajah
Junior Cyber Security Engineer, Sri Lanka
Thuvarakesh is also a new addition to our Sri Lankan cybersecurity team, helping us plan, implement, monitor, and upgrade security measures to protect Vetstoria's data, systems, and networks.
He loves everything about cricket! Playing, watching, and even just talking about it gets him excited! 🏏
Thamali Fernando
Human Resources Executive, Sri Lanka
Thamali joined our Human Resources team as the Junior Human Resources Executive. She comes with experience working in a bank and a telecommunication company in Sri Lanka.
Thamali loves Netball! So much so, she even got to play for her school and university🏀. She also loves spicy food and enjoys taking up any new challenges which might come her way.
Chathuranga Suriyaarachchi
Application Support Engineer, Sri Lanka
Chathuranga is an Application Support Engineer who joined our Implementation and Support team in Sri Lanka, helping us expand the support to our veterinary customers. He comes with experience working in multinational companies, and we are thrilled to have him on board.
Chathuranga enjoys working on Arduino projects and spends his spare time mostly working out and playing video games. 🎮
Antoinette Baddiley
Client Services Associate, UK
Vetstoria gives prominence to providing great client services, and that's why our client services team keeps expanding. Antoinette is another addition, and she joins us as a Client Services Associate in the UK. She has 20 years of experience working in independent and large corporate veterinary practices. She was a registered veterinary nurse in Kent, South East England, before joining Vetstoria.
She is an animal lover and has worked as an animal keeper at a British Wildlife Park, where she hand-reared a wolf cub, an Arctic fox, and a few other small mammals. 🦝
Kathryn Lamont
Customer Success Agent, UK
Kate also joined our UK team as a Customer Success Agent to keep our customers out of trouble 😜. She held various positions in different industries in both the UK and Australia before joining Vetstoria.
Our multi-talented Kate has certifications in Conflict Management, Psychology in workspaces, Health & Safety and hazards awareness, and Salesforce. She loves traveling and has spent the year before the pandemic exploring Australia and parts of Asia. 🌎
Shabthika Jeyamanoharan
Junior Data Engineer, Sri Lanka
Shabthika joined us as a Junior Data Engineer last month, and she comes with experience in Integration Development and education on Computer Science.
She considers herself as someone who values people and loves building new friendships. Outside of work, Shabthika enjoys spending her time reading books and solving complex problems. 📗
Summer Lauzon
Business Development Manager, US
Summer joined our US team as the Business Development Manager. She started her career as a Veterinary Technician and then found her passion for business & sales.
When Summer is not working, she loves to go bowling and spend time outside. As of late, Summer has a newfound passion for epoxy resin art, which she spent a lot of time doing during the pandemic. 🎳
Ravindu Ranasinghe
Associate Software Engineer, Sri Lanka
Ravindu is our new Associate Software Engineer, and we are glad to have him on our engineering team, where we provide a totally immersive environment for all of them.
Multi-talented Ravindu loves singing whenever he is free. He is also a talented guitarist and a pianist. It sounds like he has music covered. 🎸🎹
Employee Spotlight - Kathryn Powell
Welcome to our new employee spotlight series, where we introduce a member of the Vetstoria family to you all. This month we interviewed the amazing Client Support Representative, Kathryn Powell.
Q: Could you give us an introduction to yourself?
Hi, I’m Kate 😃 I started working in veterinary clinics 12 years ago in Central and South Texas as a receptionist and eventually moved up to assistant hospital manager before joining Vetstoria. I love the veterinary field and its people! Though I don’t work in a clinic anymore, I’m so grateful to impact this industry by helping clinics find ways to improve their practice efficiency through technology. It’s a long time coming in this industry, and I’m happy to see more clinics embrace what we can do. On a personal note, I’m happily married and have an amazing five-year-old son that keeps us busy at home.
Q: How long have you worked with Vetstoria, and what is your role in the company?
I started in September of 2020, so I’ve been working with Vetstoria now for eight months. I am a Client Support Representative. Most of my focus starts after veterinary clinics sign up with us, which is the onboarding process and supporting clinics that use our services.
Q: What is one thing you are proud of achieving at Vetstoria?
I’ve been pushed out of my comfort zone a bit at Vetstoria, which has been the best thing for me. Coming from a background of being in a clinic, learning the ropes of a “tech company” has been filled with exciting new challenges. Honestly, I’m proud of myself for embracing this opportunity to grow in a new direction instead of just staying where I was comfortable.
Q: What do you consider to be the best part of your daily role at Vetstoria?
I love the moments when I'm helping a clinic with the back-end setup of their online booking tool, and then the "why didn't we do this sooner" tone comes over the conversation. The excitement that this will help a clinic function more efficiently and take some stress out of people's lives (that I know are already stressed enough) motivates me.
Q: What does working within the veterinary industry mean to you?
The veterinary industry is full of caring and compassionate people. We work hard and give all of ourselves to care for pets because we know they give us the unconditional love we need - especially now. I think it’s common for people in the veterinary industry sometimes to care and give too much. My goal is to help them find ways to take back some of their time, hoping that this might correlate to a bit of time to take care of themselves.
Q: What do you like to do when you aren’t working?
Well, as I mentioned before, I am a mom to a five-year-old boy. I don’t find much time beyond being with him, but he’s the best thing that could’ve happened to my husband and me. He’s energetic, passionate, curious, and very funny. In my eyes, he’s a natural scientist, and I really enjoy it. He likes to ask questions and have conversations about things he observes, and seeing the world through his eyes is always a humbling experience.
Apart from being a mom, when I find free time, I enjoy movies - particularly Sci-Fi (Star Wars is basically my life), music, and PC gaming. I also have an old lady dachshund and a super squishy blind cat that likes to photobomb my Zoom calls when he can.
Q: How have you been coping with the recent COVID situation, and do you have any words of advice for your fellow veterinary industry professionals who are struggling with it?
COVID lockdowns began about six months before I joined Vetstoria. My previous clinic went to curbside as many did - and are still, which has been a harrowing experience. I’ve tried to find the silver linings where I can. Being forced to spend more time at home with my family has been a blessing and has helped me re-evaluate what really matters. I think my advice for industry professionals would be to hold tight and focus on giving yourself some grace. None of this could have ever been expected or planned for, and we’re all doing the best we can to safely deliver the same quality of care that we always have.
Q: In your view, what’s the most important thing someone should master when working remotely?
I think finding ways to stay organized is essential. I’m a bit notorious for my spiral notebooks that never leave my side. Ensuring that you make time for breaks and to step away from work occasionally is vital as well. Working from home can make it a little too easy to work non-stop. Scheduling breaks when you can and sticking to them is important!
Q: If you could take only one animal with you to a desert island, what would it be?
This is a tough one! I always say my spirit animal is a sloth because if I could just lay in a hammock under a tree all day I’d be happy. A sloth wouldn’t be very useful on a desert island though!
Q: Words of advice for your fellow Vetstorians?
Honestly, I’d say just keep doing what you’re doing! Team collaboration at Vetstoria is phenomenal! I count myself lucky to be working with a team that is as open, welcoming, and supportive as we are.
Q: What future developments are you excited about at Vetstoria?
I love that most of our innovations and improvements come from feedback or recommendations from the clinics that we work with. I’d say I’m most excited about the upcoming integrations with additional PIMs. I look forward to being able to reach and help even more clinics in the future!
