Hello and welcome to The Ally Journal! In my blog I will write about animals and questions you may have.
As my first blog I wanted to answer “Why did you start your business?”
I love animals and have my whole life, but that doesn’t answer why I started my business. Most people who chose a profession with animals does so because they love animals, and may not like people very much, but I realized early on in my career that without people we would never see your pet. Also no matter where I have been in the field I realized that people who have animals come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, races, religions, backgrounds, and no two are the same. Just as with people, pets are all different as well which is what makes this profession so interesting….no day is the same. But just as the world evolves, so does every profession within the world and the veterinary field is no different. Some changes are for the better, like all the specialties for pets now, including neurology, ophthalmology, internal medicine, physical therapy, surgery, oncology, behaviorists, and many more. If it is available for people…it may well be available for pets. But unlike humans who have health insurance, veterinary medicine you pay out of pocket for whatever is needed and if you have pet insurance then you are reimbursed according to your insurance plan. Some changes are not so great…corporations are buying veterinary hospitals and they are business men and women who don’t know a lot about how a veterinary hospital differs from a grocery store or even a human physician. The corporation places undo stress on the practitioners by limiting the supplies they can carry in their inventory, how much to charge for services, and how many patients they should see in a day. How does this affect you, the animal owner, well by carrying limited inventory that means that some prescriptions needed for pets may have to be obtained from a human pharmacy at cost. By regulating the fees charged for because they want to see a profit, they raise costs to the animal owner. Lastly by increasing the number of patients seen in a day, the animal owner may not get a chance to ask questions or even explore other options if they cannot afford the one given to them, sometime because they don’t know other options exist.
This is why I started my business…I saw a trend appearing where more and more animal owners were leaving frustrated because they could not afford the options given to them and they may call back several times to ask questions which should have been explained to begin with. I also think that veterinarians rely on their staff to answer many of the questions that owners have and you may get two different answers from two different staff members which may conflict with one another and may not be what the veterinarian intended at all. Many veterinarians do not have the time to make personal phone calls to answer questions and so they give it to staff members to perform. There is a high turnover rate in the veterinary field and the person answering your question may be someone that has been on the job for a month or less. I understand that every animal lover has a budget to live within and that there are options available for most problems. While you may not be able to afford to go to the specialist for a problem, there may be things to keep your pet comfortable or alternative therapies that can be implemented to help. Also I understand that animal owners have questions that arise all the time and they do not have a source to turn to answer the questions, especially if those questions arise at night or on the weekend. I want to be that source. Lastly many animal owners do not ask some questions that they should ask and sometimes they do not know the questions they need to ask. Again I want to help.
With 30 years experience in the veterinary field, I have a lot of knowledge and I am learning new things every day. I also try things on my own pets to find those products and services that I believe work and those that don’t.
So why did I start my business? To be a source for animal lovers that they can rely on to provide information and answers to questions you have. Also to help when you need it whether that be to provide pet sitting while you are away, to come to your house to administer medication because you have that cat that will always spit its pill out, give a medicated bath to help your pet stay itch free during allergy season or just to provide some extra TLC when you are away at work. I also want to be the person who helps you make informed decisions about your pet’s medical care whether that be by answering your questions after leaving the veterinary office or attending your visit with you to be a second set of ears and eyes and ask those questions you may not know to ask or help you interpret medical language into words you understand.
I am passionate about people and the pets they care for and want them to have the best life together. That is why I started my business.
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