Vets in pet stores

Dr. Shlomo Freiman
April 23, 2024

Going to the veterinary clinic is not, no matter how wonderful your veterinarian might be, something people typically look forward to. Besides the simple fact that you’re often going because something is troubling your pet, it’s a huge hassle. The car, the carrier, the drive and other concerns all add up to an ordeal. In this edition of Tuesdays with Shlomo, we discuss a different way.

What if the vet came to you, whenever possible? That is, of course, the whole idea behind Felix&Fido, but in this case we’re talking about a very specific place: the pet store. Felix&Fido co-founder Dr. Shlomo Freiman discusses how, by putting satellite clinics in the Seattle area’s favorite neighborhood pet stores—Mud Bay—he’s able to reach many more clients in a much more convenient setting.

Read on to learn about the advantages, adjustments and limitations of doing veterinary care in the back of the dog toy aisle, and how this partnership, which puts just-about-full-service pet care actually inside a pet store, came to be.

A New Style of Clinic

So today we’re talking about what is essentially a new style of clinic. What term are you using to describe it?
‍ We’ve been entertaining a lot of different names, but we landed on a neighborhood clinic. That encapsulates nicely what we are trying to do, because it’s not just the concept of a pet store alongside a veterinary clinic. That already exists—Petco has it, Banfield has it. This is more of an ecosystem, the way we see it, where in addition to our main clinic with all its capabilities, we have these neighborhood clinics that are out there in, well, neighborhoods. We really want to be your vet wherever you and your pet are.

Partnership with Mud Bay

In this case, in Mud Bay, right?
‍ Yes. For anyone not from Seattle, Mud Bay is a family and employee-owned pet retailer here in the Pacific Northwest. They are a really high quality store and were one of the pioneers of healthy pet foods and solutions. We really align with them in our philosophy about nutrition and delivery of care. One clinic is already operating at their location in Overlake, and we’ve got two more in the works. Being in Mud Bay is great for us because they are such a part of the community for pet parents. They really see their mission as providing pet parents more than just a place to grab a bag of food or chew toy.

Client Stories

You know how we usually close Tuesdays with Shlomo with a story about a pet? I’m going to switch it up on you and tell you two stories from yesterday when I was working at the neighborhood clinic.
‍ The first client was a woman with a corgi, an overweight corgi. This was a new patient for us; we hadn’t seen this dog before. I was just sitting on my laptop doing paperwork, and she approached me and said, “Hey, I’m here looking for solutions to this issue. Do you have any advice?” So I chatted with her a little bit, and we set up a time not too far off for her to come back and get her dog a full physical examination. The interesting part is that her dog already has a vet. However, it’s hard for her to communicate with that vet.

And I suppose if you did want to get a slow feeder or a toy that gets your dog to run more, a pet store would be the place to look for that.
‍ It would. But that’s what I mean by being there in the community. You’re putting yourself where pets and pet parents are already going and making yourself available. The other story I have is similar, but it demonstrates even better how important accessible care is. It was toward closing time and I didn’t have any appointments left. This guy came up and said, “Oh, hi, we just moved to the area and don’t have a vet yet. Our old vet is in Kent, and my dog has an ear infection. He’s so uncomfortable, is there any way you can help?”

That’s very kind of you all!
‍ Well, yes, it is very kind, but it’s also just a core part of our business model to meet pet parents and their pets where they are.

You mentioned technology. Something we’ve talked about before is the nurse-led appointment, or NLA, where a nurse is able to provide care under the remote supervision of a veterinarian. Do you see the neighborhood clinic as a good place for that kind of appointment?
‍ Absolutely. One vet working remotely can provide supervision to quite a few of those neighborhood clinics.

Felix&Fido's Unique Offering

You mentioned other places that have some form of partnered care, like Petco and Banfield. What are the differences between the Felix&Fido approach and those already existing clinics?
‍ The difference is, as I said, that our presence in the store is part of an ecosystem. We can be your vet in this store, in your neighborhood, but we can also be your vet in the main hub. We can be your vet in your living room via the telemedicine approach. Really anywhere you might need vet care, we can make it happen. The store location was the only location where the Banfield clinics existed for the most part and there was no concept of an ecosystem.

What are some of the advantages of being physically on the sales floor? Is it just having all the products around? Having people walking by? Or is there more to it?
‍ That’s all part of it, but it’s also about something of a symbiosis with the store. Because not every treatment option needs to be a prescription, and not every situation requires a veterinarian, we refer people to the very knowledgeable team members in Mud Bay whenever it’s appropriate and possible.

Conclusion

It’s interesting to hear you kind of articulate this argument for in-person shopping because sometimes I do think of Felix&Fido along the lines of, “Oh, it’s disrupting the veterinary industry.”
‍ Absolutely. Because I think when people hear how passionate I am about telemedicine they may misunderstand me and think that I’m against brick and mortar clinics and that I want to move everything online. In reality, I see the huge and growing need for veterinary care and I’m trying to meet that need. At the end of the day, that’s why I became a vet.