Jennifer Brown: [00:00:00] I always had felt like I've been bouncing around in Vet Med, going from here to here to here. And I always wanted to find a spot to stay, really like find my niche, find my, my path in Vet Med. And I just kept feeling like I just kept missing it.
Megan Sprinkle: Welcome to Vet Life Reimagined. Our guest needed to reimagine what a veterinary career could be for her. Jennifer Brown knew veterinary medicine was right, but couldn't quite find her Goldilocks spot in it. Jennifer is a credentialed veterinary technician who tried emergency medicine, lab animal medicine, general practice, and nothing quite seemed to be a spot where she wanted to stay long term.
But fellow vet med podcasters showed her that there were many possibilities in veterinary medicine and a personal experience allowed her to see a gap in supporting pets and pet parents that she was excited to fill. We discuss finding your home in vet med, applying your skills in different avenues, and why bringing hospice care is important to our industry.
So let's get to the [00:01:00] conversation with Jennifer Brown.
When did you know you wanted to get into veterinary medicine?
Jennifer Brown: Oh man. Well, thank you for having me.
I'm really excited to be here. Um, You know, I can't really like pinpoint when I knew I wanted to be in vet med. I've always known that working with animals is like the only place, the only thing I can do. I tried once in my early 20s, I think, to work outside of animals, and it didn't go well. I lasted like six months and that was it, so.
I kind of like after high school, it's like, what am I doing with my life? I don't really know. And I ended up finally deciding like mid twenties that I wanted to go to tech school. but before that I was going to dog training classes with my grandma , she taught basic obedience.
She competed with her dogs and obedience. she had therapy dogs. She worked with kids in schools. And so I was really exposed to, animals from a very young age. And then, we had tons. We had a little two acre place when I grew up and we had [00:02:00] sheep and chickens and dogs and cats and birds and all the things.
My parents kind of let me have lots of animals. and I was always super involved with all of them. We're going through, my mom was going through pictures recently and found a picture that I'd taken of a puncture wound on the back of one of our dog's legs. Because I was, I wanted to document it and I wanted, I was so interested in like what was happening with it.
And, so I probably, if I had listened to myself, I would have known then, but, um, it took me a little bit to figure it out.
Megan Sprinkle: You were before your time already doing like AI documentation on wounds and
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, totally,
Megan Sprinkle: yeah. and you talked about your parents really letting you have a lot of animals and experience, and it does sound like animals were a big part of your growing up.
You mentioned your grandmother and doing dog training, , you mentioned to me earlier that you started working with sled dogs and you were in 4 H,
Jennifer Brown: yeah.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. But the sled dog thing, I, for some reason, I'm just fascinated by sled dogs and that's like the one time I [00:03:00] think somebody could probably convince me to go to Alaska at any time of the year would be promising me a, a ride on with the sled dog team. So how did that come into play?
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, , that was actually what started my whole 4 H career.
I was at our local small town feed store with my mom and saw a, dog sledding harness. I think it was a weight pulling harness that, uh, was for sale there. And so I think my mom probably asked the owner of the pet store about it and he said, Oh, well, that's, , just, local family. They have sled dogs, and she makes harnesses and sells them.
So I was like, oh, that's so cool. I want to get involved and I want to learn about it. And, we had a dud lab at the time. And I mean dud, but she was supposed to be the pick of the litter of my grandparents. they bred, um, hunting and field labs, and she was supposed to be my dad's hunting dog, like the best of the best, and she wouldn't retrieve, she hated water, she, so she was the sweetest thing, but [00:04:00] just an absolute dud of what a lab is supposed to be.
So, we got in contact with them, and I tried to do weight pulling and dog sledding with her. because I was like, I've got to do this. This is amazing. And again, bless my parents. They were like, okay, cool. Let's do it. Let's see what this is all about. so that led into my first Husky. who, I'm on my fourth husky now, so I'm, I'm a husky person through and through.
but I spent, I don't remember how many years, but three or four years at least, within sled dogs and, um, going to short races as a kid. Uh, it worked out the family that had the sled dogs in town also had a daughter who was my age. And so we became friends and we're still friends now, which is, she's my longest term, longest time friend.
like, we, my mom would take me to the sled dog races, and they would be there, and so I had the mentorship, I had all of, all of the support that I could have asked for, especially in my parents, because then they let me [00:05:00] get another sled dog after the first one, you know, it was always just a hobby.
we started a sled dog project in 4 H with my club. We were the only ones who ever made posters for it, but we got 4 H to let us make it an official project. you know, it was so much fun. I learned so much from it, and so much about really the relationship the mushers have to have with their dogs is really, really incredible.
And that's, you know, like looking back on it now, reflecting on that, that's like they really rely on each other and that musher really has to trust those dogs, which is really, it's, it's pretty amazing seeing that, you know, especially when you see those teams of 10, 12, 14. Dogs, and they all work as a team with their mushers.
Pretty
Megan Sprinkle: cool. It really is. And, you know, now that you have me thinking about it too, just kind of fast forwarding just a little bit into your career because I do know what comes next. The human animal bond really is also really big and important. [00:06:00] For your career and you know, what you've discovered is a sweet spot for you.
So I think that is kind of unique that you can reflect and identify some of those elements like early, early on in, as you are discovering what you want to do for the rest of your life and what to make a career into. So you said that was a big part of kind of getting into the veterinary side.
I know that you got married young and you started continuing to work with dogs and daycares, but you did eventually find your way to a vet clinic. So what was kind of that build up to getting into a vet clinic and really, in a young age, start to understand, Oh, this is, this feels like a good place for me.
Jennifer Brown: Yeah. I had, been working for a couple of years at a dog daycare. and there was an ER clinic where I lived that I drove past fairly frequently, um, because of where I lived. And I just thought, oh man, that would be [00:07:00] so cool to work there, even like as a receptionist. And so I even, I applied, probably within the first couple of years that I worked at the daycare and for a reception position and wasn't, uh, didn't even get a, an interview.
Um, and there was, I think, it was, my grandma had a friend. Who worked in a vet clinic, of course, she was surrounded by dog people. and she was a vet tech. And my grandma kept telling me, she's like, you've got to go meet with her, you've got to go meet with her.
Just go ask her what it's about. And I was like, yeah, yeah, grandma, yeah, yeah. You know, early twenties, right? and I finally did. and I kind of ruminated on it for a while. It wasn't like, meet with her. And then I was like, oh, that's it, I'm doing it. I kind of ruminated on it a little while and just kind of thought about it and I was finding myself also being very interested in research and especially in infectious disease research, which might have been like an alternate path for me at some point. I thought it was going to be like, if I wasn't in Vet Med, I'd probably be doing something with infectious disease.
Oh, it'd be really cool to be in research. My mom had worked at, in [00:08:00] microbiology when I was growing up. So I kind of had a little bit of exposure to it. and the tech school in my town at the time had a lab animal technician associate degree. that was part of a grant and I thought, Oh, that would be really cool.
So I went to an information session and I'm like, okay, this is it. I'm doing it. This is going to be awesome. I'm going into research. I'm going to see some really cool things and, see some amazing advances and, got through all the classes that were associated with lab animal medicine, just had some four classes left and the grant ended.
And so I couldn't get my associates in lab animal tech. So I was like, well, I've already done half of the vet tech classes. So I'll just transfer it into the full tech program. That's when I was like, okay, traditional vet med. I can do this. This is awesome. and back to that ER clinic, one of the clients, and this is all I was working at the dog daycare.
One of the clients there was a, an intern, a vet intern at the ER clinic. And I had asked her about it at some point. She said, well, go ahead, you know, apply. [00:09:00] Apply for a reception position. This is back when we were all receptionists forever ago. And she said, well, apply and I'll give our hiring manager, a referral for you, you know, give you a reference.
And so it worked that time. It worked that time. And I got a position there and spent, I think, almost five years. There, working my way through reception into, starting into some assisting. And then when I graduated from tech school, I went from like finishing my last day fourth term rounds in tech school.
The next week started in on overnights as a credential tech. With the ER, which was, it was like, I'm really jumping in with both feet going straight into overnights in the ER. , but again, it was a place that had great mentoring, great support, and I was lucky enough to learn from some really, really great people.
Which I didn't realize at the time, it was a unicorn clinic through and through. And I didn't learn that until I left. Until I [00:10:00] realized that not everywhere was like that. But, yeah, that was kind of my, my jump in was into, finally got into ER.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, and you mentioned you moved from that clinic, was it a physical move or what, encouraged that change?
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, I was in Colorado, I had gotten a divorce, was not living my best life, um, not taking care of myself, and decided that I needed to just really take a fresh start somewhere. And I'd always been really interested in the Pacific Northwest. I'd never even been out there, had never seen it, had, you know, just in knowing about it and, seeing pictures and everything.
I also wanted to go somewhere that was like, maybe a day's drive from home, so I could get back home pretty easily to my family. So, moved to Oregon, and I'm still here in Oregon, and I absolutely, absolutely love it here. I would say, probably the best decision in my life that I've made to move out here.
Um, really got me, you know, I was like, okay, I gotta get my life on track, gotta get myself going in a [00:11:00] positive direction. And, found my now husband and have a wonderful child and an amazing, network of vet people out here.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, I, you know, sometimes I think we forget that a lot of our career changes and, pivots and all sorts of things are from things outside of career, right?
We have lots of things to us. Like there's things that happen in our non work life that are really important and impact us. And you said that was your best decision. Change is also still not easy, when it came to that, that was really important. How did your career changes kind of come along with that as well?
You did have this moment of fresh start. So, so what was it that for your career?
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, it's, um, ended up being a little disappointing, uh, in the, , where what I, the clinic that I went into, I went to another ER clinic and, , knew within the first 24 hours, so within, [00:12:00] within my first shift that it was not going to be a great fit and I was not excited about being there.
It wasn't the culture that I wanted, and then took me eight months to actually leave as we all tend to be like, well, I'll just see if it gets better or, you know, this is my option for right now. so I stayed there for a while and then moved to, a vet school, which was also, it was good. I learned a lot there definitely, but it just wasn't, again, just wasn't quite what I was looking for.
and again, life change moved us, to a larger city, for my husband's internship after he finished college. And I, Got to experience a few more places that weren't the best, and spent some more time in the ER, and then finally got to move into internal medicine and worked with a fantastic doctor who I absolutely loved.
We worked really great as a, a team. our relationship, worked really well. And, we unfortunately were at a hospital that was not really great, and then she went on maternity [00:13:00] leave. so I made the move that I swore I would never, ever, ever do when I went into general practice. And I said, I will never work in GP.
I said, don't give me your, your healthy patients. I want your sick ones. I don't want your healthy ones. They're no fun. but it turned out to be a really, really good, experience for me. I learned a lot and I grew a lot and ended up spending close to five years in GP and found a, great clinic to work at the chunk of that with, and was really supportive through, , having a child and having a young baby and being able to take extended, very extended maternity leave.
especially for, for us and what we consider, you know, an extended maternity leave. I got, , ten months, , so it was the right place at the, at the time. Absolutely. And I finally kind of got restless again and there's always more to learn.
Absolutely. 100%. There's always more to learn in, in vet med. I will never, never say no matter where you are, there's something to learn. But I kind of felt like I was getting [00:14:00] to the tops of being able to extend my skills, And so we decided to move again.
Because we were in a small enough area, there wasn't a whole lot there for me for options to go to. My husband needed some more industry for him as well. so we moved to close to Portland. , because I was sure I was going back into research.
This is what got me into Vet Med in the first place. Going to be great, I'm going to love it, this is like, I'm going to kind of come back around, and it, the pace difference between being in ER or even GP and in research is so, so different, and I just didn't have the, constant, like, go do this, now go do that, now go do that, you know, it was just a little, a little too slow for what, What I've now learned, my ADHD brain needs.
So, that didn't quite work out as I was hoping. but, due to some other outside life changes, I was able to take a step back last summer. stop working for a little bit and say, what, what am I [00:15:00] doing? What's right for, in a way, I always had felt like I've been bouncing around in Vet Med, going from here to here to here.
And I always wanted to find a spot to stay for more than three, four or five years, really like find my niche, find my, my path in Vet Med. And I just kept feeling like I just kept missing it. Like, it's just, I know there's something there and I just kept missing it. I couldn't just land in this spot that felt like home in Vet Med for me, and so being able to just stop and kind of take some space and really reflect on what was important to me and what I enjoyed and all the different roles that I'd been in through Vet Med, And that was when coming back again, , to the human animal bond, realizing that I surprised myself when I was sitting, sitting in a chair and I thought, what do I enjoy?
And I thought, I really enjoy talking to clients [00:16:00] who are having a hard time. I really enjoyed spending time and giving them the time they needed they typically can't get out of a vet clinic. And really, if I was on the phone for 15 minutes with a client trying to figure out what they. Needed to do what their next steps were.
I was fine with that and thankfully I was at a clinic that Was also okay with that, you know, be like, okay, that was a really long one. What were you talking about? But they still, you know, supported that kind of communication. you know, I thought, I realized that not, oh, I really enjoyed people. I really enjoyed helping people.
And I don't know if I ever actually said, as so many people do in vet med, I don't like people. I'm in vet med because I don't like people. I don't know if I ever said that or not, but there certainly was a period in my life where I was like, no, no, don't give me your people. I want the animals. so it's an interesting kind of to come back to the relationship and come back to seeing how important and feeling how important that is [00:17:00] to myself.
It was a little surprising to me, but, It feels right. I feel like, uh, you know, I said I was having a really hard time feeling like I was finding home in Vet Med and it does feel like working on a relationship basis with people and building the relationship. it does feel like home.
Megan Sprinkle: Oh, that's beautiful.
And I love how you talked about your thought process and trying to figure out who you are, what you liked. Because I, I mean, part of this podcast is really trying to get that down for everybody so that they can find their home in Vet Med. And, I think that some people forget that there are lots of opportunities, including veterinary technicians.
We talk a lot about veterinarians and different things that veterinarians can do and vet techs. I think sometimes we that they just see there's a technician. You can go to a specialty or you can go to management [00:18:00] and that's kind of like. The options. you started very different with, you know, lab animal and maybe that's it.
But what do you think allowed you to think bigger and think about, okay, there's more than three options here for me How did you kind of get to that moment where you were able to, really open up the possibilities and take what you are learning about yourself and what you are enjoying in doing something Which we'll talk about here in a minute that it was quite different.
Jennifer Brown: man, you know, I tried to leave vet med. I Tried a few times. I'm like, I'm this is it I'm done like I have been hurt so bad by vet med in my like I'm doing it I'm leaving and I went back to school at least once Maybe almost twice and it both times like no, I can't and part of what I had found through especially when I was actually back in school and Attending trying to trying to pave a path out of vet [00:19:00] med one thing I had found was a podcast called vet tech cafe That is specifically for vet techs that is to show us that there are other possibilities that there are so many possibilities.
And I've heard so many different stories about how a technician just built their own place in vet med basically. And they, they took what they wanted to do and they said, well, why can't I? Why can't I do that? so that really, that, that podcast saved my career a couple of times, if it weren't for hearing all of the stories and like, okay, there is a place.
It's not just this, you know, three lanes there is somewhere else I can go with this. so having that and becoming also more aware through my career of all of our challenges, like our title protection, standardizing, all of those things, and fighting for utilization, becoming more aware of that, I think also really [00:20:00] made a difference in realizing that there is so much more that we can do.
We aren't stuck to those three lanes, and we Being a credentialed vet tech is a baby type of career. Like, really, it's new. It's still growing. There's still so much that it is going to turn into. and I have so much faith in, in us as a profession in building that and creating that.
Um, and that really came from listening to some of the techs that have done that. And some of the people that have said, there is no ceiling. I'm going to reach for as high as I can. I'm going to do what I, what I want to do. , and so that really helped a lot. And having that mindset of I can do something else.
but without having that exposure to other techs that did that, um, I don't know. I don't know if I would have seen that. I don't think I would have. So, Paying attention, I guess, to what other people were doing.
Megan Sprinkle: So you're saying [00:21:00] podcasting,
Jennifer Brown: it's a
Megan Sprinkle: medium to further share that, right?
Not only is it, it exists out there, but we have to sometimes show it. And on the other side, right? Go explore. What, what are some of these ideas? That's why I have my podcast. That's, you know, I need to get some of the people from the vet tech cafe on as well and share their experiences. But that, I think that's a, it's a great, I did not mean to set you up.
I really had forgotten that. Um, but then that's great. And, and again, on top of that, You're doing self reflection and again, there, there were some things that happened in your personal life too. They kind of started to put all of this together on, you know, you mentioned starting your own business, right?
So what would that be? And so if you don't mind, you mind sharing just at least a little bit about that personal experience that really highlighted a gap in the veterinary medicine [00:22:00] side of things and kind of got you started on creating a business idea.
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I had, when I moved out to Oregon from Colorado, a good friend of mine, who was retired, he was kind of also in a place like, I want to leave Colorado, I just don't want to be here, and on a whim, when I came out to visit Oregon, he had come with me the year before we ended up moving, and he absolutely fell in love with it out here.
And so, um, He said, hey, you know, can I, can I move with you? I said, sure, why not? It'd be great. You know, yes, I'm going to make a life change. And yes, I need to go do this for myself But sure. Yeah, and so really we just we became family really? absolutely family and That was Almost nine years ago that we moved out here and last summer, he started feeling sick and, finally let me take him to the hospital.
It took him a long time to get there. [00:23:00] and he had stage four cancer and passed away within two and a half weeks of him finally letting me take him to the hospital. But the, through that whole process, the compassion of people who were not just hospice, but people who were walking the path with us through this end of life, process, and he ended up in a home that was a, I think, what do they call them, adult foster homes or something like that?
It's a terrible name. But it was someone's house and She provided the room and, hospice nurses came in and he was only there for five days, but the amount of care and compassion that we were shown in that time was absolutely beautiful, just so impactful. And so that close experience with hospice and end of life with people, you know, as I was sitting and reflecting, where [00:24:00] is that for pets?
sure we have, we have the vet clinic, we have some mobile vets, and we have in home euthanasia, or you need to go to the vet clinic, wherever it is. Where is that end of life space where people are feeling so lonely, so helpless, where they're, they're confused, they're, they're already in anticipatory bereavement.
Where is that help for them? And it just kind of, I just put things together from all the thoughts and all the self reflection and I said that's it. I'm going to do in home hospice for people. As a, as a technician, I don't need a doctor to go in and help people with quality of life assessments, to help them with planning, to help them with education, to fill in that gap, as a way of relieving some stress on vet clinics.
And this is, you know, so I'm thinking about this like post pandemic, especially where there's even more staffing issues and more challenges and less time [00:25:00] for a lot of clients. taking that pressure off of them, trying to take some of the, um, the burden from them, the emotional, you know, figuring out what do we do, what happens.
And, and meanwhile being somewhat of a liaison between the clinic, the vet, and the client and, trying to really just close that gap in. So I was just sitting there one day and I went, that's, that's it. We need this. This is such a needed thing.
I was like all in before I really, before I really looked at, you know, starting my own business and really thinking about the whole, picture of it. I was already all in. I think as soon as I figured out the name, I got my LLC and started rolling on everything, and then it was kind of a jump in with two feet,
Megan Sprinkle: it is hard to start your own business, and I think that probably intimidates and deter somebody from potentially, going farther into it. [00:26:00] And you even mentioned this is this is a newer concept, right? Even if it sounds. Similar to in home euthanasia, which is still different, right?
That's not all the prep and the planning. And you've talked about some of the things you do, which is so interesting. And it's very, it's very much on the human side, right? It's like helping them understand what's happening and preparing and making sure that that quality of life and that last stage of.
them being with their pet is such a good memory instead of, one day the pet's gone. Right. so, with this new concept, starting any type of business, even if it's not a new concept, it can be challenging. So you're excited and you do, you mentioned, you start to realize, Oh, wow.
There's a lot to this. This is. This can be hard. How did you start and what helped you get to the point where you're still running this business? You're still excited about it. It's working. It's building and growing. So that way we can just [00:27:00] kind of help people understand. Here are some steps you can start to do because you don't have to be doing this completely by yourself.
There's ways to learn.
Jennifer Brown: Yeah. I, you know, kind of fumbled through figuring all of that out. Absolutely. I did, you know, I wrote, I get a nice introduction letter, took them to some vet clinics and I've gotten one client out of the like 20 that I dropped off that way. So, stepping back and looking at that again, as far as like, is that really the best way to, help vet clinic see what, how I can help them. so kind of like stumbled through, realized that managing social media, I like, I knew nothing about. I had no idea what I was doing, and found a marketing company, Dog Days consulting that is veterinary specific. And, they have been so helpful in learning and branding.
I didn't know what that was. I have no idea how to write a mission statement. You know, so having help walk me through all of that. I don't, I wouldn't have the media [00:28:00] presence or the social media presence that I have if it weren't for them, by any means. They've got me starting a blog, like I'm doing these things That are really, truly, you do have to do in our, in our life now.
You can't just say, oh, hey, I'm running, I'm running this business. Um, come, come see me. You have to have that social media presence, which was really, really hard. but I'm learning. And I never tried to manage finances on my own. I never tried to do the accounting on my own.
I knew that that was something that I just, I would not stay on top of and I would just create a giant mess for myself and trying to figure it out. So outsourcing that. So outsourcing. I think it was like the biggest thing that I've done so far that has made it so I can focus on what, what is this and focus on the relationships.
and now learning and seeing how, you know, where clients are coming from, that the relationship with the vet clinics is key because they're the ones that are giving the diagnosis. [00:29:00] They're the ones that are saying, we can't do anything else or helping the clients decide they don't want to do anything else.
And then the client walks out with what resources, So, going in, so I'm developing Lunch and Learns to go in and do for clinics about hospice and how it, what it can do for their clients, how it can support their clients, how it can take pressure off of the, the staff and the vets and everyone, all, everyone it takes, it takes to run a vet clinic.
And because I've also found that because I did decide to stop in a niche corner that is like a kind of a new concept, I'm also educating clients. I'm educating general public. so it's been, it's been a slow build because of that, but it really, everything comes back to relationships all the time.
And I'm finding that over and over and over and over through this whole process. It is all about the relationships. , and building those is so fulfilling [00:30:00] for myself personally, but also for the business. so that's been a really great kind of realization through all of this is that relationships and not just networking.
You know, we say networking, like go network. It's not just networking. It's building those relationships. And that is, that's key. It really is.
Megan Sprinkle: what have you found is some of the keys to building those relationships so well? And if you want to, if there's something specific with the vet clinics versus the pet owners, that's good too.
What are you finding? And cause I think, I think that is life, right? It's, it's building relationships. So it's no matter what people I think want to do, I think that's usually a big part of it. So what have you found that it has helped you specifically in building successful relationships?
Jennifer Brown: I think one of the, one of the biggest parts is being willing to open myself to talking to, you know, [00:31:00] anyone and getting into a conversation with anyone, which is not who I historically have been.
I'm an introvert. I don't start conversations. I, you know, I, that's not me. But, starting those conversations and then being willing to follow up and remembering to follow up and continue to say, Oh, hey, do you want to go get coffee or, find ways to interact or to find events to be at.
and not letting it drop. I'm, I'm so unfortunately good at starting a certain conversation or starting a relationship and then forgetting to text back or just letting it drift off into life. And that is the opposite. So the one of the most important things that I have found is just to follow up and to make sure that I am not letting that new connection, And then those often open up into other ones and that's what, you know, that's the networking.
and [00:32:00] then following those paths as they open up and being, being open to something falling in your lap and being open to, oh, well, you're, you're an interesting person. Let's chat. Let's go get coffee. And that helps so much, being willing to do that. And that has been absolutely a shift in, perception for me in how I normally function.
but it's been really healthy. It's been really good.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, I do understand. Like, I, I love people. But I'm also the introvert like you. And so sometimes it's like that initial getting started, you know, it's like, yeah, I guess you better go to that happy hour at this event. But once you're there talking, it gets a lot easier and you're like, Oh, this is fun.
Yeah, I forgot. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And then also on the pet owner side, because that's also interesting. I mean, yeah, sometimes it's. Trying to work with a [00:33:00] veterinary clinic who is busy and has a gazillion other things in their mind and trying to work with them on a new concept , but that when it comes to the pet owners what have you found is . That pain point that they're like, yeah, I absolutely do want support to get me through this end of life diagnosis. And then the actual event, what have you found helps you one communicate the importance of the message where people will hire you for your services.
And then in that process, what are some of the things you're noticing really help build the relationship with the pet parent? during that really crucial moment between them and their pet.
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, really, really, really important to the entire process from, encouraging them to come seek out hospice service to all the way through is, keeping myself in a place where I am a safe place.
I am, tears, [00:34:00] cry, tell me your story. The first thing I always say in a consultation when I sit down with a new client is, I want to know your story together. Tell me about you and Fluffy. , how did you come together? Tell me your, what have you done in life? Where have you been? and I want to know them.
I want to know who they are and I want to know who they are together, because that is the relationship that we're trying to honor, is who they are together. So, being, like, having a table at an event and talking to the general public, just, you know, so many people, Oh, you know, this, this, pet was so important to me, and letting them share their story, and just being there to listen, and commiserating a little bit is also really helpful sometimes.
this spring, I went through, and it was just so much solidifying in, yes, this is what I should be doing, and this is what, the space I want to be in. I had my own two senior dogs that I had to say goodbye to. And, that [00:35:00] You know, having those experiences, and this was after I decided to do the whole hospice thing, and I was like, Oh, hey, I need myself for me, and seeing myself, even as, because for our own pets, it all goes out the door, right?
You don't know anything, you don't remember anything, it's your own pet. I even said to my husband at one point, I said, I need me for myself. And like, wait, is this the right decision? Is that, is that, and just being someone that they are comfortable talking to, being someone for them to, say, you know, I don't, I don't know, is how I feel about this.
I don't know how I feel about that. And just letting them talk through it and giving them little, little bits and little encouragements along the way really helps deepen that relationship. Building that relationship with the client is so, so, so important.
so I guess just presenting myself in that manner, and meeting the public, and then also social media, trying to, um, you know, as I'm learning what different types of [00:36:00] posts get more engagements, that's always a challenge too. trying again, in all of that, to be a welcoming, warm person and being again, that safe space, that space where it's okay to feel all the emotions, It's okay to be sad. You know, so for so long in our culture, in our, , our, interactions with our pets and how it's seen from a social level, it's, we're finally , starting to see a change of pet loss is huge. Pet loss grief is just as impactful, if not more, than the loss of some people in your life, and honoring that and letting people, take bereavement days for pet loss.
So we're starting to see some of that change too, and that shift. , so it's really trying to stay on, I guess, ride that wave, um, with social media and really, not hiding from talking about [00:37:00] death and pet loss and chronic illness and terminal illness,
Megan Sprinkle: No, that's a good point. Cause if you, if you think about how do you do, and I've heard people say this about in home euthanasia too, is like, how do you do like social media posts about death, so it's interesting.
I love your approach because you kind of come back to the story of the relationship of the The person in the pet and that people love, right? Even, another pet owner can get that part, but I have also heard that bereavement over a pet can be some of the most lonely bereavement because nobody else understands your relationship with your pet.
Like people can kind of understand if your mother passes away, but it's different with a pet. And I'm glad to hear that you are seeing a shift that the relationships with our pets that they're becoming more important. And there's more people that start to understand that, that that is a bigger deal than maybe a few years ago, [00:38:00] people appreciated.
So I think that's good, but all the more. I can see people appreciating individuals like yourself who can not only be a safe space, but an understanding space where, no, I get it. This is, this is hard. And this is, worthy of going through all of the emotions that you are going through. So having somebody to go through that time, is I think just such a huge game changer and I do, I agree.
I think our relationships with our pets are evolving that they've been evolving. I think that's not something new and I don't really see that it's going to backtrack any, at least not written into the
Jennifer Brown: end. So
Megan Sprinkle: I just, I think this is really exciting and, you're trying to also figure out how that works with weird things like social media and marketing and all of that as well.
And you have a great team behind you. And I, you know, sometimes [00:39:00] it helps just understanding. Why do I like this so much? Like, why is this, important to me? What are the stories that I'm seeing? And that's something that you can take and make work in these weird environments that sometimes intimidate us like social media.
Jennifer Brown: yeah, one of the things that just kind of like. Yes, this is, this is absolutely a space that people need to fill. This gap needs to be filled is hearing a client say, I feel like I did everything I could have because you were here to help me. and that is like, that's the end all.
for people to feel like they did everything they could is fulfilling and so, gratifying is really where. It's a really weird word to use there, but it is so important for people to have that so that they can have a beautiful goodbye. Because I absolutely believe that goodbyes can be beautiful.
Absolutely. And I have had on, for my own, I [00:40:00] have had, awfully traumatic, horribly traumatic ending to getting to celebrate their life with a party hat and a chocolate donut standing on the dining room table. You know, like, and having that spectrum, being able to see that, yes, death comes with trauma.
Yes, that happens. No, we can't always decide when it's going to happen. Of course, that's life. We know that. But if we have the opportunity to create, a fulfilling end, which again is such a weird way to say it, but to create an end where you can look back at it and smile and think that absolutely, yes, I am so, so deeply sad that my pet is gone, but wow, what an amazing goodbye I got.
that is absolutely life changing and that changes your relationship with grief as you move forward. And as you are moving through even that anticipatory treatment stage, and that's one of the things that I really try to help people with is keep them present with their pets, help them [00:41:00] create bucket lists.
Help them do art. We do, I've got a few different art things that we can do with them before they say goodbye to their pet, so that they have the memory of making this piece of artwork with their pet before the pet's dead. Like our paw prints that we get after cremation , it's great. I love having those, but having the memory of making it with your pet and laughing that is so much more.
There's so much more behind that paw print. So things like that. Is what makes it just so important to me to be able to help other people. Through that process, because that is truly honoring the human animal bond.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah. And even made me think of kids too. Like when I was younger, I was a country kid. So a lot of our pets, they did go to the vet, but then when they were sick, lot of times they came home in a box, and so there was like this disconnect as a kid that honestly going to the vet was a little scary when my dad was going to take.
a [00:42:00] pet to the vet because often my association was they, they don't come home alive and that's really hard for a kid, especially, I mean, I ended up being a veterinarian, I kind of liked animals, so this is a big deal. , and so I also see how this is. An opportunity to allow everybody in the family to understand how to grieve and, to have that good end of life, because what you're talking about, those are things the entire family can participate in You can help them, um, you know, explain to the kids what this means. And we're celebrating this amazing. life that we've had cause that can be really hard. One, you're grieving yourself, you're worrying about your kids too, but to be able to have that space to do both, to grieve, but also have support.
And helping everybody else that you love in the family. And that has that a relationship with a pet to also kind of go through all together. I don't know. Have you experienced that [00:43:00] where you're working with, you know, multiple people in the family? Yeah.
Jennifer Brown: Yeah, there's been a few, um, a few families I've worked with that have had more than just, like, one or two primary caregivers.
And it is really, you know, watching, getting to watch the whole family make those memories and stay present and stay there is, it's really, really special. And it's also, they're, yeah, kind of facilitating those conversations and helping, give parents resources. I have a five year old, so I've gone through the pet loss, I've gone through the human loss with her in the last year.
and I have learned so much from doing that myself as a parent. just knowing that, like, having, having picture books that give parents the words. to talk about it is huge. And having all the different resources, not only for the parents, and some of those picture books have been just as important for me as I have for my daughter.
Like, they, you know, there's, they're so wonderful. And the first time I read like, The Invisible Leash especially, I was just like, [00:44:00] bawling. But it gives you, it gives parents those words and the ways to talk about it. and then, of course, you know, there's other resources that I have that I can share for whatever situation it may be.
Whether it be, you know, emotional support dog. Whether it be, the kid's first pet and now the kid's like 25. and I went through a pet loss bereavement certification course, and that helped so much in giving myself the words to use and how to navigate all of those, but also how to help other people navigate all of those and in those special, specific situations.
It's really helpful to have that, source of knowledge it's like in thinking about going in and helping, families. Having someone come in who is not attached to the situation and to the pet and, you know, so emotionally involved. And just having them bring in the resources and the words that actually truly do help.
So, and leaving away the words that don't help, you know, all the phrases [00:45:00] that, that we, know are not helpful. At least they lived a good life, at least you got those years with them. All, all those things that are not as helpful and finding the other, other words to use, is really helpful in helping families move through that.
So yeah, going through that with my own kid, man, that really, that hedlps a lot. You know, it's in the abilities to help out their family.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, and the books that you're referring to, I'd love to share those links and let people see those and use those as resources. But as you're talking about just knowing the words to say, I think you could do CE on that for the veterinary team as well because I Yeah, sometimes we don't always know what to say or say the best things in those situations.
Back to you're. A liaison between the veterinary team and the pet owner, you do have a really important role and everything that you have learned being a veterinary technician, will [00:46:00] help you there.
Because 1, you understand what the diagnosis means. And so if they need. More understanding of that and to feel more comfortable in the decisions they've made. You can be there for that. And then, you know, advocating for the pet owner too, like, it's just a very unique situation that again, I just want to highlight.
In veterinary medicine, no matter what your role is, you gain so many skills that can be applicable in so many different areas. So finding, the home or like you described it, where you can take those skills and live it out in a way that also combines your own personal values and passion and talents.
I think that's the part where it gets so exciting to be part of this big picture of veterinary medicine.
Jennifer Brown: I absolutely agree. and, and as our, as our picture of Vet Med grows, and there's more directions that people can go, it's just, it's so fascinating and [00:47:00] exciting to see where people Take their career, what they do, how they, how they find their spot, just that relationship again, seeing people figure out what works for them and what makes them tick is just coming back to, we are all individuals who need fulfillment, we all are individuals who need to find our place and to find our path.
And it's important to be able to do that and remembering that no matter where someone is on their path, whether they're 30 years in and they're like, Oh man, I have been a tech on the floor for 30 years. I can't do this anymore. They don't leave vet med. They don't leave. They don't leave that 30 years of knowledge behind, is really, really important.
Because when someone who's got that much knowledge is like, well, I'm done in vet med. What else can I do? I can't work on the floor anymore. That's a huge loss. It's a huge loss to the vet community. It's a huge loss to clients and to people, to the general public, to lose that person from vet med. [00:48:00] So whatever we can do collectively in vet med to keep people here with us and make it past that five year statistical mark, right?
That is so important, and I just, I hope that we keep finding more and more ways to do that.
Megan Sprinkle: Yeah, absolutely. I actually had someone not long ago, I think it was some longer than 30 years in vet med, like they had been in vet med for a long time as a veterinary technician and And they weren't ready to be done.
but they knew that they could not physically do the clinic job, and they really had no idea, but they, they knew they, they were just not ready to leave. And so they asked, what are options for vet techs that been in this industry and just can't do the clinical for anymore.
And we started, chatting about, well, what do you like, you know, what are you interested in? And I mentioned. Writing because they just cannot do very much physically and they got so excited about that There's like did you know I actually thought about being a writer earlier in my career and they just got [00:49:00] so excited about putting those things together and so yes, absolutely I hope we only continue to broaden our perspective of You know what could be for people in veterinary medicine again.
And so thank you for letting me share your story as a part of that and encouraging others to do the same And so I do like to end with at least one final question And that is what is something that you are very grateful for right now.
Jennifer Brown: Right now, I am very grateful and it's going to come back to Vet Med because I just did a week long , field clinic trip. Um, I am incredibly grateful for the ability to bring care, vet care to people who don't have access to it. and to be able to work with, an organization, very rural area veterinary services that I just worked with, the opportunity, and this also feeds into my personal life that I have the most amazing partner [00:50:00] who is so supportive.
And through all of this, like this whole starting my own business, he's like, you can do it. I know you can. I know, I know that you can. So the opportunity to bring that. That care to people who can't access it. I'm so thankful for that. And I'm so thankful for a partner who stands behind everything that I do.
Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do it.
Megan Sprinkle: I hope you enjoyed this fascinating veterinary story. We can make an impact in so many places. Check out the show notes for lots of resources. Please make sure you are subscribed on your podcast app, subscribe on the YouTube channel and follow me on LinkedIn, where I hang out the most. You can contact me on LinkedIn, on the website at vetlifereimagined.
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And I hope to see you next time on that life reimagined.
