Page 16 - Volume 18 Issue 2
P. 16
Breaking barriers with a full-service veterinary campus
By Kristina Lau
Wagly is a full-service campus that includes grooming, boarding, day camp, training, chauffeur
services, off-leash hiking, home and clinic veterinary care, and just about anything else a pet
parent could ever want, all under the same roof. It is breaking down barriers between
veterinarians and other pet service providers.
I was in the process of looking for a job before graduation and had two offers already
on the table when I found Wagly through Facebook. They flew me to the corporate
offices in Seattle for an interview. At the Lake Hills campus there, I saw first-hand
the benefit of dog day care and veterinary care under one roof.
A cute spaniel named Lucy had a cut on her floppy ear from playing rough
with the other dogs during doggie day camp. The daycare supervisor – called
the play coach – noticed the cut and brought her across the hall for a visit with
the veterinary staff. With no charge to the client, the team assessed the cut
and provided care, plus a couple of extra hugs for Lucy. I fell in love with
Wagly's values and purpose that day.
I was hired as an associate veterinarian. In February, while we were
preparing to launch our newest location in San Jose, Calif., I was
functioning as a recruiter with a role in marketing and advertising. It
was fun to be a part of everything from the ground up. WesternU has
taught us to be flexible and figure things out as we go, not only in
practicing medicine. It applies to life, too.
We learn a lot each time we open a new Wagly location. The staffing
varies because we are building our community of patrons from scratch.
For any given location, we can have up to 50 people on our team or as
few as 20, including veterinarians, groomers, trainers, play time
supervisors and support office staff. Imagine a world where you get
out of the office at the end of the day with all your patient records up
to date and complete.
We all work together and learn from each other. My campus
director joked with me the other day when he said he made a bet
with another manager that he could get his veterinarian -- me -- to
stand in as a ‘play coach’ for a full day of dog day care.
I surprised him when I said I had already done that. I mean,
who wouldn't want to get paid to play with dogs all day?
I have discovered that the veterinary field is diverse in so many
ways that I could never have imagined. There is something in it
for everyone.
Kristina Lau, DVM ’16 is an
associate veterinarian for
Wagly, a start-up, full-service
veterinary campus with four
locations, with five more in
the planning stage.
14 College of Veterinary Medicine
By Kristina Lau
Wagly is a full-service campus that includes grooming, boarding, day camp, training, chauffeur
services, off-leash hiking, home and clinic veterinary care, and just about anything else a pet
parent could ever want, all under the same roof. It is breaking down barriers between
veterinarians and other pet service providers.
I was in the process of looking for a job before graduation and had two offers already
on the table when I found Wagly through Facebook. They flew me to the corporate
offices in Seattle for an interview. At the Lake Hills campus there, I saw first-hand
the benefit of dog day care and veterinary care under one roof.
A cute spaniel named Lucy had a cut on her floppy ear from playing rough
with the other dogs during doggie day camp. The daycare supervisor – called
the play coach – noticed the cut and brought her across the hall for a visit with
the veterinary staff. With no charge to the client, the team assessed the cut
and provided care, plus a couple of extra hugs for Lucy. I fell in love with
Wagly's values and purpose that day.
I was hired as an associate veterinarian. In February, while we were
preparing to launch our newest location in San Jose, Calif., I was
functioning as a recruiter with a role in marketing and advertising. It
was fun to be a part of everything from the ground up. WesternU has
taught us to be flexible and figure things out as we go, not only in
practicing medicine. It applies to life, too.
We learn a lot each time we open a new Wagly location. The staffing
varies because we are building our community of patrons from scratch.
For any given location, we can have up to 50 people on our team or as
few as 20, including veterinarians, groomers, trainers, play time
supervisors and support office staff. Imagine a world where you get
out of the office at the end of the day with all your patient records up
to date and complete.
We all work together and learn from each other. My campus
director joked with me the other day when he said he made a bet
with another manager that he could get his veterinarian -- me -- to
stand in as a ‘play coach’ for a full day of dog day care.
I surprised him when I said I had already done that. I mean,
who wouldn't want to get paid to play with dogs all day?
I have discovered that the veterinary field is diverse in so many
ways that I could never have imagined. There is something in it
for everyone.
Kristina Lau, DVM ’16 is an
associate veterinarian for
Wagly, a start-up, full-service
veterinary campus with four
locations, with five more in
the planning stage.
14 College of Veterinary Medicine
