Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacie Smith.
Stacie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I graduated vet school from Texas A&M University in May of 2000. After spending many years in private practice and working with an animal pharmaceutical company, I was looking for a change of pace… something that would allow me to have a more flexible schedule and spend more time with my daughters. While attending a veterinary convention, I ran into a friend and colleague who told me about her mobile veterinary practice. It was an eye opener for me because before that point, I had always considered “mobile veterinary practice” to be a large animal vet doing farm calls, or a small animal vet driving around a huge “clinic on wheels” and performing spays, neuters, and other procedures in the owner’s driveway. Neither of those business models appealed to me. But this was different… this was more personal and a novel approach to getting to know your patient and client. I spent some time in North Carolina shadowing my friend, Sunita, and learned her approach to mobile practice. I then brought that business model home and Dallas PAWS was born. Personal Animal Wellness Services… veterinary care in the comfort of your own home.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Having never owned a business before, I had to learn a lot along the way. With help from family and friends, I was able to navigate that challenge. My biggest “struggle” came in the form of a blessing from Dr. Robert Moomaw, a mobile veterinarian that had been practicing in Oak Cliff for over two decades. Through a mutual animal medical sales rep, I was introduced to Dr. Moomaw late in 2016. He was ready to retire and had been looking for someone to continue to provide house call services to his loyal Oak Cliff clientele. We immediately hit it off and we both felt that our practice philosophies were a lot alike. Upon his retirement soon thereafter, he told his customer base that their pets would be in good hands under my care. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was optimistically hopeful that maybe a few of his clients would give me a try. As it turns out, his influence was far greater than I expected and I suddenly faced the challenge of growing pains while still working out the kinks of a new practice. Like I said before, it was a huge blessing, but still an obstacle to navigate.
Please tell us about Dallas PAWS.
My vision for Dallas PAWS is to provide a personal veterinary experience to my patients and their owners in the comfort of their own home. Having the vet come to your home makes the experience less stressful than having to drag your pet(s) into the office. Clinics have so many different sounds, smells, and sights that set most pets on edge before even walking into the front door. And I’ve never met a cat that enjoys getting into the carrier for a car ride to the vet’s office, have you? My company makes annual exams, vaccinations, and sick visits more convenient for the owner and less stressful for the owner AND their pet(s).
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to do it all over again, I would have educated myself more about the business side of things before starting to practice. I have been really happy with the way things have gone and have especially enjoyed meeting clients, getting to know their pets and families, and the time I get to spend visiting with them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dallaspaws.com
- Phone: 972-946-7297
- Email: contact@dallaspaws.com or drstacie@dallaspaws.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DallasPAWS/
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