June 2025

PetVet365 Team
Jun 27
7 min read

Clark's Bark: Sugar Face

By Dr. Andrea Johnson + Clark

I looked in the mirror the other day and WOW, my face is getting lighter as I near my 9th birthday. With my “sugar face” comes wisdom, experience, memories, love and different needs. I was two when we started PetVet365 and now I want to help remind us of all the life stages of the dogs and cats we take care of. In my upcoming years, I am going to need a lot of different things to make sure my life is the longest and healthiest it can be. Senior dogs live in 52% of households versus only 9% for puppies (and similar for the cats) and most importantly– sugar face rules! We don't pee on the floor, chew up shoes or get worked up when the doorbell rings (ok the last one is a lie).

So my graying muzzle made me start thinking about aging pets. We, both the profession and PetVet365, do a great job of structured and scheduled puppy/kitten care and education. Pet owners are taught what their pet will need as it develops specific to its size, breed and lifestyle. Visits are organized and pet owners are aware of what to expect, and what to look for at home to indicate a vet visit is needed. Veterinary medicine has done a great job of helping pets live longer.

As we all know Quantity (in years alive) without Quality in everyday life, is not what the objective is for our furry family members. The other end of our care is messy at best. Senior pet care is more often owner directed and only when they notice their pet having a problem. Pet parents typically do not notice things until far later in our disease progression when earlier therapy could be both life improving and life extending. Early screening and thus early detection is not performed for many common breed specific issues, especially if the pet is not on a VIP plan. Vet care needs will be increasing a lot as we age, and thus a VIP plan makes even more sense for us when we are over 7 years of age.

So I want to help other pets as I have officially joined the Sugar Face Society or senior pet club.

Dogs and cats age 7-10 years for every human year so by the time a small breed pet is 7, or a large breed is 5, they belong to the sugar face club. The goal of the Sugar Face Society is to screen for treatable age related conditions, extend life span and quality of life, and educate owners on aging care specific to their pet. Pet owners often are unaware that many signs of “aging” are actually treatable and not an issue the pet has to live with.

PetVet365, with my assistance, is going to make a difference in older pets' lives. Let’s tackle making sure owners are supported and educated in all areas of this life stage for care that is beyond standard vaccines, heartworm and parasite testing/prevention. These are the areas we need to be focused on:

Preventive Health Screening and Genetic Counseling
Weight Management and Nutrition Counseling - Silver Squeakers
Cognitive Function and Behavior
Pain Management, Mobility and Comfort including Physical Therapy and Regenerative Medicine
Environmental support
End of life care/hospice

Let’s make the senior years the best years. If you are passionate about the sugar face project and would like to help develop the program–reach out to my mom! We have a chance to make PetVet365 the best (and only) practice getting serious about seniors.

Wags and belly rubs,

Clark

Contributed by Dr. Amy Voss

Bite Club is in full effect. We've had three continuing education lectures with Dr. Bellows, and the reviews are glowing! If you haven't been able to join us, we would love to see you there. Dr. Bellows is so passionate about dentistry and what it can do to help our patients, he's opened these lectures to everyone at PetVet365. Don't forget, you can watch the recordings in the University and still get your RACE CE when you pass a 5-question quiz. You should also be getting a monthly Bite Club box in your hospital with some dental education materials and a few goodies, too! Be on the lookout!

You may be asking - why Bite Club? We know that dental disease is the most prevalent condition among our patients. If we can keep their breath fresh and their teeth pearly white, we can add quality, pain-free years to their life. Who wouldn't want to do that!

2025 Benefit Updates

Contributed by Jessie Van Dyke

We’re excited to announce that, starting July 1st, our new Maternity (childbirth recovery) benefit will be officially in effect!

Eligible Team Members can now take up to 4 weeks of fully paid childbirth recovery leave to rest, bond, and enjoy those early moments with their new arrival. This will be in collaboration with our Short-Term Disability benefit and any Paid Family Medical Leave that is required.

This is an important step in supporting our teams during life’s biggest milestones—and we’re proud to offer a benefit that reflects our values of well-being and people-first.

Here’s what you need to know:

Effective Date: July 1st
Benefit: 4 weeks of 100% paid maternity (childbirth recovery) leave
Details: Check out the full policy available soon in Paycom

If you have any questions or are planning ahead, feel free to reach out to HR@petvet365.com!

Summer Updates from the Professional Relations Team

Contributed by Dr. Jen Locke

Recruiting continues to advance into a very busy summer! With oversight of PetVet365’s Student Programs, we are happy to report that many of our externships are in full swing, with over three dozen students from across the country (and beyond!) joining our hospitals this summer. As many of you can attest to, this is such a great way to show our next generation of veterinarians how Fear Free benefits our patients, clients, and hospital teams! We’d also like to send a HUGE shout-out of gratitude to every team that hosts students and provides such wonderful experiences, highlighting our culture and mission. We’ll also represent in numerous vet schools over the summer, providing lectures, participating in end-of-semester and new semester events, and sponsoring student programs throughout the US, Caribbean, and Europe.

We’re also very busy recruiting for new veterinarians to join our amazing teams. From new markets and recruiting new Pod Owners, to placing Partner Doctors and Associate Veterinarians, we provide outreach to 300-500 veterinarians monthly, while also managing and monitoring multiple positions across numerous employment sites and job boards. We’ve also increased our outreach with improved LinkedIn exposure and presence, as well as social media platforms. We are also organizing and assisting several pods to host VetSquad events throughout the summer months, as well as hosting branded PetVet365 Continuing Education seminars. Please help us to continue to spread the word, and keep in mind that we offer generous referral bonuses if you know a doctor that would be a great fit - let us know!

As the summer continues, we’re also looking forward to 2026 and strategizing for our upcoming year of conferences, on national, regional, and state levels. Conferences provide fantastic opportunities for in-person connection with veterinarians, technicians, assistants, and students, while spreading the message, vision and culture that makes PetVet365 so special!

As always, if we can assist in any way, please feel free to reach out to Alex, Thom and Jen - we’re always available to help with your recruiting needs!

Head to Tails with Dr. Ashley Kawuki

Role: Minnesota Pod Owner

Tell us about your pets: I have one cat, a 17 year old Siamese mix named Abominable. He loves sleeping and yelling at me for snack time.

Best Thing about PetVet365: I fell in love with the Fear Free concept and the potential that it brings to the profession.

What do you do daily that brings you joy: Spending time with loved ones; I'm quite social so activities like trivia night and exploring local breweries are great!

Favorite indulgence: For sure this is traveling - I love exploring the world and different foods, drinks, cultures.

What do you want people to know about you: I like to have fun and I'm a bit quirky; I've got some really random skills (making balloon animals, for example)!

Something you would like to give to others: I'm very passionate about development and I love helping others in this way, reach out if you want to connect!

Celebrations

Leander is officially Fear Free Certified! 🎉

We had three locations open recently! Boulder, Cypress, and Plymouth are all officially open and seeing pets! 🎉🥳✨

Marketing

Facebook Tip of the Month: Don't just post - engage!

Reply to comments, ask questions in your captions, and react to what your audience is saying. The more you interact, the more the algorithm shows your posts. Think of it like a conversation, not a billboard.

For more tips & tricks, check out the Facebook social media guide! 📚

New Pet Source Friendly Reminder

For every new pet that comes through the door, don’t forget to ask how their humans found us! Why? Because it helps our marketing team know what’s working, where to focus, and how to bring in more furry friends. So what do ya say—help us help you! 😉

Hospital Pupdates

Leander team joins Chamber of Commerce:

Dr. Moon and Dr. Pam were welcomed into the Leander Chamber of Commerce as new members! 🥳🥳

Leander hosts a Teddy Bear Clinic

Leander closed out a fun week of Teddy Bear Clinic! 🤩🧸 They have several future veterinarians now! 🙌🏻

Irving x Hill's Nutrition

Irving teamed up with Hill’s Pet Nutrition on Veterinary Appreciation Day (June 18th) for their DFW Vet Squad Meet Up!

Irving Joins Career Day

Dr. Ervin-Smith of PetVet365 Irving visited Brandenburg Elementary for their Career Day Festivities and shared why a career in veterinary medicine is the way to go!

Colerain wins Best of the West for the second year in a row!

Florence for the Win

We’re so proud of PetVet365 Florence and their incredible team — including Dr. Katie Smith and Dr. Suellen Wardell — for performing a life-changing surgery on two precious puppies (from Proud Pups Rescue Inc.) with a congenital heart defect called Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA).

When options were limited, this amazing team stepped up — and the results speak for themselves! Just over a month post-op, both puppies are thriving with dramatically improved quality of life. 🐶✨

Stories like this remind us why we do what we do. 💛 Way to go, Florence— what an incredible collaboration!

Blankenbaker in the News

Our very own Dr. Olivia Walker and her fur baby Camina were featured on WHAS11 News as they promoted Puppy Palooza!

Highlands Ranch opens playscape exhibit in local library

Events throughout the Pods

Pup Cups & Churus in Action

On-brand Furriends

These pets sure had a "hoppy" Easter!

Open Forums

Don’t forget about our Monthly Open Forums. These are 30-minute calls scheduled every month for you to ask all of your questions and provide feedback. Upcoming Topics:

August: Recruiting
September: Training / Education
Monthly: HR