Founder Becky Bartley on the Good Neighbor Podcast
Listen to founder, CEO and Registered Veterinary Technician Rebecca (A.K.A Becky) Bartley discuss how Trooper Pet began and where we see it going on the Good Neighbor podcast with Jeff Gartner.
Transcript to follow! Take a listen now as we go through what exactly IS Trooper Pet, where did the idea come from? Where is it going? And finally what is something founder and CEO Becky Bartley wishes you all knew?
Transcript:
Welcome to another episode of The Good Neighbor podcast today we have
another good neighbor on, Becky Bartley of Trooper Pet™ Veterinary Nursing. Becky
welcome to the show!
Becky: Thank you for having me! I’m looking forward to it!
I love animals I love learning about businesses working with animals. I’ve had a couple of chubby pugs in my life and uh I just love the heck out of them.
So let’s get right into it.
Question #1:
Tell us about your business, what is Trooper Pet™ Veterinary Nursing?
Becky: So if you actually think of the PSW World from The Human Side of medicine I am trying to mimic that on the veterinary side of things. Our team are all registered Veterinary technicians or veterinary assistants – so to relate that to human, again nurses
versus PSW’s. We work independently or as an extension to regular vets. So
veterinarian clinics that are mobile or that are stationary that just need the extra support with Staffing. We go directly into the client and the patient’s home, we do
all types of nursing services such as nail trims, ear cleanings and those Basics grooming services but then we’ll do more of the medical stuff like bandage changes or medication administrations, blood work, blood pressure checks things like that so again just think of what the nurses or the Vet techs would do in the hospital setting we just bring that home.
J: So you’re like a pet nurse?
B: Yeah, I think actually they’re trying to change the term right now. We have a couple governing bodies in Ontario that want to actually change it from vet tech to vet nurse so that would be cool because I think it gives a better idea of exactly what we do.
J: So can people call you direct?
B: Both a pet owner and or a referral from a pet hospital. Pet owners can
call us directly for advice and appointments for exams or things like nail trims. But if you were to call me and say “hey my pug needs blood work” then I have to call your vet to get a requisition form. In that aspect think of us as Life Labs we need a req form but we set it all up for you and we make it as smooth as possible.
J: We love hearing about the story, I think human beings are storytellers at the end of the day that’s essentially what this podcast is telling- another story about a couple other humans. So, we like to ask about the journey. What is the story behind it?
It’s really a two-part question- first off I have the utmost respect for entrepreneurs who are willing to let their curiosity drive them and carve their own path in life rather than marching to somebody else’s beat.
Question #2:
Why did you decide to open your own business and then what brought you in into this world of animals and serving them and making sure they’re happy and healthy?
Becky: I always get asked about the whole “entrepreneur thing” or “why did you decide to start a business” and I’m gonna be honest with you- I still feel like I don’t know how the heck I did that. It just kind of happened and it’s a heck of a lot of work but it all started after I went to University to become a veterinarian. I wanted to be a Veterinarian
and I quickly realized, to become a doctor you need to learn a lot about the mitochondria and physics and also do your entire Bachelor of Science and you’re not actually working with animals right away and I was just not down for that. So I left University and went right to the vet tech program in Orillia. I graduated that after two years and then when I graduated I realized that I was broke. So I went to work.
I had a nighttime job at an emergency hospital in Newmarket working with
emergency Critical Care pets and then I had a day job at a regular practice (where they do vaccines etc.) and then I realized I’m still broke! AND I’m working a lot!
I hopped on Google and YouTube and looked up “how do I get rich” “how do I find money when I have no more hours in the day and I’m still broke. The answer I found said you need to find a side hustle, what’s something you can offer people that will help
subsidize your income and you could just do on your days off or free time? I decided I could do dog nail trims and cat nail trims. I started advertising on Facebook Marketplace. I started offering just $10 nail trims and I just started going after work and before work and I just started doing these nail trims around the city of Barrie and I made cash and then that cash paid off a lot of my debt. I was still working at the Hospital and Clinic and I was doing all of these things these things and I was making progress at that point but then I had my big light bulb moment. Sometimes pets have to come in for monthly injections usually for pain, and one day when I was in the clinic this Shepherd
that would come in every four weeks for a Cartrophen injection, came and was just
getting more and more aggressive every single time we saw him. It was getting to the point that we couldn’t even get the German Shepherd out of the owner’s truck; the owner couldn’t even get a muzzle on the dog. It’s like he just knew the moment he got in
the truck and he pulled into the parking lot what was happening, and he didn’t want anything to do with it. So, the doctor that was on duty said “okay well come back next week on an empty stomach we’re going to sedate him and we’re going to do this
two second injection on an on a sedated dog”. At this point the drugs are already pulled up and I can’t put it back in the bottle BUT I do these nail trims on the side in home and I wondered if when I finished my shift if I could just go see if I could do it at home. I ended up going to the house after my shift and the same dog that tried to eat me about 3 hours before was now laid out on my lap while I’m sitting on the couch the owner’s
making me a tea. I subtly pulled out this little needle and I poked him really quick, no muzzle and he just kind of looked at me like “what the heck” and then that was it and it was done and that was my big lightbulb moment I said there is a better way to do animal medicine. Just like some humans, pet’s also have the white coat fear syndrome and so I believe there’s just a better way. From there I expanded and grew the
services.
J: I love it! So many entrepreneurs have similar stories recognizing a gap or
where something is suboptimal and could be done better just by experiencing it yourself you saw something that wasn’t ideal you thought maybe it could be better you tried it and then you found it
What do you think it is? Do you think animals are just more comfortable at home rather than going into that vet clinic environment?
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