Do Not Go Where The Path May Lead, Go Instead Where There Is No Path And Leave A Trail

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I guess that's kind of what also pushed me to open up my own clinic. And to do this my way, just because I've seen so many wrong ways of how to do this, I do want to just really, really change the future of that mad, especially that work life and quality of life balance. So I think what we have in mind for our future clinic is really, really going to hopefully, just change the the future generations moving forward. That is why we have this pet clinic. Coming to you guys. It's really focusing on yourself first, like how are you going to take care of your pet if you can't take care of yourself? Right? I first started it was like, go go go. You have to work every single weekend. You have to do all these hours and this and that . It's like okay, let's do it. We're like robots do it. But I've learned as time has gone by, you have to hit the pause button sometimes.

Brooke Smith
Welcome to MDF instruments Crafting Wellness Podcast. I'm so excited today to introduce you to not one, but two Veterinarian Doctors.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Hey, what's going on Brooke? Thank you for bringing us together here. I am Dr. Trice, and II am Dr. Remne. We're here from Vetique Gold Coast Animal Hospital in the windy city of Chicago. Our clinic is actually going to be placed in the Gold Coast area, which we're super excited about. And I guess we go way back, we just her 11 or 12 year, friends. I guess I was a baby vet you know, and I was paired with Dr. Trace way back when I was a student who is my mentor, and she's really kind of molded me into the veterinarian I am today. Well, to her I mean, she's amazing. So this girl has her own unique girl. So she's amazing. And when I saw her I was like looking at her style. And we just clicked right away from day one. I was like, I'm so excited. We just it's been amazing. After all these years. We are just be sisters from another mother.

Brooke Smith
I love it. I can tell you guys, you know, not only are you colleagues, but I can tell you guys are great friends. I want to know did both of you or either view Did you always know you guys wanted to be veterinarians or what's the story there? I want to hear each of you how you kind of decided to choose this career.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, um, I guess when I was nine years old, my parents and I, we went away on vacation. And when we came back, I had a cat at the time and just was not doing well. So we rushed him to the ER and I was just so amazed of how the ER doctors just were able to cheer him and fix him. And I was like that feeling that I had as a nine year old. I was like, that's what I want to do. That feeling that I had, I want to be able to do it for everyone else. Because that was my baby. That was my, you know my companion as a nine year old. That was my buddy. So you know the vets saved his life and it never left me. So that started my career. I am a little bit less traditional. I think I was pre med all undergrad I was on course to be a psychiatrist. I was a psychology major in undergrad. And it wasn't until my fourth senior year that I just woke up one day and said I'm going to vet school I just decided I wanted to work on animals instead of people. So mae a flip switch. My family was like whoa, okay, but super supportive. And that's where I am today.Thank god, look where we're at now.

Brooke Smith
Such great stories. I know that becoming a veterinarian is not easy. It's not for the faint of heart. Veterinarians School is hard to get into. Did you both get in right away? Did you have any problems getting in the first first go around? No, I actually got in on my first attempt. i So my story was I graduated in May. I did a short kind of externship at the Shedd Aquarium and said, No, during that time, I was looking into Veterinarian school and just what that process looked like and my one of my our veterinarian growing up, I guess, so to say she was a great resource for me because she did go to one of the island schools, St. George's University, and I did learn that they had two entrance periods. And I was like, Well, I can apply for this right now. I did that fall got accepted a month later. And then I moved to Grenada in January. So it was really, really quick and of new Adjustment who would not want to go to school in the Caribbean islands? I wish I knew that back then, of course, we have a little bit of an age gap here. But shoot, I would have done that. My story's a little bit different. So I was the only child for 18 years. And lo and behold same parents, my mother's like this, like you're gonna be a sister. I'm like, wait, what? So I didn't want to go anywhere yet. So I mean, I went to college and everything and for the first couple years to community and just wanted to be around my brother and stuff. But then as time went on, I went ahead and you know applied to vet school and got in my first time.

Brooke Smith
I was reading both both of you had posted on world veterinarian day about, there aren't actually that many people going and graduating and becoming veterinarians, compared to how many animals are in need. So do you want to talk a little bit about that?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I feel like most people are really surprised when they hear this for the first time, but our industry is leading for suicide, which is really sad. It's just something, you know, we and our colleagues have just been kind of juggling, I'd say what the last five to 10 years, it's been kind of brought to light. More and more, I guess, undergrads are being kind of swayed from going to veterinary school, just because there's so many factors that are playing a role, you know, high debt to income ratio, you know, client demands, specifically, that's one I can also attest to, it's just something that really disheartened you and kind of pulls you away from fulfilling your passion, which, you know, all of us are trying to work through to kind of get get by. So, and that's the thing with vet school, they don't teach you that, you know, they're teaching you the foundation, which is great. That's cool, that's amazing. They teach you the academics, they teach you how to be a veterinarian, but then there's the other aspect, you know, that's the whole mentality, like how do you talk to a client? How do you respond to a plan when they're angry, you know, how to respond to, you know, the life balance, quality of life for yourself, and you know, you as a priority as well, too, that's so important. So I think now some of the best schools are starting to do that and make that more of an awareness. But you know, in that trend the last few years, it's just been, that's why there's been such a high suicidal rate. So it's just so important to have that awareness and to really focus on self care, self love, and just the whole self awareness of that perspective. But you know, it's good. But although we're doing relief work right now, until our hospital is open, and just taking that time off for yourself. And it's really important for that. So

Brooke Smith
yeah, I can imagine because people get so emotional with their pets, but I can imagine when something isn't going right, and you're having to tell them, Listen, this isn't going well, or this, it's time that the reaction isn't always going to be the best. And I never really thought about the struggle of just been being the person that has to do that. And then like what the other side is, because I've been as a patient like, of my animal, being a patient, I've been on the other side of having to let go of a dog and an animal. And I would never freak out or blame a veterinarian, but you know, it's an very highly emotional time and to have, I'm sure, that be part of their regular daily career life for you guys. I can imagine that's really draining too

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Holbrook. You now that right there, the fact of you know, you're you know, we do unfortunately, you know, we euthanize pets, that's, that's so sad for us know, when that happens, especially when you have a relationship with them. And the other thing too, about clients that people don't realize is, you know, you might be seeing 30 minute appointments, 45 minute appointments, and one room we have happy parents, they just adopt a new puppy or new kitten, and they're so excited, you're happy and you just you're talking to them, and then literally the next time you have a euthanasia, or the next room you had Yeah, hi and lows; sick pets, things like that. So our emotions are up and down roller coaster constantly, and you have to compose yourself, but every appointment every room, as if it's your first appointment, you know, and having that, you know, keeping yourself composed, especially what you saw before, if it's not a happy new puppy, you know, so it's just that that can take a toll. And especially if you have maybe an angry client or you have happy clients, it just, that's the whole roller coaster that we go through that people don't realize, because when we're there our focus for the half an hour or however long we're that patient, it's our full attention is that that moment with that client family, just because everyone deserves an equal amount of times. Yeah, so that's where our job comes in. And no one really teaches you how to balance out those emotions throughout the day. So it's definitely been a learning curve. I I've been practicing now for seven years. So you know euthanasias don't get any easier specifically, but it's just something I guess you have to specifically look at as a gift in vet med suffering pet at least we do have the ability just to kind of add that and provide a happy, happy way to the Rainbow Bridge for those little babies. So

Brooke Smith
yeah, I know it's it can be so tough. And I think it's really important that since we're you know, we're talking about mental health because I don't think it's it's, it's something that people bring up a lot. And I know that even going through veterinarian school and just the whole process of everything is already stressful. And then I imagine once you get out and you're in you're in it it doesn't really stop you know once you start the The career choices kind of just like, Go Go, go. So what have you guys learned in the time that you've been practicing? Just how do you cope with the mental health aspect? Like do you have any, you know, suggestions or advice or anything for people who might be having some burnout issues?Or, you know, even if they're in vet veterinarian school now still, and they haven't, they're not at the same level that you guys are at? But do you have any advice for them?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Absolutely, I think I've, again, been practicing for seven years now. And I've jumped from job to job probably four times now. And my advice is, don't put up with a toxic work environment, don't stay at a place that isn't valuing your skill set and what you bring to the table, just because there will be a niche, there will be a family in vet med that will that will value that you can be a part of. So I did that with my first job. And even kind of my second one stayed somewhere too long, I was hoping it would get better, I hope the grass would be greener on the other side. But I guess that's kind of what also pushed me to open up my own clinic. And to do this my way, just because I've seen so many wrong ways of how to do this, I do want to just really, really change the future of that mad, especially that work life and quality of life balance. So I think you know, what we have in mind for our future clinic is really, really going to hopefully, just change the future generations moving forward. So to piggyback on that, that is why we have this pet clinic. Coming to you guys. It's really focusing on yourself first, like how are you going to take care of your pet if you can't take care of yourself, right? You need to be self aware self awareness to love and things like that. When I first started, it was like, go go go, you have to work every single weekend, you have to do all these hours. And this man, this man is just like, Okay, let's do it. We're like, bro, let's just do it. But, you know, in time passing for, I'll just say over 10 years might be a little plus or minus here or there. But you know, I've learned as time has gone by, you have to hit the pause button. Sometimes, you just have to take time to yourself, like I know it for me personally, every morning, I wake up, I do my yoga, I do my meditation, I pray, I work out, get everything ready. So I get myself mentally ready, physically ready, and then I'm ready to go and spiritually ready. And then I'm ready to go to work. Because we are here to serve your pets, we are here to serve you that is what we're called to do is serving others. But we have to make sure that we are mentally ready, spiritually ready and physically ready to be able to do that. So if you can do that for yourself first, then you're able to be able to serve everyone else. That is a point. And the purpose that we have with our clinic is being able to take care of yourself as a 360 things, you know, take care of yourself and take care of your pets. So that kind of brings that along with us. She's a little bit of that early bird. I've learned love to workout at night. But I can agree with that. I feel like just the mental and the physical stimulation with exercise really, really helps me out specifically I try to aim for try to aim for four to five times a week, I like to do hit training. So that's my way just to kind of stress from the day when it's my hour, I don't have to talk to anybody else. I don't have to think about anything else. Or just answered anybody else. So working out is great for me. I'm not so much into yoga, I'd love to get more so into it. But that and just kind of waking up my spiritual side as well. And therapy. It's something I'm looking into currently, I've dealt with a lot of loss recently. So I'm going to be looking at looking into that for myself just to be able to talk to somebody and just put those feelings on a table and get a game plan a strategic game plan for how I'm going to tackle all of that and move forward and reach a brighter horizon like that. So let's talk about it. Yeah, see that Hawk about it. People are so ashamed on these days, like, oh my gosh, I'm going through so with that. Lies a lot of guys lie. That's not good. You have to know this feeling. Yeah. And it's great. That's why we have such a great partnership because we do talk things out and there's something going on or like Hey, I know something's up. Are you okay? You know, hit the pause button on work business, like all that will come but talking to each other, making sure that we are okay, and everything's fine. And, you know, if it's not, hey, we're here to support one another, you know, and once you know, we are able to have that communication, democratic, you know, move forward.

Brooke Smith
So, yeah, it's great because you guys have each other which is so nice because you can both understand what you're going through in your career lives than also being friends. You can support each other, you know, through the other difficult things that happen that might not be completely linear with what your expectations are in life, but um I know that people don't talk a lot about mental health and I really have been trying to talk more about it on our podcast because there's been some sort of like stigma with it. But if you don't talk about it, then you can't make anything better. And I love the advice of taking time for yourself. Even if it can't be, you know, an hour if it can be 20 minutes where you can just go be alone, sit in your car, if you have to whatever it is just process what you're what you're feeling and take that time as a pause. Like what you said earlier, pause for a moment, like reset. I think exercise is a great way and having a support system, whether it's friends, family, coworkers, having people that you know, can understand you and talking through your feelings because especially in the last like two and a half years, it's already been difficult for a lot of people and then adding on top of that. Other things that happen that happen in life happening at the same time. It's just, it's extremely difficult and I'm so glad to hear that, you know, you guys have each other and can talk to each other and have that support system because it's so important. And with people like you guys who are in a field where you're giving so much of yourself of your time of your heart it's really important to find whatever that is to give back to yourself to fill yourself back up. Because otherwise you know, I was talking to a firefighter and they have a very high rate of suicide as well over there and and it's because they're kind of going through a little bit of what you're talking about where the highs and lows you know, one minute they're a cooking dinner you know and then Oh fighting a fire and then everything's calm again and then you know it's the up and down and that's kind of what you're talking about with every room is different and you have to constantly be changing you know your meter of like okay we're happy now Okay, now we're not like you know it's very stressful on the body too. Okay so I really want to talk about your clinic and okay for I want to know, how did this idea happen? Where are we in the process? I want to hear the name of it. When are we opening I want to hear all I just want to hear everything about it and what you guys are offering because I did see I did I did read up on it a bit. I was seeing. We were talking Botox we're talking about. Maybe some wine in there somewhere. I don't know. But I am dying to find out about this button and come back. I might have to move to Chicago.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Oh, we'll let you snowbird for the winters broke. But yes, you totally have to come all the tiime. Yes, we are super excited to chat about this Vetique Gold Coast is going to be our first location. We're hoping to franchise this out. But we are four weeks into construction right now. We are planning for opening this August 2022. I'm hoping we don't have too many hiccups along the way. But so far, so good. I mean, we were waiting two years for this. So yeah, it's been a long haul. So basically, to kind of give you a summary we are really trying to aim our focus at the One Health One Medicine concept. I offer more so traditional veterinary medicine. So general medicine and surgery, Dr. Trice also brings to the table some integrative medicine as well. So that's going to include acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, more holistic approaches, so we can encompass just a full circle here for all our pets because that's really where you see the most success. We do want to incorporate some human grade wellness services as well so that's going to include some Botox and some fillers, IV hydration, we are a client Yes, yeah, yes, we can attest to preventative care we're hoping to bring in some consultants to come administer these services on certain days of the month and just kind of see how our clients are going to receive that and where we can fit that in the picture but the whole idea is just was kind of mentioning earlier was look good feel good and same goes for your pet so one health one medicine.

Brooke Smith
so with this these services be happening simultaneously while your your pet is getting care then you're also getting care is that kind of what's going to be going on like if your dog has to have let's say dentistry done you know, that can take a while and instead of just leaving and getting called back five or six hours later like do something more fun. Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice Absolutely, that one complaint comes up in our field is wait time so we're trying to alleviate that a bit was offering some fun services and I guess wine bar included. But that's the thing. So you know you had a tricky job. Oh. But you know, that's the thing. So you know you have some of these Okay, cat owners, I can relate to you I have a cat myself. Okay, so sometimes these cats are scared it's usually Steve these carriers they run away or they're underneath the bed, they don't want to come out. So then the owners are 20 minutes late half an hour a day for their appointment or they have to reschedule because of cancer scare. So when they come in, the owners are frustrated, they get frustrated, you know, and then I was like so frazzled. So, come in, settle down, have some wine, relax, we want to be able to create an environment where it's very relaxing, we understand, you know, these things happen. So that's the whole point of all this just to kind of wind and relax. And, you know, have your pet seen as you're relaxing.

Brooke Smith
I love it. I love it so much. It sounds amazing. I want to hear a little bit more I have a few questions about it. So this is a thought and I don't know if you guys are doing this or not. But here in California a while ago, when my because my dog was getting older. Unfortunately, I had I lost her a few months ago. But yeah, she was 16. But she was she was the best. I was looking into before when she was starting to get like arthritis and stuff. I was looking into pet massage. So massage could be a thing for for animals. I know. You said you do acupuncture and you do chiropractic right. I was reading that a little bit. For for animals, and I had never heard of doing that for an animal before. So I would love to hear a little bit about the benefits of that. Is it similar to with with us with humans? And do you do? Do people do that often like acupuncture and chiropractic care for their pets?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah. And to your point, Brooke, not a lot of people know about especially the chiropractic because people are like they're so used to going to the human chiropractor. Like it's the same thing that eyebrows raised. Like why you can do that with my dog was with a cat, you know, how do you get them to stand still. But it's actually pretty amazing. It's the same concept. You know, I always say bones are stupid, they only do with your muscles and tennis tell you what to do. So what happens, you know, the bait, they subluxation the bones move around and basically of a chiropractic, it puts the body back into homeostasis, puts it back into normal back to balance. And sometimes if there's been some issues for a long time, you're going to have to continue, you know, every few weeks to get that mobility back or the homeostasis back so the body can remember, Oh, this is how you're supposed to move. Oh, I used to when I was a puppy or I used to do this mouse a year old and two years old when they're coming in at 1011 12 years old. Or if there's an acute injury, it's just kind of resetting that mind and making them remember what to do those adjustments to help them remember those things. That it's a whole body mind is not just cracking backs or anything like that. It's more of just like the whole homeostasis, putting your mind back into in a balanced form. So it works really great along with laser therapy, which we'll be doing an offering to, even after surgeries, if we have a dental extraction spays and neuters. I mean, there's been so many studies, how can be very beneficial post op surgeries with the scars or whether there is an acute injury, you know, doing laser therapy. So it's just having an overall picture. And we want to be able to offer with, you know, eastern and western medicine, all options to clients. Obviously at the end, the client can make the decision, but we wanted to be able to provide all options for them in one facility to be able for them to make those decisions and have that available for them. Holistic Medicine has totally, totally capturing the love of our generation. I feel like you're speaking as a millennial. So I feel like the less invasive, the better. So you know, again, just having that facility to offer everything that they could possibly need would be ideal. Why didn't those surgeries because that's another thing too, is holistic medicine. Some surgeries can be postponed or not even be done with less holistic medicine. So it just depends on what is going on. And that's where conversation and consultation comes into play.

Brooke Smith
I can tell you guys really care about the animals and what you do. And for me, it's so important because I've had really bad experiences in the past. Like even recently I have a rescue. And he I don't know how old he is because I've had him for like five or six years, but they couldn't tell because his teeth were so bad when he rescued him. They couldn't tell how old he was. And I recently wanted to get his teeth cleaned again because I tried to do it every year and had to go to a new veterinarian that I hadn't had before because of moving. And I had a consultation, they looked over his teeth are like oh, he's great. His teeth are great. You've been brushing him, it's wonderful. We'll do the teeth cleaning, we're not gonna have to extract anything. And I was like, Okay, great. So for my appointment, I dropped them off in the morning and I go pick them up when they call me and then I go to the desk to check out and I haven't seen my dog yet. And they say oh, here's this medication and I'm like, okay, and they start having another medication of like an antibiotic and a pain medication. And I was like, oh well Whoa, something happened. And they're like, oh, yeah, we took out 12 of his teeth. So they literally took out 12 of my dog's teeth without consulting me or telling me about it. And, yeah, but I'm sure there might have been a reason, but I still don't know, because his teeth were like, so white at the bottom. And I'm like, you know, people have to understand that you do have to sometimes extract dog's teeth, like, like you do humans, if if it's gone really bad, it can be really unhealthy and dangerous for them, and you're going to have to remove the teeth. But there also are ways, you know, to prevent that from happening, which it sounds like you guys are going to be offering other options as well. So maybe it won't get that bad. You know, maybe Hey, letting letting having that awareness too for the patients and saying, hey, you know, you should be cleaning your dog's teeth this way. And you know, this is how to do it. And are you guys going to be educating people? Are you going to have? Have you thought about food brands or anything like that, since you're taking like a holistic approach too?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, absolutely. I love what you bring up with dental health, because that is so huge for general practice, I had no idea I was going to be a full time dentist when I graduated. But it is huge. I had to kind of learn the ropes myself, because we really aren't taught a huge amount of it in med school, but I hated it. Day one hated it, because I wasn't proficient at it. But over time, really, really adopted those skills. And it's huge. So it's it's a cornerstone of that preventative medicine conversation, especially with new pet owners, because as you mentioned, preventative care is key so that we're not having to pull, you know, do full mouth extractions for some patients, which is sometimes necessary. But yeah, I mean, as far as adjuvant care that pet owners can do at home, whether that's daily brushing, offering dental chews, there are some prescription diets that are available as well. Hills TD. I'll throw that in there. But yeah, and we do recommend some diets that are alternatives for the clients that maybe don't want more commercial grams of food. So there's just food for dogs. I know both of us prefer dogs, would it be a nice, really fresh human grade food option for pets? So I think you hit it right there, too. It's about education. So having that consultation talking to us about it, you know, we'll lay out the best plan that we feel would be best for your pet. And then just kind of going from there. But yeah, like you said, I mean, ideally, you know, not everyone can brush your dog's teeth, let alone cast teeth. So you know, but that's where we come in. And you know, the dental choose the annual dental cleanings, people like what you actually clean my teeth or dog's teeth. Yeah, I can real dentist were that too. We had invested, we had a shirt that said, real doctors treat one of the one patient or one specialiity. Because we're dentists, you know, we're surgeons, we're internal medicine. I mean, there's we wear a lot of hats. But she's offering all those services for these pets here.

Brooke Smith
I want to hear how did you guys come up with this idea? I know that you were talking a little bit about how you were, you know, in work environments that weren't the greatest and it kind of inspired like, well, where would I want to work? Where would I want to be? What kind of clinic do I want to have for people to come in to to have this experience to help their animals? Is that I want to hear the story of how did this cup was it over pizza? Like I want to hear? How did this come to be?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
The first idea I had about it. I was the wine bar. I was like, I think I might have been out to dinner with my husband. Oh yes. We're Blue Agave getting margaritas and tacos that day. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, what if we can offer our clients if I opened up a clinic and there's a wine bar or something to kind of take off edge while you're there waiting? So Prosecco was my first go to and that's going to be the name of our little wine bar that's going to be located in the clinic. Where we'll have some Prosecco spritzers they'll be called during Yappy Hour happy hour it's five o'clock somewhere yes the line bar was kind of the first thing that we thought of Yeah, and I think to the other thing is you know, a lot of clients was the wait times that they we talked about that earlier was the complaint of wait time so what can we do to bridge that gap. Yeah, so when and then also to it's just you know, combining the integrative medicine because that's really taking off and just having people aware of that too. So you know, we have there's so many places you can go to but why not have it in one facility. So I think that's where that also concept came into play. Okay, so you guys found the spot you broke ground. Where are we at now with this to walk me through where we're at in this process? And I know you guys have your your opening Tober you said of 2022 August, August August Yes, August comes before October 1 sooner rather than later, August 2020. Doesn't get post October. But we'll see. It's a good as it is or ever happy. It's in the in that direction. So, yeah, we actually just visited the site earlier today, we have brains out for the laws, which was super exciting. Yeah, it's just really, really cool. Because we've been working with our designer, just kind of what layouts going to look like. We're choosing our color palettes. And just being able to walk in there today and actually see, the frame of our lobby is really cool. It's helping us kind of piece everything together. And we're, we're so excited. Excited to want to see your vision actually coming to life. Yeah, like just walking in there saying, you know, we looked at our building, we're like, really, college. This is really happening. Yeah. And just pretty soon here, we just got one of our banners, you're gonna put up and just seeing all the steel frames coming up? Wow. Yeah, this is really cool. So we're so excited. I will say the design aspect has been the most fun. Okay, I am secretly Joanna Gaines. Doing interior designs meant great, we're going for a lot of gold, black neutral, we're gonna have some chandeliers and they're really just want this to be a really chic, sophisticated feel. So very upscale. Yeah. And I will have to say, I could not have had the most perfect partner. She has been amazing. And, you know, you hear all these stories like, oh, you know, he's battling and arguing all this stuff. Nobody agreeing. And honestly, like it has been so I don't wanna say the word easy, but it's been very rewarding and just saw No, him before that. So it's been really, really great. And just, like, even our designer even complimented us saying, Wow, you guys work really well together. And just our decisions that we make it just, I think we're similar. Yeah, so that's great. So yeah,

Brooke Smith
yeah, you guys have a great balance going on. I love it, I think, just to be able to see it be finished. And the day you walk in, and in August of 2022, into that new space that you guys created, that was a vision and a dream that came from having a glass of wine or tacos and thought of this idea to see what you actually manifested and created is, is just mind blowing. And I am so happy and proud of you guys, for actually making it come true. And during a pandemic, when it was probably really hard to get things going.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yes, yes, it was frustrating for sure. It's been a process. We kind of went from building to building to building and eventually, which is funny, I feel like everyone always kind of says speed always plays a role. But this was the original building, we were interested in it full circled right back to us as if Hey, you know, this is meant to be so real quick story. So I was working at a hospital. And I was actually a medical director there. And all of a sudden, I had this envelope on top of my computer and I'm like, Oh, what's this? And I open it up? And it's like, Oh, do you want to own your own hospital? This own space? This is available? Right away. I called Jen. I'm like, hey, like, what do you think about this? And sure enough, that was the building since day one. And now we have it?

Brooke Smith
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Wow. That's an incredible Yeah, it is. It is meant to be I think it's Kismet. You know, when things are supposed to happen, they find a way to happen. It might be a little take a little longer sometimes than you expect it to life might take you around the block a few times. But eventually, it all happens the way it's supposed to. I'm a big believer in that. Are you guys going to be offering like memberships with this clinic? Or is it just gonna be? I guess I know, sometimes people have health insurance for their animals. Are you guys gonna be doing anything like that? In it kind of like membership service? Have you thought about it?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
So much like that. Wellness plans. We want to do that. Yeah, just kind of going back to a lot of the stressors that we deal with with our industry. It is the health insurance component, which you brought up. Health insurance isn't really something that's been very high on the radar for our industry over time, it's just kind of sneaking out of the closet. So more and more pet parents are getting out, which is great. definitely highly recommend it just because it's really sad when we aren't able to do our job because of financial restraints. So I think hoping to bridge that gap with offering wellness plans which would kind of break up those costs versus that one large upfront cost that can come along with a surgical procedure or you know, whatever the treatment plan has in store. I think that will help pet parents just to be able to provide higher quality medicine and care for their pet. That's a great idea. To offer some sort of like, you know, level system where it's like, okay, if you have a puppy, then this is kind of what you membership you would need. And if you have a senior dog, they might need more of this kind of care. It's hard when you have a client that comes in and says, I can't pay for it, it's too expensive, you know, and it's hard, because it's like, we want to be able to provide all services and do everything that we can for them. So, you know, with Dr. Ramsey's plan, you know, having the services and the wellness plan along with the insurances, you know, hopefully that will help bridge the gap and help you know, clients to be able to use the services and provide the best care for their pet.

Brooke Smith
Financial hardship, hardships, sometimes can prevent people from being able to do a lot of things for the animals. So I'm, I'm glad and happy to hear that you guys are trying to find a way to help that not happen as often. Because you know, sometimes then the animals don't get the care that they need.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
And that's another thing too, is working with organizations as well, too. So there's a lot of nonprofit organizations, a lot of you know, shelters and things like that, you know, you mentioned we'll dive into and help out and, you know, those pets that are not adopted, you know, we can help out with spays and neuters and things like that, too. So it's just it leaves a door open for opportunities for things like that, to be able to provide those services for those types.

Brooke Smith
Canyou tell everybody the name of the clinic again and where it's going to be located?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
But we'll say together Vetique Gold Coast Animal Hospital. Yes, it's in the heart of Chicago downtown Gold Coast.

Brooke Smith
Opening in August of 2020 to do actually do want to ask you guys about just be your personal to get to know you a little bit like more.Yeah, because we're you know, we're all full, full rounded people. We're more than just our jobs. So I would love to hear about I know that Jessica, you are your former fitness competitor. I would love to hear about that. And I would just love to hear a little bit about what you guys like to do for fun.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, so years back. Yeah, I again, I love fitness. So I used to do fitness competitions. So I was on that stage and had the hills the bikini yard and Paul was in I think Mr. Schwarzenegger by the feminine side she's still pretty ripped even to this day. And I think that's why Jen I get along so well cuz she's also very fit so well you you kind of made me jump on the bandwagon, which I appreciate. But yeah, I I like CrossFit. Sometimes our work schedules don't really allow for me to do classes consistently, but I do like hit training so Barry's shred for 15 Most of my types of joints. I've been really into peloton because obviously with the pandemic, we had to kind of learn to work out at home. So I've been doing a lot of their bike boot camps. Today. I love you. I did a workout with Lisa Zopa. And I think her last name is she's amazing. I follow her for past couple years actually wanted to do another fitness competition, and then the pandemic hit. So, you know, maybe in the future, that might be another one. So, but yeah, they're great. You know, it's just it keeps you back. You know, I'm not getting any younger, I realize now sometimes in the mornings, I wake up, I'm like, Oh, my hip is kind of saw here. What's going on? Give me the oil. Do some chiropractic on yourself. Actually shout out to Dr. Bryan Fuller, he is actually my human chiropractor. So that should go out to him. And he's been amazing. He's helped me put my body back into shape. And, you know, just you know, being on your supplements, you know, again, we're women as we get older, you know, just taking care of your bodies. Yeah. And I think that's again coming certainly back to our hospital. No, we are offering the IV supplements and fluids and treatments and things like that to just to kind of you know, help yourself because you know, we're not getting any younger and it's it's so important to stay healthy. And it's not about being fit and having that six pack or all that stuff. No, but it's eating healthy. You know? A lot of times it's all about what you feel your body what you put in your body you can work out seven days a week for an hour. I don't mean nothing if you're eating cheeseburgers and stuff like that is great. Don't get me wrong. I like my pizza. We like our gelato. I'm not gonna lie, chocolate, pistachio, all that stuff, but at the same time in moderation. Yeah,

Brooke Smith
Yeah, moderation is definitely the key there but you have to you have to enjoy life. You know, you have to you know, for me, I'm just like, I'm working out for my burrito. You know, I'm just like working out and I'm like, Yeah, my burrito. Oh my gosh. Have you guys seen the video there's this like, viral video that went out where this this woman on a treadmill and she's running and her friend is holding a fishing pole with a glass of like wine hanging from it?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
That will definitiely make me run faster. Leading up to the finish line. Yeah.

Brooke Smith
So what are your hours? Like? What are your hours like now? And then what are they going to be like when you guys open?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Hours are very flexible for us both right now we're both doing relief services, which basically means we're helping out various clinics that are understaffed. So we bounce around. I work at like three to four different clinics right now. And I think I'm about the same three clinics right now. Yeah, so scheduling. That's a whole nother topic. But relief, veterinary medicine is huge. Right now. I feel like more and more people are shying away from the actual associate contractoral position and, and doing relief services just because there's more flexibility and freedom for your special. But that's really helped us out especially during the construction process in the planning just so we can revisit a problem here, we have to jump over here and mind to it. So that's going to be life for the next few months while we're under construction. And then once we're up and running, we're hoping to have what Monday through Friday schedule with some Saturdays just because we know that that really does help out a lot of working clients schedules throughout the week. So we might have a day closed during the middle of the week, just depending on how quickly we get our clients and stuff like that how busy we get but as soon as that happens, I mean Yeah, we'll definitely open full throttle here. Yeah, and it's actually been a real blessing to with Jen and I are working as really that's because we've been so exposed to so many other doctors other opportunities other technicians and see how other hospitals are working and see what you know can look works for them and you know, the pros and cons and everything like that. So it's actually been pretty cool and just getting to know more the veterinary field across Chicagoland, which has been pretty, pretty cool, I have to say and develop our own way of operating and gonna suit us best and our cliients.

Brooke Smith
I noticed you're wearing our stethoscope over there. I do want to ask, what are your needs for a stethoscope? Like just in general? I feel like your your probably primarily seeing like dogs and cats and household animals. But do you sometimes see like really small animals where you would need like an infant attachment or even a pediatric attachment? ProCardiial Stethoscope. MDF Stethoscope. Are you primarily using like adult ProCardial Titanium Stethoscope.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, I say primarily dog and cat. I love the cardiology stethoscope, it's great. And it allows us just just to kind of advance skills in that department. But yeah, we both see the occasional pocket pet that comes through whether that's a rabbit or guinea pig reptiles I think you have a little bit more experience with but I'm becoming more welcoming to. I saw a tarantula last year. Yeah, I'm sorry. She will see the spiders. I will not sorry. Yeah, I reckon a phobic. I'm not afraid to admit that. But see Dr. Remnes is here for all the tarantulas.

Brooke Smith
She's just gonna all her clients are going to be spiders now.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I know. I agree just gonna get bombarded now. Funny.

Brooke Smith
I wonder how common that is in Chicago for people that own tarantulas and spiders.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I think it's more common than we all think.

Brooke Smith
Are you guys going to do a soft opening?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, probably use that time to kind of train staff.

Brooke Smith
Oh, that's a good question. So how much stuff are you going to have? How have you thought about that? Have you started hiring yet?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, we're actually just about to have that conversation just about potentials, we it's been such an advantage because both of us have worked with such a wide round of support staff over the past few years. So technicians they are literally the backbone of the entire industry. Amazing, they make the dream work team happen all of it. Keep us sane. probably going to start with four to five ideally, a couple per doctor two technician ratio to one doctor is ideal just for smooth efficiency who are looking for a practice manager which is going to be a huge role as well, because they're kind of overseeing operations low of the day. Just like the minus bookkeeper, we have up front desk manager receptionist. So yeah, those were in a great position because there's a lot of people that want to work for us, but at the same same time, it's kind of hard to because you have decisions to make because you know there's you know, we're gonna have to kind of break some hearts but just it's gonna be tough, you know, but we're in a good position but it's gonna be some tough decisions that we're gonna have to make and that's a good spot that we're in we do

Brooke Smith
Yeah, and you guys will have a lot of room to grow to so I'm sure you can always add on more people as you go. You know, you can always get bigger.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Yeah, hopefully franchise i a dream of mine is to bring this thing to Nashville when the because that's my dream town so we'll see three to five years. The goal and I'm always talked about Miami and some other places like California to people in Dallas

Brooke Smith
I mean we have we have animals doing like aqua fitness and stuff. So I think you know we a lot of people here were very dog friendly state so you know every people bring their dogs with them and their animal cats you see them in like strollers and stuff like instead of having their animals around. Yeah. Especially I feel like people just aren't having as many kids or they're not they're having it way later, right. So their animal their cat or their dog or whatever their animal is is kind of like their baby. I know my dogs my best friend.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
So what is your dog's name?

Brooke Smith
His name is Jake. I can show you a picture of him. Because he's, he's a screensaver on my phone.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I love human names for dogs. Oh my gosh, that is so cute.

Brooke Smith
I rescued him. I got like the cutest dog on the planet. I don't even know how that happened. It was through social media like just really random. Someone needed a foster for a dog that there was it was going to be euthanized. And it wasn't this dog and I was like all foster all foster and they said oh, we already found someone but actually have another dog. Can you take him? And I was like yeah, sure. So I did all the application to the whole thing. And then like four days later, they drop off this dog side and seeing like the cutest dog I've ever seen. I was like foster fail. Foster fail immediately fail. I would be a foster fail every single time. But my dog is crazy. So like he's he's got a lot of like suffering, anxiety and stuff. Like he eats through metal kennels. And he's, oh, that little guy. Yeah, he's like eight pounds, and he's destroyed every kennel every like, as long as he's with me, he's fine. Or he's with a human. It doesn't even have to be me any person. He's the sweetest. He'll just sleep. He's cool. He'll play with his ball. He's so great. But if the second he gets left alone, he's just like, he turns into a werewolf and he's just like, destroy everything.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I need to find mom

Brooke Smith
Or just a human to feed me I don't know. But he's a sweetheart so yeah, but that's the thing is to like animals come with their own personalities. You know, not every animal is the same and and I feel like Jake chose me because I'm very patient. And he can put me through all of it. And I still like you're so lucky to cute i love you man, conditional love that they have we need to learn more like that be more like our pets. Yeah, yeah, I always joke that I'm like, I'm not he's not my emotional support animal. I'm his emotional support animal. I'm like, I need to get a shirt that I'm like, I'm, I'm the ESA over here.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
I love it. I think one more thing we passed over, we're thinking about adding some grooming. Now, depending on how busy we get and stuff like that, that can be every day, you know, but that's going to be something we might throw in.

Brooke Smith
Could you guys have a social media for it yet? Are you going to create one and Instagram handle or anything?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
The process? Yeah, currently working on our logo, and then our website. So once that's all launched, we'll have the Instagram up and running and we'll get that tagged and lab to geotag and all of that. Well, we'll definitely right now. INDIVIDUAL you know their names and stuff like that. But yeah, we'll have our logo.

Brooke Smith
so you guys, shout out your Instagram handles any social media handles you have for people listening and watching who want to come follow your journey or have questions or just want to chat with you follow along?

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Absolutely. Again, I'm Dr. Jen Rembes and I'm at Jen, Rem DVM, je n r e m DVM. And I have again Dr. Jessica Trice and I'm under Jessica are actually just underscore trice. So yeah, fiillow us and I will give you some updates. Yeah, we're gonna be posting an update of our walkthrough today, which is showing our frames and just kind of where the construction processes today.

Brooke Smith
I'm so excited for you guys. I mean, you are really, it's just a testament to showing what a dream can do. And all the people and all the animals you're gonna help with this dream that you had, and now it's coming into fruition. It's just really awesome to watch and i'm so proud of both of you and so happy to have you on the podcast and thank you so much for joining our MDF Instruments Crafting Wellness podcast.

Dr. Remnes + Dr. Trice
Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.