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Private-practice veterinarians can no longer expect their patients to be only dogs or cats. These days, they can also expect to care for pet birds; “pocket pets” such as hamsters, guinea pigs and gerbils; and aquarium fish. Rural veterinarians with a mixed or livestock practice may encounter not only dogs, cats, horses, cows, hogs, sheep, and goats but also llamas, ostriches, and catfish. Approximately 75 percent of veterinarians find their niche in some area of private practice, with the majority of them primarily treating small animals.

While a vet tech provides distraction, veterinarian John W. O’Neil examines a puppy at the Milford Animal Hospital, a private practice in Milford, Connecticut.

The advantages of owning a private practice include the ability to determine the type of practice you want to have—for instance, only dogs or cats, exotic animals, or large animals—and to set your own working hours. On the downside, it’s expensive to set up or purchase a private practice because of the costs of equipment, office space, and staff salaries. Private-practice veterinarians must be involved with hiring employees, providing benefits, setting up retirement plans, and other management details. It also takes time and effort to build a steady clientele. For these reasons, owning a private practice calls for excellent business and communication skills.

Private practices also vary depending on location. Urban and suburban veterinarians usually practice in clinics or hospitals, although some may offer a house-call service. Rural veterinarians, especially those with large-animal practices, are more likely to spend time driving to their far-flung clients, working out of fully equipped trucks or vans. They may be called out to farms or ranches at all hours of the day or night, in all types of weather.

A Private Practice Veterinarian in Public Life

What Marty Becker loves about his job is that his days range from the miraculous to the mundane. “I love the sweet smell of puppy breath; I love a kinetic mass of kittens; I love the euphoria that comes from helping to extend an older pet’s life.”

When Becker isn’t treating pets at North Idaho Animal Hospital in Sandpoint, Idaho, or at Lakewood Animal Hospital in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he’s flying around the country to educate pet owners through TV, Web, and speaking engagements and conferences. He offers advice on ABC’s Good Morning America and the syndicated The Dr. Oz Show, on which he appears regularly, and on his podcast for ABC News Now, The Pet Doctor with Dr. Marty Becker. He also works on books and articles with writing partner Gina Spadafori and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and at the colleges of veterinary medicine at Colorado State University and the University of Missouri.

Nationally known veterinarian Marty Becker vaccinates a patient in his office in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Yet his first love remains the challenge of divining a pet’s problems through reading the animal’s behavior, vocalizations, and body language. “It’s incredibly rewarding to advocate for them, to crack the code of what’s wrong, and then to work to prevent unnecessary pain, prevent problems where possible, and initiate a prognosis and a treatment plan.”

Unlike medical doctors, who focus on a single species and sometimes on a single discipline, veterinarians must be knowledgeable about many different health problems in multiple species. Dr. Becker recently treated a 100-pound tortoise with stomatitis. “I hadn’t seen a tortoise in twenty years,” he says. “It’s just crazy the amount of knowledge you have to have.”

DEALING WITH LIFE AND DEATH

“Veterinary medicine is one of the few professions that I know of where you deal with life and death. You experience death a lot, and sometimes it’s at your own hands. Some people, that wears on them. The good thing is that you’re going to get a uniformly positive response when you introduce yourself as a veterinarian. You’re respected, trusted, admired in the community.”—Marty Becker, DVM

For private-practice veterinarians, a typical day might involve meeting with clients and examining animals; administering vaccinations to puppies; advising owners about nutrition, behavior, and breeding; diagnosing illnesses; treating wounds; performing surgery; reading lab results and reporting on them to owners; and euthanizing animals that are terminally ill or very old with poor quality of life. They must also read veterinary journals to keep up with the latest news in veterinary medicine and attend conferences to earn continuing-education credits. Some veterinarians present educational programs to local groups of pet owners, donate time to low-cost spay/neuter groups, or become politically involved in issues facing animal owners.