We recently connected with Patrick Mahaney and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Patrick, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
Up to 2008 I had only worked on an in-facility basis at veterinary hospitals since graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. After I moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and completed my veterinary acupuncture certification I sought to implement my acupuncture and Chinese medicine training into a practice setting in West Hollywood where I was working full-time, but the hospital setting did not provide a calm environment to promote optimal treatment outcome.
I had an aha moment while driving my dog, Cardiff, around Los Angeles to dog parks and hiking trails. On such excursions I would see vehicles belonging to mobile veterinarians, pet groomers, and dog walkers. I realized I needed to start my own house called-based veterinary practice, as the home is generally a calmer and more-suitable place to perform acupuncture treatments on pets.
My boss at the veterinary hospital was a lawyer, so he helped with the incorporation documents and California Pet Acupuncture and Wellness (CPAW), Inc. was born.
While developing my practice and clientele, I also worked at Veterinary Cancer Group (Culver City), which gave me great insights as to the integrative approach to canine and feline cancer management. In 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic I took the risk of focusing 100% on my own practice and my services have evolved to the point that I am hired to be the concierge-style, house-call veterinarian for many prominent Los Angeles individuals and families.
My advice to veterinarians who are early in their careers is to work in a variety of veterinary practice styles, then focus on the aspects of veterinary medicine that most appeal to you and are sustainable for long term.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I specialize in providing a personal level of veterinary care in client’s homes and having multiple communication streams through which I frequently communicate with my clients. I feel what sets me apart from other veterinarians is my dedication to client and patient needs and willingness to help manage complex medical problems and other pet logistical needs (travel, in-home caretaking, household staff training, etc.) in the comfort of a client’s home.
Besides being holistically trained and having a Chinese-medicine background, I also have strong internal medicine skills stemming from over 24 years of clinical practice experience.
I also am readily able to arrange for my patients to be evaluated by area specialty (internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, surgery etc.) and emergency practices for veterinary care above what I’m able to offer in client’s homes. Whereas, it is often a longer and more-challenging process for clients to arrange for consultations with veterinary specialty and emergency veterinarians on their own volition.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have had to pivot multiple times in my personal and professional lives. The first pivot occurred back in 2000 when I was finishing my small animal internship at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington DC. My plan was to go onto a radiology residency, but I was not accepted at any of the university residency programs to which I applied. As a result, I needed to shift my plans and go into practice in the DC area.
My first post-internship job was with Banfield, The Pet Hospital, which was only for around one year as I realized that it was not the right practice style for me. I then found more enjoyment in working at Metropolitan Emergency Animal Hospital, an emergency only practice where the practice style was much more suitable to my interests, but the overnight and emergency hours were grueling on my psyche and sleep schedule.
At this time I was assessing if I wanted to go through the three-year residency process to become a board-certified veterinary radiologist and ultimately decided I would pursue a combination of general and emergency practice as I moved to Washington state in 2005 and then to Los Angeles in 2006.
Working in the realm of house call practice as the personal veterinarian to Los Angeles families as I’ve been doing since 2008 (initial part-time and now full-time) combines the aspects of different practice styles that best suits my current interests and permits me to sustain my career until my planned retirement in around ten years (as I approach my 60th year).
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Fortunately, I’ve developed a great clientele portfolio who refer me to their friends, family, and coworkers. Subsequently, when I take on a new client there’s an awareness of my dedication to patient care and willingness to help manage a variety of pet health and logistical issues. Heightened client awareness of my services and discretion tends to lead to me being welcome into a variety of homes where I get a front-row seat into the inner sanctum of prominent peoples’ lives and their relationships with their pets.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.patrickmahaney.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrickmahaney/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatrickMahaneyVeterinarian/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt7-bJrUoHEK2wBvVKVNsIw?app=desktop
Image Credits
For photos of me with black/white dog, with fawn French Bulldog, and with multiple dogs photo credit Nikki Star All other photos are mine