We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Steffen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I love senior pets. I just love their gentle wholesome souls. So I spend a lot of time discussing how to care for them and what extra things we can do to keep them comfortable. I feel like western Medicine reaches a plateau when it comes to pain control in senior pets. We can only do so much for pain control and sometimes we cannot prescribe meds due to other organ changes in the pet. I stumbled upon acupuncture as an additional modality to help with arthritis and pain in senior pets and decided to take a risk. I quit my full time job and spent a large sum of money and time to go to a class 8 hours away once a month and study 5 days a week after my toddler was in bed.
I started studying acupuncture and realized it can be used for a lot of other problems that we do not have answers for in western medicine – cognitive decline, hearing loss, anxiety, hind end weakness, organ failure like kidney disease and really any problem pets have.
Once I was licensed, I noticed many owners were more receptive to care if it was done in the comfort of their home or in a manner that was as positive and fear-free as possible. I also noticed pets responded better to this approach. This is where my in home acupuncture service stemmed from. I believe it is unique and allows for me to truly help pets in the best way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a licensed veterinarian who has been practicing typical western medicine for 8 years. I took classes for veterinary acupuncture two years ago and began transitioning into an integrative approach to medicine and treatment for pets.
I think that my company offers a unique approach to clients and patients who want a more integrative/alternative approach to their pets care, especially in their senior years. I love that my work is done in the home and I am able to offer a fear-free approach. My favorite part of Mobile Veterinary Acupuncture is showing up to a house full of excitement to see me – the pets are excited that I am there with lots of love, attention, treats and they know that my treatments make them feel better. And the owners are excited because they know their pets are improving with my treatments.
My company is named Floyds Tale after my heart dog. He is the reason I fell in love with senior pets. Watching him age and then go through cognitive decline and a brain tumor was heartbreaking. He was the kindest soul and truly taught me how to be a better person. I named my company after him because I want clients to know that I will treat each and every patient as if they were Floyd, I want clients and pets to have the longest life with the best quality of life possible.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Word of mouth and effectiveness of my treatments. Honestly I am a huge advocate for actions speaking louder than words. My business has grown organically because one client who has seen results tells their neighbors and so on.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I was working as a veterinarian for a clinic in 2021 after I had my daughter. I was still working weekends at a local ER as a vet to make ends meet financially and hardly ever saw my daughter. I knew that at that time I was choosing my career over my daughter and I didn’t want that to be my story.
So I decided to pivot and pursue relief veterinary medicine so I could make my own schedule and spend more time at home. This also allowed me time to pursue acupuncture classes which I knew would lead to more autonomy in my schedule and time with my family. I am so glad I made this choice.

In 2023, I made 2.5x as much as I did in 2021 and had 10 more WEEKS of vacation time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.floydsTale.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senior_pet_vet/

Image Credits

Allison Darling Photography