We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Carla Rodrigues. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr Carla below.

Dr. Rodrigues , appreciate you joining us today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

If you were to ask me what defines my career as successful or fulfilling, my answer is the amount of heartwarming stories that have stemmed from my services. Absolutely, the clinical outcome and recovery of my patients are also a very important aspect of what I do. But it is not always common to be able to have clinical success plus a transformation in patients plus a special bond with clients. These are not just fulfilling, they are privileges.

It is difficult to pinpoint just one story, as all my days consist of these stories. Paralyzed pets walk again, senior pets gain back their quality of life, painful pets become pain free, amputees are able to live a full life, pets with deformed limbs find freedom…. these all add up to one thing: a much stronger human animal bond between the pets and their pet parent. This is the ultimate goal of any pet relationship and of any practicing veterinarian..

Dr. Rodrigues, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Every day I have the privilege of working with disabled pets. Pets who can barely walk into my clinic, that, mostly, are able to run out with treatment! These patients teach me so much. They live in the moment, they don’t focus on the fact that they’re paralyzed, or they have a deformed limb, or missing a limb, or that they have very advanced arthritis. They trust in their pet parents to provide them what they need, and their pet parents trust in me to make that possible. My patients are inspiring and I can’t think of a bigger motivator to do what I do, every single day. I don’t just share my knowledge and expertise with these families, I share a lot of hugs, a lot of tears, a lot of emotion, and a lot of grief.

I still remember the day it hit me like a lightning bolt – you need to open your own practice. Once this thought made its way into my conscious mind, there was no turning back. The question then was well, how am I going to do this? I was flooded with ideas for the practice, business plans, location, investment, demographics, general practice, or specialty?! Interesting part is I already knew the answers to these questions, it was just a matter of digging them out of my “ I’m not sure I can do this” mentality into my “ I know I can absolutely do this” mentality. The one key lesson I have learned in my life , amongst others, is to trust the process. Faith over fear. The more I love the interest to come, the more I trust of the process.

I knew I wanted to open an alternative integrative practice, offering veterinary rehabilitation, Acupuncture, and chiropractic-these are my passion there are not many in my area, never mind how effective they are healing, patients! I am also currently completing a course to be credentialed as a palliative care and end-of-life practitioner so I can better serve my geriatric population of patience when we approach end of life. I decided to peruse the Internet for commercial space that I could possibly lease, see what the options would be and cost.

I remember very clearly when I found the historic house in San Marco Jacksonville, Florida, that I knew would be the perfect environment in space. I converted this house into a veterinary clinic, and this is where I started my healing journey. Once I realize this, the rest is history. All that mattered after that was that everything will work out and what I needed would come. And boy did it! Because I believed, one thing led to another, and I was supplied with what I needed to be able to start my practice. I opened my practice in September 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. Three years later, I cannot imagine my life if I had not chosen to take that leap of faith to start what is now Pawsitive Healing.

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

This is a fairly simple question to answer. Practice great quality of medicine, treat my patients as if my own, consistent honesty with the clients when presenting recommendations, expectations and prognosis. The most important one to me is to stay genuine and always prioritize the wellness of that patient.

These are all the ingredients to the recipe of success. Clientele want to know that they can connect with their veterinarian and can place their trust in us. Everything else comes naturally. Once the client finds a veterinarian they bond with and fully trust, word of mouth is the best marketing strategy for any business.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Absolutely. I don’t think I would change a thing. Despite the challenges and rigorous process of veterinary school, coming into practice, attaining additional certifications, when we are given a gift and a calling in life, it is our duty to follow that path.

With each year of practice, I gained more experience, not just in practicing medicine, but also in managing a team, building a department from the ground up, the business foundation of veterinary medicine, and regional directorship.

When I was ready to open up my own practice, my specialty niche was a no-brainer. I have developed and refined my art of managing these cases even more in the last three years. I bring in very challenging cases and always look forward to taking the journey with the new patient. I just cannot imagine myself doing anything else.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pawsitivehealingvet.com
• Instagram: Pawsitive_healing_vet
• Facebook: Facebook.com/pawsitivehealingvet