Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Dr Abby Main and nurse Rebecca Ah Him have taken mobile vetting to inner city Melbourne and uncovered a new and emerging market. By Jess Brown
Mobile veterinary practice has long been a traditional business model for vets, particularly in rural areas. However, with veterinary clinics establishing themselves in the suburbs, those living in CBDs struggle to get to a vet clinic regularly. Mobile veterinary providers like Dr Abby Main and nurse Rebecca Ah Him from Your Home Vet in Melbourne are finding a niche in providing a home-visit service that is well suited to the way a new generation of pet parents (and their pets) live now.
Far from the Grampians region of Victoria, where Dr Main grew up, city life was always calling. After completing her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences in Geelong, she headed to Sydney for her postgraduate studies in veterinary medicine. After four years as a practising vet, Dr Main began making plans for a business that would perfectly suit her skills and interests. Upon her return to Victoria, she met Rebecca (Bec) Ah Him, a stand-out veterinary nurse who shared her interest in mobile work, palliative management and delivering focused veterinary care to clients and their pets at home.
Ah Him’s golden retriever, Theo, became fearful of the vet clinic from an early age. Signs of fear-based aggression in response to any kind of treatment quickly ensued and Ah Him required a different approach to Theo’s veterinary care. She began practising home care for Theo and saw an instant benefit.
Dr Main and Ah Him have followed a similar trajectory in their professional lives. They had both been working in clinical practice before undertaking mobile veterinary work. After working for a mobile practice together, they decided it was time that they start their own venture and, in March this year, opened Your Home Vet.
With a complimentary work style, their kindred approach to both business and marketing has seen them create a modern and tailored model that suits them both perfectly. “We found happiness in mobile work because we could be present and provide client satisfaction that we felt was appreciated,” says Dr Main.
Our increasing understanding of canine and feline behaviour together with their associated clinical conditions and disorders continues to grow. Your Home Vet strives to add to this growing body of knowledge and provide continuing professional development as part of its business model.
Dr Abby Main, co-owner, Your Home Vet
The transition from employee to business owner may have looked seamless, however the two women spent months developing their business concept, researching markets and ensuring they brought their clients along with them on the journey, “Our business model is based on rewriting the client expectations, improving work-life balance and giving ourselves the time and respect to create a workspace that allows our mental wellbeing to thrive,” says Ah Him.
Setting goals was easy; Ah Him and Dr Main wanted to be present with clients and have ample time to focus on the care they were providing. “Working with patients at home yields rewarding outcomes,” says Ah Him. “We have rarely been unable to complete a blood draw; patients are so much more relaxed!”
Cat owners are more likely to experience taking their pets to a clinic stressful. In a traditional clinic setting, this has led to a notable increase in dogs being seen compared with their feline counterparts. Your Home Vet often attracts clients who find the traditional vet clinic stressful, allowing Dr Main and Ah Him to do what they do best; deliver low stress care with the time and skill that is required. “Apartment living, working from home and busy lifestyles have created a greater demand for home vet visits, due to the convenience,” says Dr Main. “Bringing stressed cats to a clinic is a very real challenge for many people… in Melbourne’s CBD, there aren’t any clinics that are accessible to people living in apartments without a car.”
Geriatric care and mobility cases, particularly in larger dogs, is a key area where Dr Main and Ah Him can assist pets and their owners. Dogs with anxiety make up a considerable proportion of their case load as well as elderly clients too. With their mobile diagnostic capabilities, they are able to easily assist local GPs and reduce stress all around.
The past decade has seen the veterinary landscape change dramatically. The shift in approach has been to acknowledge the psychosocial weight the industry places on its practitioners. “We believe the more focused approach is maintaining improved mental health and work-life balance for everybody,” says Dr Main. “We feel that over the past decade our industry demand has set expectations that compromises the mental health of male and female staff, and we’re trying to unwrite that. This includes more flexible work schedules and implementing good mental health practices.”
Our business model is based on rewriting the client expectations, improving work-life balance and giving ourselves the time and respect to create a workspace that allows our mental wellbeing to thrive.
Rebecca Ah Him, co-owner, Your Home Vet
Staggering mental health statistics in recent years have bolstered a profession-wide movement to improve the working lives of veterinary professionals. Many of these complex changes in how employees navigate the profession are culminating in exciting new ways to work in the industry. For Dr Main and Ah Him, a return to mobile care has uncovered a new and emerging market; gen Z.
With products and services now being so readily available, this generation has created a greater demand for in-home vet care too. “Clients are working from home and have more flexible work schedules…this reduces pressure on our scheduling.”
Dr Main and Ah Him schedule plenty of time to work at their own pace, particularly around euthanasia. “Debriefing and checking in with each other after difficult tasks is important to us,” says Dr Main.
“Our increasing understanding of canine and feline behaviour together with their associated clinical conditions and disorders continues to grow. Your Home Vet strives to add to this growing body of knowledge and provide continuing professional development as part of its business model.”
With stress and anxiety at an all-time high in humans and pets alike, the return of mobile vetting across inner city Melbourne presents a promising new horizon. With their approach to new markets, business and veterinary knowledge, Dr Main and Ah Him are carving a path through the industry, which will have exciting ripple effects.
