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Veterinary innovation, startups, and the future of pet health — Dr. Natalie Marks joins Vet Life Reimagined live at AVMA Podcast Day, July 12 in Anaheim. Here's your preview before we take the stage.

Dr. Natalie Marks has spent over twenty years building one of the most diverse careers in veterinary medicine — associate veterinarian, medical director, co-owner of the largest small animal practice in Chicago, mentor, entrepreneur, and angel investor. Today, she serves as CEO of VANE, the Veterinary Angel Network of Entrepreneurs, connecting veterinary professionals with the startups and innovation shaping the profession's future.

Resources

• Video episode on YouTube
• Free Podcast club episode guide on Substack
• Veterinary Angel Network for Entrepreneurs (VANE)
• AVMA Convention in Anaheim - Inaugural Podcast Day

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
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- Find out how to become a partner! 

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A career in veterinary medicine has challenges. But there are skills for thriving.

Andi Davison, BA, BS, LVT, CAPP, APPC is a licensed veterinary technician, and she knows the highs and the hard days of this profession from the inside out. And when burnout hit harder than she expected, she didn't just find a way to care again — she found a way to help the entire profession do the same.

Today, Andi works as a positive change agent with Flourish Veterinary Consulting, bringing the science of positive psychology into veterinary practices and helping teams and individuals discover that thriving isn't just possible — it's something we can actively build toward.

In this episode, we cover: 

→ What positive psychology actually looks like in vet med 

→ Two simple tools every veterinary professional can use starting today 

→ How to move from surviving to genuinely thriving in this career 

→ Why the profession we love is worth fighting for — and how to fight for it

If you've ever wondered whether it's possible to love veterinary medicine and feel good doing it at the same time — this episode is for you.

 Resources:
 📬 Podcast club guide + key takeaways
🔗 Connect with Andi Davison & Flourish Veterinary Consulting
📹 Video episode on YouTube

🎙️ Vet Life Reimagined is hosted by Dr. Megan Sprinkle.

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

The journey of Dr. Mark de Wolde shows what a veterinary career can look like when you take a risk and let go of the branch. 

Dr. Mark is a distinguished veterinarian in Canada with over three decades of experience. He built five veterinary practices from scratch — then sold them all in 2020. Since then, he has built multiple veterinary companies spanning veterinary practice, financial advising, AI, and practice innovation. In this episode, he shares hard-won wisdom about what the profession does well, what it gets wrong, and where it's headed.

In this episode, we cover: 

• Why veterinarians consistently underestimate their own value — and what that costs them 
• "Contrast is the mother of clarity" — how to make better career decisions 
• What AI and technology mean for the future of veterinary medicine 
• Why veterinarians need to be at the table shaping the profession — not waiting to see what happens 
• What it really means to let go of the branch

Whether you're just starting out, building something, or wondering what comes next — this conversation will change how you think about what's possible.

🎙️ Vet Life Reimagined is hosted by Dr. Megan Sprinkle. 

Resources

• Video episode on YouTube.
• Substack with the podcast episode guide
• Mark's article on Praxis
• NxVET
• My VET Group

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

What does veterinary life really look like beyond the clinic walls? In this episode of Vet Life Reimagined, host Megan Sprinkle talks with Patti Eddington, a journalist and longtime spouse of a veterinarian.

Patti shares the humor, heart, and real-life chaos of being married to a vet, along with stories from her book, Don’t Look in the Freezer. This conversation highlights the human side of veterinary medicine and the families who help make this career possible.

If you work in veterinary medicine or love someone who does, this episode is for you.
 
Resources:

• Purchase Patti’s book: Don’t Look in the Freezer
•  Purchase Patti’s book: The Girl with Three Birthdays 
•  Learn more about She Writes Press
•  Video edition on YouTube
•  Sprinkle of Wisdom Substack for the episode’s Podcast Club Guide 

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

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Nobody teaches you how to have this conversation in veterinary school. 

Dr. Christina Guttuso has spent 23 years doing exclusively in-home euthanasia — showing up for families in their hardest moments, in their homes across Arizona. After over two decades of experience and a recent survey of over 300 pet owners about their end-of-life experiences, what she found is reshaping how veterinary professionals will think about one of the most common and most misunderstood moments in veterinary practice.

This conversation is about someone whose veterinary career is centered on pet euthanasia. But it's really about what it means to be human in a profession that trains us to stay clinical.

In This Episode

• What pet owners are really asking when they say "but he's still eating"
• Why there's a significant gap between what veterinarians communicate and what grieving clients actually hear
• The ethics of allowing animals to suffer because of human emotion
• How to hold space for a grieving family without needing to fix anything
• What any veterinarian — in any setting — can do to show up better in end-of-life conversations
• How Dr. Guttuso's survey findings are shaping a forthcoming AVMA presentation

Take Dr. Guttuso's Survey

Dr. Guttuso is actively collecting perspectives from veterinary professionals to support her research. If you work in veterinary medicine, your voice matters. Link below.

📋 Survey link for veterinary professionals.
📋 Survey link for pet families

Connect & Resources 

• Check out the video of the episode on YouTube
• Podcast Companion Substack with Podcast Club Guide

Keywords

pet euthanasia, end-of-life veterinary care, veterinary communication, compassionate care, in-home euthanasia, veterinary education, grief support, client communication, veterinary medicine podcast, Vet Life Reimagined, AVMA Convention, pet loss, veterinary wellness, compassion fatigue

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

What if the future of veterinary medicine looked less like putting out fires — and more like helping pets thrive before they ever get sick?

Dr. Lily Chen is an integrative veterinarian in California who has built a practice around exactly that. After years in high-pressure emergency and general practice, a patient named Lucy changed everything — sending Lily deep into acupuncture, herbal medicine, and microbiome science, and toward a root-cause approach to healing that has transformed her practice and her patients' lives.

In this episode we cover: 

·      How one patient sent Lily from conventional medicine into integrative care 

·      Microbiome Therapy and Dr. Lily’s pet fecal microbiome transplant technique

·      How to talk to clients in a way that builds trust 

·      How Lily built a career she is genuinely excited about — and what that can look like for you

Whether you're curious about integrative medicine, looking for a different way to practice, or simply wondering if veterinary medicine can feel better than it does right now, this episode is for you.

Resources:

🎙️ Video episode on YouTube

📬 Podcast club guide + key takeaways: Sprinkle of Wisdom Substack  

🔗 Connect with Dr. Lily Chen

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

Longevity medicine is one of the fastest-growing conversations in veterinary medicine — and it's moving beyond research labs and drug development into general practice. But what does it actually look like for the pets in your waiting room today?

Dr. Kevin Toman is a companion animal veterinarian with 40+ years of experience and eight practices built from the ground up. Now through his telehealth consulting practice, he's helping pet owners across the country build long-term longevity plans for their senior pets — and he believes this may be the biggest opportunity in veterinary medicine for the next decade.

In this episode, we cover: 

• What longevity science looks like in general practice right now
• The Dog Aging Project, Loyal, and what's coming next for prescription longevity drugs 
• How integrative medicine fits into a senior pet longevity plan
• Kevin's vision for a dedicated senior pet longevity clinic
• Why independent practice ownership still matters — and what he'd do differently

Resources:
🎙️ Vet Life Reimagined is hosted by Dr. Megan Sprinkle. 

📬 Podcast club guide + key takeaways: Sprinkle of Wisdom Substack 

📹 Video episode on YouTube

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Kevin Toman and his work: Website

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

What does it look like to evolve your veterinary career with purpose and creativity? Dr. Teresa Woolard joins Vet Life Reimagined to share her journey from general practice to creating a marketing business to writing books to optimizing AI for veterinary practices to helping others find fulfilling paths.

In this episode, we explore:

• The turning point that made Teresa rethink her career in clinical medicine
• How she uses AI tools to enhance, not replace, human care and veterinary communication
• What it really means to find a values-aligned role in vet med today

🎧 Whether you’re just starting out or reimagining your next chapter, this conversation is filled with insight and encouragement.

Resources:

• Podcast Episode Guide
• Episode on YouTube video
• Teresa's book: Dig, Leap, Play
• AI for Vet Clinics - Clinic Amplifer website
• Dr. Teresa's App called the "Veterinary Growth Audit" created to help clinics discern where some of revenue leaks may lie
• More about Teresa and her work

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner! 

Send us Fan Mail

Podcast guest, Dr. Jon Geller, graduated from Colorado State's College of Veterinary Medicine at age 44. From a mobile mixed animal practice to Jon building and leading emergency hospitals, to a non-profit founder. An inspiring keynote talk about doing all things in love, soon followed by an encounter with a homeless man and his pit bull, led Jon to change his path again.

Jon founded The Street Dog Coalition, providing free veterinary care to pets of people experiencing homelessness. It led him to earn his Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota. It took him to the Ukraine border, two weeks after the war broke out, where he set up a veterinary tent for refugees crossing with their pets. And it has turned him into one of the most compelling advocates for access to care and the human-animal bond in our profession today.

Jon describes his career as moving from one end of the leash to the other — from treating animals to understanding the humans on the other side of that bond, and what it means when that bond is all someone has left.  We also discuss bold ideas for systemic change and why it is never too late to start something that matters.

Guest: Jon Geller, DVM, (CSU '95), ABVP Diplomate emeritus, MPH (UMN '24), Distinguished Fellow, National Academies of Practice, Adjunct Faculty, Colorado School of Public Health

Resources

• Video version on YouTube
• Podcast Episode Guide
• Street Dog Coalition website
• Worldwide Vets website
• HABRI policies

Support the show

More Vet Life Reimagined? 💡 Find us on YouTube and check out our website.
Connect with Dr. Megan Sprinkle on LinkedIn

Looking to start a podcast?
Use Buzzsprout as your hosting platform, like I do! Use this link to get a $20 credit.
And use Descript as your recording platform, editing tool, AI resources, and more. Use my referral link for a discount. 

Make sure you are following the podcast to catch each weekly episode. Here are ways to support the podcast:
- Give it a 5-star rating & review
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share the episode
- Nominate a guest
- Find out how to become a partner!