Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Lopez.
Hi Jose, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been in Veterinary Medicine since 1995; I started as a kennel assistant and have worked my way up to where I’m today. A licensed Veterinary Technician with 30 yrs of experience. My wife Erika Lopez is also a Licensed Veterinary Technician and has been in this field herself for over 20 years. We have seen veterinary medicine go from mom-and-pop small practices to the huge corporations that own many of the veterinary clinics in the country.
I’ve been in animal welfare since 2007 and love every minute of it. Helping people take care of their pets is my passion.
We have heard countless stories from pet parents who have said they cannot afford veterinary medicine due to the high cost that vets are now charging. A simple yearly exam on a healthy dog can cost owners upwards of $300. A routine cay spay can cost an owner close to a $1000. An emergency visit can cost thousands of dollars. Owners are faced with decisions that are very difficult – do I go into debt to take care of my pet or do I out them to sleep or get rid of them.
We want to be an option for pet owners, to provide our community with access to basic preventative veterinary care in the form of high-quality low cost spay/neuter, wellness exams (vaccines, checkup etc) and minor surgeries.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. General Practice Vets HATE low-cost community focused vet services! They fear we are taking away their clients. When in reality we aren’t, we want pet owners to continue to have a good relationship with their local veterinarians, they should only come to us for things they cannot afford at their regular vet.
An example is we do not treat chronic conditions. If a cat is diagnosed with diabetes by us; we then recommend the pet owner to continue care with a full-service veterinarian.
Lately it has gotten to the point where pet owners see us as their “regular vet” because they cannot afford their regular vet. That is just a result of how high the cost of vet care has gotten. Not because we have snatched clients away from regular vets.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Hearts for PAWS vet clinic?
We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing pet overpopulation and improving animal welfare by providing Community Veterinary Medicine in the form of low stress, affordable cost, high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter surgeries, wellness services and more.
Hearts for PAWS was founded by two Licensed Veterinary Technicians that work with experiences Veterinarians to provide a variety of services at an affordable cost.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ am not a risk taker but I did have to take a bit of risk a few years ago. I was working at a very large national non-profit animal welfare organization for 16 years, from 2007 to 2023. In early 2023 I started getting a feeling like I needed to start my life! But I was scared to lose my job security, my position as a leader for the organization, my benefits, my salary etc.
But I knew that it was time. Time to trust myself and take all of the knowledge I gathered in veterinary medicine and animal welfare and create something of my own.
I left the organization, started working at another non-profit organizationas the practice manager just to make sure I was doing the right decision. And after 2 years of working there I knew it was time to cut the cord. So my wife and I decided to open up our own non-profit vet clinic to help people take care of their pets.
Pricing:
- We offer affordable prices for our services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heartsforpaws.info
- Instagram: heartsforpaws714
- Facebook: heartsforpaws
