After joining Chuckanut Valley Veterinary Clinic in 1991, I, along with my amazing partners Greg Ingman and Jake Searle, focused on creating a family environment that provided great medicine. Every decision was made with the question “is it best for the pet?”. By leading with medicine, our financial success was amazing.

It was also critical that we had a family culture, which we worked tirelessly to create. This culture led to long-term retention of our doctors and staff. Retention of clients depends on staff consistency. Chuckanut had the most amazing team, as well as clients. The consistent double-digit revenue growth over two decades happened because of our great people and our focus on always providing the best medicine.

With the success of Chuckanut (leading the industry in % diagnostics, ATC, and client compliance) in a rural part of Washington state, I was presented with many great opportunities to teach veterinarians throughout the world (North America, Europe, Asia, Australia). The focus of my presentations has been how to use the “wow factor” of customer experience to enable hospitals to practice best medicine and drive financial success.

Cara is a dream come true for me. I have been searching for an opportunity to build a company that represents what I have learned through my Chuckanut journey. I love this profession; it is the greatest career in the world, but I worry about the future. Consolidation often damages the family culture that made a hospital successful. Job satisfaction is dropping and suicide rates are climbing. Cara will address these issues with its family approach.