Exploring Life & Business with Emily Chapel of Pure Animal Cardiology

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Chapel.

Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in a small town in Michigan. I spent a lot of my time on my grandparents’ farm, specifically with the barn cats, toads, and cows. I loved animals for as long as I can remember, and most of my childhood photos feature an animal.

I attended Michigan State University, and my undergraduate Bachelor’s degree was in Veterinary Technology. I was a licensed veterinary technician for Michigan State University’s teaching hospital for three years. I had a wonderful mentor there who pushed me to go to vet school there, so I did. I graduated at the top of my class from MSU in 2013.

I knew I wanted to specialize in cardiology pretty early on in vet school, so I completed an internship (2013–2014), Master’s Degree, and residency (2014–2017) at The Ohio State University. My then-boyfriend, now husband, and I needed to find a practice that would take both of us (my husband is a veterinary orthopedic surgeon), so we moved from Ohio to Culver City, CA.

My husband and I met during our time at MSU. We have two children, who are now 6 and 4 years old. We are what you might consider workaholics but we love the work we do. We definitely find time to spend as a family and enjoy traveling to visit family (mine, Michigan, his, Belgium).

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My whole life’s path is best described as organic. It wasn’t a straight path in life, but it was perfect for me. I’m fortunate, and I don’t take that for granted. I worked 2–3 jobs at a time to pay for school, I worked very long hours studying, and I spent essentially all of my 20s and early 30s training/in school, which isn’t particularly fun, but I loved every second.

I struggled with the idea of opening my own practice because I never aspired to be a businesswoman. But I got to a point where I knew I could provide a better service on my own than in the hospital where I was working. So, I made the jump, and I’m so happy I did.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
It was very important to us to work for an independent hospital. We weren’t interested in working for a large corporate entity, as our friends who did were unhappy and frustrated with the politics and policies. At the time, the practice we chose was independently owned; however, they sold it to a private equity-owned corporation a couple of years after we started. We noticed a gradual but significant decline in the hospital, care, priorities, and staff happiness. What really bothered me were the decisions that made the hospital more profitable but did not improve the client or patient experience in any way.

On a personal note, my mother is the hardest-working person I know. She has worked in hospitality businesses for as long as I can remember, specifically restaurants and banquet facilities. My first job was working for her at a banquet hall in my hometown. I would wash dishes, set tables, cook in the kitchen—anything needed. I learned very early on that customer satisfaction is directly linked to treating people with respect and kindness. My mother taught me to work hard and to go above and beyond expectations. Why not give 100% even though you only need to give 75%? Even though she never said that, that was her MO.

About five years into that, in my specialty of cardiology, I realized that the care the patient receives is directly related to the care I give the owners. By giving them time and clear explanations, allowing them to see what I am doing and why I am doing it, and ensuring the owners are able to care for their pet at home the way they need to, I can directly impact the patient’s care. By directly assisting them in ordering medication or calling pharmacies on their behalf for refills, I can help ensure the patient doesn’t run out of medication. By sending records to their primary vet and calling them to keep them in the loop, the owners and patients have continuity of care, even if I’m not available.

When I had children, something else clicked. This idea that pets are taken away from pet owners for testing is not based on anything useful. In cardiology, stress in the patient can lead to false readings, so it was important to me that I allow owners to be with their pets for the entire visit. That way, everyone feels more comfortable, owners can see exactly how I’m handling their pet and what is happening with their heart, and they can directly see the test results and why we’re doing what we’re doing.

When I opened Pure Animal Cardiology, that is exactly what I wanted to do: teach owners, care for pets, and assure that everyone is on the same page and knows how to give this specific animal the best possible quality of life for as long as we can.

I do some mobile work as well. I paired up with Maison Sure, a non-profit rescue organization. I travel to their preferred hospital, CARES Universal, once a month and do pro bono exams and echocardiograms for them. There is a photo of me examining a cat on a dark blue table and that is part of the non-profit work I do.

Through my work at Pure Animal, I am able to give back to my community in a more meaningful way than I ever could before. We make two large donations each year: one to the Culver City School District and another through a coat drive.

For the coat drive, we raise money and collect donated coats to send to Jackson County, Michigan, where I grew up. My sisters and I received hand-me-down coats every year growing up, so it is especially meaningful to me to be able to give that back to children in the community where I was raised. One of the photos shows me standing next to the boxes of coats that we shipped to Michigan. Another photo shows my practice manager, who is also my sister, handing the coats out to children. They made Pure Animal Cardiology a thank-you board, which was very special to us.

I also started the Pure Hearts Initiative, a nonprofit program through which we raise funds to help owners afford cardiac surgical procedures such as pacemaker implantation and PDA closure. At my clinic, we do not offer surgery; we provide cardiac diagnostics and medical management. We partner with other local hospitals that provide these surgical services so that we can help make these procedures financially accessible to families who otherwise may not be able to afford them.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I had a great childhood. I’d describe myself as a good kid and kind of shy but had plenty of friends. I spent practically all of my time outside playing or hanging out with my two sisters. I was a tomboy: riding bikes, climbing trees, making mud pies, doing target practice with a .22 rifle, and hanging out on the farm. I did well in elementary school but I was certainly not a straight A student. I played soccer for 11 years but never made the varsity team. I played the trumpet and learned German but never took it further than I was required. I liked everything just fine but was never passionate about anything in particular except animals.

Pricing:

• We’re very transparent about out prices – they are listed on our website
• I will say that our prices are lower than those of large hospitals and most mobile services

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pureanimalcardiology.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pureanimalcardiology/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pure-animal-cardiology-culver-city

Image Credits
Photographer: Emily Winnie @emilywinniephotography