Dearest Clients of Whole Pet Veterinary Hospital Mountain Island,
2020 has been hard. Real hard. Some of you have been sick. Some saw friends and loved ones get sick and even die.
Many of us have been scared. Some of us are scared that we may get sick or worse yet pass a sickness onto someone we love. Some are scared their business might not make it or they might lose their job. Some lost their jobs and now worry they cannot pay their bills or find another job.
Many of us have been angry – angry with our leaders for not doing enough, restricting us too much, creating fear and isolation. Angry we have to change everything, give so much up, miss out on so much LIVING, SO MUCH OF LIFE.
We’re with you. 2020 has been rough. Like you, it’s been a stressful year for us. We managed our kids, our pets, and our work, sometimes all at the same time. We completely changed our model for caring for your pets. We learned how to take care of your pets from the parking lot. Our technicians clocked 10,000 EXTRA steps a day running your pets in and out of here. We broke into teams, isolated ourselves, moved to 7 days a week, then came back together again. We had to upgrade our phone system, our internet, and our software, all of which were costly in time and money.
Yes we struggled, and a few of you suffered the consequences of curbside medicine. But for the most part, we maintained our same client and more importantly patient care that we are known for. Some of you have been frustrated with us and we get it. It’s not easy to drop your pet off. We are one of the only veterinary hospitals in the area that does everything in the room with you normally. Now you can’t even come in the building! It’s rough, we know. Just remember, the reason we do everything we do here is to take the kindest and most compassionate care of your pets. And so with or without you, we are absolutely still committed to that. It’s who we are in our hearts.
We’d like to begrudgingly acknowledge that 2020 did bring us some good things – an appreciation for our jobs, our business, our ability to still work and provide service to you. It brought to us an expansion to Wilmington and the North Carolina beaches and a whole new crop of amazing animal caretakers. It brought us several new and really amazing staff here (like, 7!). Although you have not met them in person, we know you will agree they have been the highlight of 2020. Finally, we rebranded from The Veterinary Hospital of Mountain Island to Whole Pet Veterinary Hospital, because the truth is, we take care of many people outside of our community of Mountain Island. And to us, it’s about more than being holistic, it’s about treating the Whole Pet.
2020 has definitely been a year of tremendous change. It required patience, determination, and at times brought us to tears. In the end, we are still standing. We are proud to say that we have not yet brought any virus into our space and therefore have not passed anything on to anyone else. We kept our doors open every day and didn’t have to turn anyone away for care.
For sticking with us, supporting us, and hanging in there alongside of us, we want to say thank you. Thank you for understanding that we are doing the best we can as fast as we can. Thank you, THANK YOU, Thank YOU! You mean the world to us. We wish you peace and health in the New Year. May 2021 bring you prosperity and richness in your homes and relationships. We appreciate you!
Love,
Drs. Nicole Sheehan and Carrie Uehlein