PROFITABLE PRACTICEVETERINARY EDITION WINTER 2013

A HELPFUL RESOURCE FOR YOU AND YOUR PRACTICE

PUBLICATION MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT #41073506

On Safari In South Africa

Real Estate Investment

Advice

Maximizing Practice

Sale Price

What’s Next? Retirement

Thoughts

AND MUCH MORE!

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1 | EDITOR’S PAGE Service Dogs, On Safari, Content Notes And More JAMES RUDDY

3 | BANKING

Getting Maximum Value When It’s Time To Sell Your Practice JOHN CLIFFORD

5 | REAL ESTATE

To Buy Or Not To Buy: That Is The Question TODD C. SLATER

7 | BOOK REVIEW

Zoobiquity -What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human BY BARBARA NATTERSON-HOROWITZ AND

KATHRYN BOWERS REVIEWED BY KAREN HENDERSON

9 | FEATURE INTERVIEW

On Safari In South Africa INTERVIEW WITH SANDY EVANS

AND REBECCA MACDONALD

12 | BOOK REVIEW

Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift Of An Ordinary Cat BY DAVID DOSA M.D.

REVIEWED BY KAREN HENDERSON

15 | FEATURE INTERVIEW

Interview With Dr. Vivian Jamieson EDITOR

17 | SHORT STORY

Biscuit’s Lesson DR. VIVIAN JAMIESON

19 | PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

The Other Side Of Transition – What Next? JACKIE RUDBERG

21 | AUTHOR PROFILE/INTERVIEW

Todd C. Slater INTERVIEW WITH EDITOR

23 | FEATURE INTERVIEW

Feature Interview With Andrea S. Coombs, D.V.M., O.V.C. 1978 INTERVIEW WITH EDITOR

25 | SUBSCRIPTION

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James Ruddy EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Karen Henderson MANAGING ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Natalia Decius PROJECT MANAGER FULLCONTACTMARKETING.CA

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EDITOR’S PAGE

by James Ruddy

Service Dogs, On Safari, Content Notes And MoreWe at Profitable Practice are fascinated by the four-legged wonders that used to be called ‘seeing eye dogs’. Today they are referred to as ‘dog guides’ or ‘service dogs’ because they are used in so many other ways to assist people. We will fur-ther research the history and benefit of service dogs but in the meantime Karen Henderson, our Managing Associate Editor, has learned the following:

• There are five dog-training centres across Canada. In Canada, all prov-inces have adopted specific statutes to service dogs users the right of access. In most provinces, the statutes spe-cifically state that no special condi-tions, terms, or fees can be imposed on a service dog user because of the presence of a service dog.

• Contrary to popular belief, service dog are not trained by the CNIB (formerly known as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind). Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that for many years, CNIB tried to discourage clients from applying to guide dog train-ing centres. Now, however, they have realized that service dogs are here to stay, and they allow their orientation and mobility instructors to prepare people for their month at the training centre, and to assist in dealing with problems that might arise during the course of the relationship between service dog and handler.

• The most common breeds used in assisting the visually impaired are Golden Retrievers, Labrador Re-trievers, and German Shepherd Dogs. Their intelligence, size and tempera-ment make them ideal dogs.

• It costs $25,000 to train a service dog; this fee includes the client’s transpor-tation costs so they can participate in the final part of training, which lasts one to four weeks. The client, who gets the dog at no cost, learns to work with the animal as its allegiance passes from trainer to new master.

• It takes approximately four to six months to train a service dog. Approximately 68 per cent of foster puppies graduate as a service dog. Dogs are disqualified based on temperament or health. Once disqualified, puppies are placed with suitable families.

He Is Your Dog

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.

You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”

~ Author Unknown

…

Safari oriented vacations are becoming a regular choice of many travellers today. Profitable Practice interviewed Sandy Evans and Rebecca MacDonald who recently went to South Africa for a safari experience. Their interview can be found on pages 9 and 10. Rebecca related the following vignette of one event that occurred while in South Africa.

On day three we witnessed a large female hippo sitting out of the water (on a dried out river path) around 10 a.m. Our guide seemed surprised by this and told us that hippos sleep on land at night, but by early morning are almost always back in the water. We watched this animal for a while, noting

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that her breathing seemed laboured. Later in the day, we re-turned to the same spot to find the hippo still out of water not having moved. Our guide and tracker spoke of how bizarre this was and believed the hippo to be very sick. A young girl (maybe 8 years old) asked our guide whether they would have a veterinarian come examine the sick animal.

This struck me as interesting as it is our natural inclination to want to help animals and treat them with medicine given by trained professionals. The guide told the girl that they do not interfere with sick animals, as they allow them to live their natural course. He spoke of how hard it is to watch animals that they know are sick, but of the importance of humans not interfering with the animals as much as possible.

…

There are two feature interviews with prominent vet-erinarians who tell their story and who give back to the communities they serve. Dr. Vivian Jamieson gives an insight into the world of an animal ophthalmologist. Dr. Jamieson is also a writer and provides us with a short story entitled Biscuit’s Lesson. Dr. Andrea Coombs works as a veterinary surgeon at the Toronto Humane Society and has much to say about pet care and over-population. Dr. Coombs provides an example of the fact that a Profitable Practice does not require an impres-sive financial bottom line.

As usual our expert writers provide a number of inter-

esting and informative articles. Todd C. Slater assesses the relative merits of three forms of real estate invest-ment and is the subject of an author interview/profile. Jackie Rudberg enlightens readers of life after practice and what has to be considered to get there. John Clif-ford of Royal Bank of Canada outlines and explains a succession plan for veterinarians. See his six point plan. Karen Henderson reviews two fascinating books. Zoobiquity deals with what animals can teach us about human behaviour. Making Rounds with Oscar reveals the gift of an amazing cat that was able to predict the im-minent demise of elderly or very ill patients in a nurs-ing centre. Once again we acknowledge the creative work of Natalia Decius and her team at FCM in making our magazine better. A reminder that the OVMA conference will be held Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2014 in Toronto and that Jon J. Walton will be present to answer any questions you may have about our magazine and ROI Corporation.

Things to remember Readers are reminded that for subscriber information and a chance to win the book Profitable Practice, please go to the inside back cover of this magazine. As always we welcome your comments and suggestions for the magazine; if you would like to write for the magazine and have a story to tell that would interest our veteri-narian professional reading audience, please contact: editor@profitablepracticemagazine.com.

James Ruddy James Ruddy is the Editor of Profitable Practice Magazine and can be reached at editor@profitablepracticemagazine.com

Eventually, the time will come to step away from the business you’ve built. A banking professional with years of experience advising veterinarians, shares his tips for making your exit a smooth, predictable and profitable one.Your veterinary practice isn’t just your job. It’s so much more. Sure, it’s a source of income. But it’s also a source of pride. It’s what you’re think-ing about when you’re lining up your putt on the ninth hole. It’s on your mind when you’re drifting off to sleep at night. Apart from your family, your practice is the reason you get up in the morning.

Your practice is part of your very identity. And, as difficult as it can be to imagine, the day will come when it’s time for you to move on.

“A smooth business succession doesn’t happen by itself. It takes planning-it takes time and there are many moving parts that need to be consid-ered,” says Marianne Dilello, Senior Account

Manager, Health Care Professionals, RBC Royal Bank. “When the time comes to exit your prac-tice, there’s a long list of potential roadblocks and pitfalls along the way that can add significant time and expense to the process.”

So… how smooth will your business succession be? Will you receive maximum value for every-thing you’ve built? What will your life look like once you exit the business? And how will you ensure the proceeds from your sale are working hard for you and your family once the transaction is complete?

According to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 71 per cent of family businesses and 61 per cent of non-family busi-nesses don’t have a succession plan. Of those that do, the plans are often informal or unwritten.

“Planning ahead is critically important. Veterinar-ians should start the succession planning process roughly five years before their desired exit,” says Scott vanEngen, CPA, C.A., Private Banker with RBC Wealth Management. “The best way to do PR

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by John Clifford

Getting Maximum Value When It’s Time To Sell Your Practice

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by Todd C. Slater

I hope you had a wonderful summer and fall and are settling back into normal routines. I have decided to get right to the point in this article. If you have been thinking about purchasing an investment property or even a vacation property but have remained on the fence, then isn’t it time to fall on one side or the other? For most people, sitting on the fence be-comes a way of life and indecision leaves them wishing they had done something earlier. I hear endless stories of people saying they should have, could have, but DIDN’T.Let’s look at some basic options that are out there. (I can only look at a few in this article. If I showed you everything available this magazine would be called The Profitable Investor, and I would take up every page).

United States (especially Florida)Yes, the great U.S. is making a modest comeback. It is a long way from the crazy prices of pre-2007 but at least it has touched ground after years of a free fall. The typical location for Canadians to invest in is Florida. From an investment stand-point, I am NOT bullish on this. As a Canadian, it is difficult to arrange financing in the States, and the typical option is re-financing Canadian assets to invest in the U.S. I do not like this for many reasons, but the lack of tax write offs, the I.R.S. and the sheer physical distance make me very cau-tious of this as a real estate investment. But, and yes there is a but, now is a good time to buy for your personal use. Yes, family and friends will love to visit and you can have a place you can call your own for a very good price. Keep it long term and you can potentially see some substantial equity growth.

Todd’s Rating: Rental Property Poor

Personal Use Good

To Buy Or Not To Buy: That Is The Question

REAL ESTATE

this is to get their banker involved at the outset, so they can guide you through the planning process and provide valuable advice along the way.”

vanEngen lists six crucial points that require close atten-tion before a veterinarian puts the business succession wheels in motion:

1. Do I have the optimal ownership structure?

Is your practice incorporated? Is it a partnership? Are there any special regulatory requirements that need to be taken into account? The ownership structure of your practice will have important implications in a number of areas, including taxation. Your banker should be able to shed more light on this topic during your planning discussions.

2. What’s my practice worth? When it comes to putting a valuation on a practice, there’s a lot of misinformation out there. The goal is to determine an objective estimated market value that will allow you and potential purchasers to begin negotia-tions. There could also be some mitigating factors at play. For example, how is that valuation affected if you’re a sole practitioner? What price will a younger veterinarian be willing to pay for an established client roster? These are questions that need to be answered early in the process.

3. What if something happens to my health?

While no one wants to think about becoming sick, disabled or worse, how would such tragic scenarios impact your business? Do you have the appropriate insurance policies and power of attorney documents in place? Have you hand-picked the individual(s) who could come in and pick up your workload? When Monday morning rolls around, are your clients going to be looked after? Or would the effective loss of the principal mean the end of your business (and the end of any succession plans)?

4. What’s my timeline?How many more years do you want to work? How will you manage and plan the transition and make sure you’re getting the most value along the way? Decisions around projected timelines are particularly important for sole proprietors.

5. How will the deal be structured?What planning, if any, have you already done? Are you considering selling to family members? In that case, there may be opportunities for income splitting, estate freezes and other tactics that can be incorporated as part of the planning process. Again, your banker can help you structure the transaction in the optimal manner.

6. What is retirement going to look like? “So few veterinarians actually contemplate their day-to-day life in retirement,” says Dilello. “They’re so wrapped up in the day-to-day running of their busi-nesses.” This will be the beginning of a new chapter in your life. So what is it going to look like? Are you interested in teaching? Do you want to work with a younger veterinarian? Maybe you want to do some charitable work related to animals? Whatever your preference, you need to spend some time contemplat-ing what you’re going to step away to. You also need to ensure an adequate cash flow to finance your new life. These are big questions that require a lot of planning and consideration in advance.

“Succession planning shouldn’t be an afterthought,” says Dilello. “You’ll spend 20 or 30 years building your practice and you deserve to maximize your return on that investment when it’s time to step away.”

By getting an early start on the succession planning process and by involving your banking professional from the get-go, you’ll help increase your chances of having a smooth, predictable and profitable transition to this next phase of your life.The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide specific leasing, financial, business, tax, legal, investment or other advice to you, and should not be acted or relied upon in that regard without seeking the advice of a professional. Your advisor can help to ensure that your own circumstances have been properly considered and any action is taken on the latest available information.

® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada.

Bottom Line: This article outlines and explains six important steps all veterinarians should take to ensure an ideal transition into retirement.

John Clifford Vice President, Commercial Financial Services Royal Bank of Canada

John leads a Commercial Banking Team at RBC Royal Bank®. This includes a Health Care team of account managers who have extensive experience helping health care professionals at every stage of their career.

Please contact John at john.clifford@rbc.com or call him at 519.575.2302. PR

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Cottage/ChaletFor the purposes of this article, we will discuss proper-ties in Ontario. Some of our key areas are Collingwood, Muskoka and the Kawartha’s.

To start, let’s talk about Collingwood, including the Georgian Bay area for argument’s sake. Over the last

20 years, we have experienced huge growth in the Blue Mountain area. Interwest has changed the face of the area and turned it into the little sibling of Whistler, British Columbia and Mont Tremblant, Quebec. Again, like Florida, I would say good for personal use but not great as a real estate rental property. In Blue Mountain, the management fees range from 30 to 50 per cent of the rent and there are no rent guarantees. Of course, if you own a chalet on its own and not in the big developments, you can do better. For personal use, it’s hard to beat. Fabulous for both winter and summer, this is a great location for a family. The values won’t skyrocket, but they should remain stable in the future.

Todd’s Rating: Rental Property Fair/Poor

Personal Use Good

Moving on to the Muskoka’s and the Kawartha’s, I should tell you that I am a huge fan of going to the cottage. I was very fortunate to experience this my entire life, but as a real estate professional I do know where to exercise caution. The majority of cottage owners do not rent out their cottages, but there is money to be made. Unfortunately, there is a very small

window for this to occur. Over the last few years, cot-tage prices have risen, but it has been the introduction of the palatial monster cottages that has changed the landscape of going to the cottage. The price-point over a million dollars makes it tough to consider these rental properties but they can be. Rental prices coming in between $2500-$10,000 per week (yes, per week!) have made this an interesting investment. One thing you must consider is the short season. You have 8-12 weeks and the rest of the year is at a much lower price. This is not to say that there are no opportunities available in the 300k to 900k price range; there are plenty and we can discuss that later.

Todd’s Rating: Rental Property Limited/Good

Personal Use Good

Toronto new condo marketFinally, let’s talk about the Toronto new condo market. I still think it is B.S. (Big Speculation). This is a tough one. The volume of properties being built and the slight increase still makes this a very speculative venture. If you are looking at it as a flip, I would say no. As a long term hold, I question the negative cash flow long term. For personal use, dollar for dollar, you are better off renting. So for me, I remain a non-supporter.

Todd’s Rating: Real Estate Flip Poor

Rental Property Poor

Personal Use Poor

Tenant (yourself) Good

I know we have covered a lot of ground in this article (geographically), but there are still great opportunities out there. If you are going to pick a side when you fall off the fence, don’t make it emotional, make it make cents (and dollars).

Talk to you soon!

Bottom Line: This article rates three major areas of real estate investment.

Todd C. SlaterTodd C. Slater is the President of The Simple Investor Real Estate Group Inc. Todd has been one of Canada’s top realtors as well as host of Realty TV for 4 seasons. With his innovative approach to managed real estate investment properties, Todd educates and provides investors with solutions and opportunities for investment real estate. He can be reached at todd@thesimpleinvestor.com or visit www.thesimpleinvestor.com.

Zoobiquity–the idea of looking to ani-mals and the doctors who care for them to better understand human health; a pan-species approach to medicine; what animals can teach us about the human body and mind, exploring how animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and heal patients of all species.The term zoobiquity was coined by Dr. Natter-son-Horowitz, a cardiologist at the UCLA Medi-cal Center, about 10 years ago when she was asked to join the medical advisory board for the Los Angeles Zoo and she began hearing about “con-gestive heart failure in a gorilla or leukemia in a rhinoceros or breast cancer in a tiger or a lion.”

In an interview Dr. Natterson-Horowitz said: “Animals suffer from almost all of the diseases that human beings do, but veterinarians and physicians never talk about this.” Physicians have not typically, traditionally, seen veterinarians as their clinical peers and that’s unfortunate.”

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., earned her degrees at Harvard and the University of Cali-fornia, San Francisco. She is a cardiology profes-sor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and serves on the medical advisory board of the Los Angeles Zoo as a cardiovascular consul-tant. Her writing has appeared in many scientific and medical publications. She writes: “My own zoobiquitous journey has utterly changed how I practice and teach medicine… I have started teaching a course on comparative cardiology to UCLA medical students.”

I learned of this book when I read a piece in the Globe and Mail about why animals faint. Appar-ently animals from rottweilers and chihuahuas to canaries can faint from fear. It turns out that danger and noise–the perception of danger–causes these animals’ heart rates to plummet–particularly the younger animals–and the resulting super-slow heart rate keeps them still, and probably protected.

It turns out that animals and humans are equipped with not two but three responses: fight, flight or faint.

For nearly four decades veterinarians had known that extreme fear could damage muscles in general and heart muscles in particular, sometimes result-ing in animal death. These animal doctors knew things human physicians had no clue existed. So Dr. Natterson-Horowitz began making careful notes about the conditions she came across at her medical center and then at night combed through veterinary databases and journals for their corre-lates, asking herself a simple questions: Do animals get (fill in the disease)?

What she and others found was as-tounding.

Melanoma

As Dr. Natterson-Horowizt dug deeper she found study after study reconfirming the link between human and animal diseases. One fascinating study began when at a dinner party amid an intense discussion about lymphoma, a physician turned to the only veterinarian at the table and asked: Do dogs get melanoma? When the physician and the veterinarian compared human and canine melano-ma they found the disease was essentially one and the same. They enrolled nine pet dogs in a study using a drug that had seen some success in mice. The therapy worked better than they expected. Tumors shrank and survival rates soared. The therapy, called Oncept, was released to veterinarian oncologists and this success is inspiring work on a similar vaccine for melanoma in humans.

Fascinating fact: Equine sunburn leads to cancer in light-skinned horses; so common it’s called “gray horse melanoma.”

Breast Cancer

According to Natterson-Horowitz and Bowers, certain types of breast cancer have been found in a number of mammals. Their list includes jaguars, cougars, tigers, sea lions, kangaroos, wallabies, be-luga whales, alpacas and llamas. Natterson-Horow- PR

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by By Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D. and Kathryn Bowers Reviewed by Karen Henderson

Zoobiquity -What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human

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itz and Bowers note that the only group of mammals in which breast cancer is rarely found is the “professional lactators,” meaning dairy cows and goats.

Fascinating fact: Many Ashkenazi Jewish women carry the BRCA 1 mutation which makes them more sus-ceptible to breast and ovarian cancers. This same muta-tion is found in Venezuelan jaguars and English Springer Spaniels—who also have an elevated incidence of this kind of cancer.

Obesity and Diabetes

Zoo animals not only can suffer from obesity, but diabe-tes is fairly common, in part because the animals eat food that has been genetically modified for human consump-tion. For example, Dr. Curtis Eng said the Los Angeles Zoo’s bananas are very different than bananas found in the wild and can affect the animals’ diet. “They’re genetically designed to be more flavorful,” he said. “They probably have more calories than the bananas that you are going to find in the wild.” In their book, Natterson-Horowitz and Bowers wrote that various animals in the wild will experience binge eating, secret-eating, noctur-nal-eating and food-hoarding, which could suggest a link between humans and “ancestral eating strategies.”

Fascinating fact: Smooth muscle lines the intestines of many species. This allows the small intestine to expand and contract, accordion-like, in response to environmen-tal cues like food availability and season. Animals that can control the length of their intestines are in effect per-forming lap band procedures, without surgery. Intrigu-ingly, the human intestine has similar smooth muscle. Knowing about this powerful ability in animals may help bariatric surgeons pioneer non-invasive weight-loss procedures for humans.

STDs

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins can suffer from genital warts, baboons can get herpes, syphilis is rampant among rabbits, just to name a few sexually-transmitted diseases affecting animals that Natterson-Horowitz and Bow-ers note in their book. “Wild animals don’t practice safe sex,” Natterson-Horowitz said. “Of course they get STDS.” In fact, an epidemic of sexually transmitted Chlamydia has devastated koala populations in Australia. Wildlife biologists Down Under are so concerned about it, they are working on a vaccine for Chlamydia in koa-las. There is currently no Chlamydia vaccine for humans. At the same time, Natterson-Horowitz and Bowers wrote that one in four humans worldwide will die of an STD.

Fascinating fact: Some STDs change the behavior of their hosts—from crickets and horses—to encourage more sexual activity (and the pathogens’ propagation).

Self-Mutilation

There are countless Internet sites devoted to self-muti-lation… but many of these are devoted to our animals!

Problems range from feather-picking disorder in birds to excessive licking in cats and dogs, in this case called CCD. Animals, like humans, turn on themselves. Self-mutilation in humans and animals provides release, followed by relief. The authors feel that human doctors may learn from their veterinarian colleagues, who when faced with self-injury, look for three things: stress, isolation and boredom.

Fascinating fact: Many species bite, scratch and rub as stress responses. They don’t use razor blades but deploy their talons, beaks, claws and teeth. Veterinarians have some spe-cific and very effective strategies to treat and prevent self-mutilation. This information must be placed in the hands of human psychiatrists taking care of human patients.

From the web site FAQ section

I’m a veterinarian. What steps can I take to practice zoobiqitous medicine?One very simple—yet potentially very effective—way to encourage collaboration is to reach out to family practice physicians in your community, starting with areas of obvious overlap like infectious disease. Even a simple introductory phone call could start conversations that have the ultimate result of improving the health of humans and animals. Some veterinarians might not be aware of how valuable their comparative insights are for human medicine. For example, when an animal presents with behavioral disturbances, the first questions asked are about the animal’s environment, companions, and home/life situation. This perspective, looking at the environ-ment first for help in understanding a patient’s behavior, could be highly useful for human physicians dealing with the vexing issues of obesity, addiction, self-injury, and eating disorders. Physicians tend to consider the individual first.

The web site www.zoobiquity.com under Zoob News and their Blog has a lengthy list of courses, articles, re-search endeavors, blog posts, press releases, videos, photos and books… all with species-spanning themes or mes-sages. In addition, a zoobiquity conference takes place every year, a one-day event usually sold-out.

Zoobiquity is an absolutely fascinating, astute and at times a very amusing read for both professionals and individuals who have loved and lost their pets to an array of disturbingly familiar human diseases.

Bottom Line: By sharing research and clinical practice notes, veterinarians and human physicians could improve the lives of their patients.

Karen Henderson Karen Henderson is the Managing Associate Editor of Profitable Practice and can be reached at Karen@profitablepracticemagazine.com

Safari vacations have much appeal for many adventurous travellers who want to connect with animals and nature in a unique way. People often return with a renewed sense of what is important in terms of animal wel-fare and well-being. This interview features an account by an aunt and her niece about their safari experience. They answered the following questions.

You recently travelled to South Africa to experience a variety of events, including a safari. What were your overall impres-sions of South Africa?Rebecca: The country’s landscape is absolutely beau-tiful; from Cape Town to Kruger Park the scenery and coastal views are stunning. Having travelled to Africa twice before (Ghana and Tanzania), South Africa has a very different feeling and culture. The country is far more developed than other African countries I have visited. The obvious diversity between the white and

black South Africans makes the country distinct. The strong Dutch influence is very prevalent.

Sandy: When we initially thought of going to South Africa we were really strongly cautioned about the violence and crime that had been going on particu-larly against women and tourists. We decided that we would be careful and smart about it and hoped that it had been blown out of proportion. As it turned out, we had nothing but a positive experience. The South Africans were so friendly, particularly when we said we were Canadian.

What surprised you or impressed you about South Africa?Sandy: The landscape and weather of Cape Town is very similar to our west coast, particularly Vancouver and Vic-toria. Kruger Park, which is where our safari was, had a totally different climate than the south although it wasn’t a desert, which surprised me.

Rebecca: We felt completely safe. We were surround-ed by tourist industry people who were extremely friendly and willing to share stories of South Africa’s

Interview With Sandy Evans and Rebecca MacDonald

FEATURE INTERVIEW

On Safari in South Africa

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past. We travelled as tourists and were not nearly as remote or connected to locals as my previous travel experiences.

Table Mountain also impressed me. It is so differ-ent from other mountains that I have seen. And it was interesting that no one seemed to be able to answer the question as to why the mountain was flat at the top.

How would you describe the social, political and economic climate within the country?Rebecca: The interaction between the white and black South Africans surprised me. I didn’t pick up on any hostility or anger between the races. I saw numerous white and black people working together in their jobs. Before travelling to South Africa, I had imagined there would be little interaction between the white and black South Africans based on my knowledge of apartheid. Having said this, a clear distinction in terms of class and social economic status exists. The shantytowns are housed by black South Africans. The wealthy areas ap-peared to be populated by white South Africans.

Having visited Robin Island where Nelson Mandela was held captive, I got the impression that Mandela’s message of moving forward was truly embraced by the black South Africans.

Sandy: With apartheid ending just a short 16 years ago, I was also surprised by the attitude of the black Africans. Tour guides and taxi people would tell us without any animosity factual information about District Six, which is where our hotel was.

Can you describe for our readers your safari and the animals and habitat you saw?Sandy: August is a winter month in South Africa and a great month for a safari as the vegetation is sparse, the watering holes are less frequent and you can see the animals better as a result. Our first encounter was with a pride of four lions resting in the afternoon sun/shade. Because all of the animals have grown up in the reserves they are used to vehicles and humans observing them. Observe is the philosophy of Longolozi Camp where we stayed. It has its own reserve within Sabi San Reserve, which is within Kruger Park. Sabi San Reserve is fenced but within it are numerous camps (Longolozi being one of them) that are not fenced so the animals can roam freely for great distances.

We stayed three nights and had six drives. We saw the Big Five (most dangerous): lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and water buffalo. Hippos are on the dangerous list as they can really run fast which surprises a lot of people. We also saw graceful giraffes, zebras, jackals and various antelopes.

Rebecca: The safari experience was by far one of the most amazing things I have done to date. Living in the park alongside the animals provides such an authentic experience, where you truly feel like you get to see animals in their natural habitat.

Outside of our bedroom at any time you could see a herd of elephants, a hippo drinking water and monkeys playing in trees.

We were able to see the Big Five within our first day of safari. The daily routine of going on safari early in the morning and then later afternoon and early evening provided us with numerous opportunities to see game.

There were mating lions, a mother with lion cubs, a male, female and baby leopard feeding on a kill, three cheetahs resting in the grass, numerous male lions trav-elling together, hundreds of buffalo, herds of elephants and more.

How are animals benefitting from having tourists go on safari?Rebecca: Truthfully, I’m not sure about this. I think it’s 50/50. Obviously tourist support provides funding to keep the parks operational and the animals free from poaching (for the most part). However the safari also disturbs the natural environment.

Sandy: I have to believe that some of the money de-rived from safari tourism is used for the benefit of the animals. Also as Rebecca mentioned people’s awareness of issues like poaching are heightened and in general our knowledge of the wildlife and their needs is ex-panded, hopefully for the betterment of the animals.

Would you recommend your safari experience to others? Why or why not?

Rebecca: YES! This was by far one of the most amaz-ing things I have ever done. This was my second safari experience and I would HIGHLY recommend staying inside the park and travelling to a private game reserve. There are far fewer trucks of tourists driving around and they (the Londilozi) seem to really respect the animals.

Sandy: I would highly recommend putting it on your ‘bucket list’. I cannot say enough good things about Londolozi Camp. It is a five star incredible camp and they make sure your experience is fantastic.

What will be your take away from this trip to South Africa?Rebecca: The reminder that you need to experience things for yourself in order to truly understand how a

country or place operates. Before this trip, many people questioned why I would want to travel to a country where my safety could be threatened. As mentioned earlier I felt completely safe at all times. I was cautious and aware of my surroundings yet, never felt uncom-fortable or threatened.

The beauty of animals in their natural environment is something that I hope to never forget. It was so edu-cational to see how the animals interact and live on a day-to-day basis. Watching animals feed on a kill, or nurse their young in the wild completely surpassed my expectations of this experience.

Poaching is still an ongoing issue that needs to be stopped in order to safeguard endangered animals. When we arrived at the gates of Kruger Park all vehicles were searched (using mirrors that stretch beneath the cars) to ensure that they were not carrying out tusks and the like.

Sandy: The safari was by far the best part although Cape Town was wonderful: speaking with the locals about what they went through with apartheid and the forgiveness they show to white people provided an example of what all people should be like.

Bottom Line: This is an account of two women’s memorable journey of being on safari in South Africa.

Sandy Evans Sandy Evans (pictured Left) is the Executive Officer at ROI Corporation Brokerage and can be reached at sandy@roicorp.com or 905.278.4145.

Rebecca MacDonald Rebecca MacDonald (pictured right) is the Curriculum Chair of Health and Physical Education at Appleby College. She can be reached at 905.845.9828 or rmacdonald@appleby.on.ca.

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thereafter the patient died. As Mary the day shift nurse said: “David, I really think the cat knows.”

And it kept happening. Patient Ellen Sander’s death was not unexpected but the timing was surprising. She had given no indication that she was terminally ill… no in-fections or other complications other than she suffered from dementia. The cat knew otherwise and showed up at her bedside; Dr. Dosa became determined to find out about the cat’s behavior.

Of course Dr. Dosa was asked how Oscar knew when someone was about to die. His answer: “My sense is he perceives a scent or pheromone that is released from dying cells. It is well known that dying cells release ketones, a sweet smelling chemical that is also found on the breaths of diabetics with elevated sugars. I’d also like to believe that Oscar knows what he is doing is important.”

Almost every family wanted Oscar around. However on one occasion a family of a dying resident did not want Oscar present and he was kept out of the room. He paced for hours outside the room; he became so frantic he went into the room next door and tried to scratch his way through the wall. The staff had to finally take him off the floor.

“A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.”MARK TWAIN

Although the book’s hero seems to be a cat, the real heroes are the family caregivers of those who are dy-ing from the complications of dementia. Their endless efforts to comfort and support their loved ones–many who do not even recognize them–are the heart of this story. They face agonizing decisions–whether to insert a feeding tube if a loved one refuses to or cannot eat; whether to medicate or not; whether to leave his side, even for some much-needed respite.

The family experiences in the book are based on real-life patients and their caregivers whom Dr. Dosa, a geri-atrician, has met over the years.

One such caregiver was Kathy who would take her mother outside to celebrate the fall colours, knowing that her mum’s smile, these little victories… were com-ing to an end too quickly.

Following is an exchange between Kathy and Dr. Dosa after the death of her mother.

“Can you believe this cat?” Kathy said.

“I heard he was here when your mother died,” I replied.

“Yeah, he and I are buddies now” she said. “The hospice nurse and the minister told me he’s done this before” she said.

“For the last year or so, from what I’m told,” I replied.

“Well, he’s a really special cat.”

“Kathy, were you okay with Oscar being here at the end?”

She replied: “Dr. Dosa, I think of Oscar as my angel. He was here for my mother, and here for me, too. With Oscar at my side… well, I felt a little less alone. It’s hard to explain, but some animals, well, the sense they give you is that they understand what’s going on. More than that, they just accept. I don’t know, but Oscar gave me a feeling that this is all natural. And it is, isn’t it? If birth is a miracle, isn’t death a miracle too? My mother… well, her struggle is finally over. She’s finally free.”

Another family was encouraged to take a break from tending their loved one and go home; a hospice nurse said their father still had time. But the family was re-luctant; they decided to take their cue from Oscar who was lying beside their father. It was a good decision; had they not done that, they would have missed being there when their father died.

“I love my cats because I love my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.”JEAN COCTEAU

By David Dosa, M.D. Reviewed by Karen Henderson

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.”COLETTE

When I first heard about this book, I thought it was the story of a cat, but the book is really about how individuals with end-stage dementia and their families face death. The sub-story is indeed about a cat that somehow knows when a nursing home resident is hours away from death and spends those last hours curled up beside the patient, absolutely unwilling to leave until the end has come.

So who is Oscar? Oscar was adopted by Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island after the death of the home’s first cat in 2005. The nursing home had been a home for several cats before Oscar. When the first cat Henry died, staff realized he had changed the culture at Steere House. The home became increasingly animal-friendly and perhaps more of a home. As a result, staff and the more able residents petitioned the home leadership to replace Henry. The chief administrator gave in and

the search was on for a replacement. All told, six cats were brought in to replace Henry; Dr. Dosa wrote: “Maybe we were adding cats to make this house feel more like a home. But I was starting to think they were the ones teaching us that what makes a home is a family.”

Oscar resides wherever he wants to on the locked third floor of the Steere House. He has on occa-sion escaped the confines of the third floor—but he’s always back at the door when he knows it’s feeding time.

“You can’t own a cat. The best you can do is be partners.” SIR HARRY SWANSON

It was the nursing staff who initially alerted the doctor about Oscar’s unusual behavior; he was at the very least skeptical. He never really liked cats and doubted that Oscar possessed any extraordi-nary skills. But somehow Oscar would show up at the bedside of a resident, curl up and purr; shortly

Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat

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Karen’s cat Char

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Interview With Editor

Interview With Dr. Vivian Jamieson

“… I have always contended that veterinary medicine chooses you, not the other way around.”

DR. VIVIAN JAMIESON

Dr. Vivian Jamieson is a practicing animal oph-thalmologist who loves her work especially when she restores vision to her blind patients and sees the joy it brings their devoted owners. Born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, she attended the Univer-sity of Guelph and received her DVM in 1979. In 1987, she began her residency in ophthalmol-ogy at Guelph and completed it in 1990 at North Carolina State University. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists and was for ten years an owner of an ophthalmol-ogy practice in South Carolina.

She revealed that she tired of the business side of her practice and was starting to experience ‘burn out’. Since 2006 she has done relief work in four different clinics in Chicago and its suburbs, regu-

larly treats patients from a New Hampshire based rescue clinic and is active in the state of Vermont as well. Presently she works about six months a year and has a renewed passion for what she does.

Dr. Jamieson describes herself as a ‘rolling stone’ who developed a travel bug in her early twenties and never lost it. In recent years much of her travel is in the form of ‘give back’ to organizations like Earth Watch that involves projects like helping dolphins in the Mediterranean and orangutans in Borneo. When asked if she was an animal activist, she replied that she was an animal enthusiast.

She volunteers with and donates to a number of animal organizations whether it is in changing and subsidizing farmers’ haying schedules in the state of Vermont to allow bobolinks to complete their birthing cycles or giving back to other wildlife and naturalist causes. She considers herself an ad-vocate for all species and strives ‘to do her little bit’ to restore and return to a nature-based world.

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Karen Henderson Karen Henderson is the Managing Associate Editor of Profitable Practice and can be reached at Karen@profitablepracticemagazine.com

I related very deeply to the family caregivers in this book… how they cried every time they left the nursing home. At the end of our 14 year caregiving journey, my father spent the last few years of his life in a long term care facility. His advanced dementia combined with his inability to walk due to severe spinal arthritis made it impossible for him to remain in his home. I will never forget how I had to say goodbye to my father; he would watch me leave, with a look on his face that said, “What is happening to me? Why are you leaving me?” My heart broke so many times I wondered if it would ever be whole again.

A diagnosis of dementia is one of the most difficult things a family will ever face. Canada faces a dementia epidemic; today we have over 500,000 Canadians with some form of dementia and one new case diagnosed every five minutes. By 2038 we will have over 1.2 million sufferers with a new case diagnosed every two minutes unless the cause or a cure is found. Over 50 per cent end up in a long term care facility.

There is a growing nursing home movement called the Eden Alternative, an international, nonprofit organiza-tion that provides education and consultation for

organizations across the entire continuum of care. It is dedicated to creating care environments that promote quality of life for elders and those who support them as care partners. The goals of the philosophy are to eliminate loneliness, helplessness, and boredom and to transform institutional approaches to care into caring communities where life is worth living. Animals along

with plants play a huge role.

I do not know if Steere House was an Eden facility, but the staff certainly shared the same values. The Eden Al-ternative has come to Canada but the majority of long term care facilities have a long way to go to make life there worth living.

My cats Char and Jennie Jones helped me to laugh as

my father was dying; my dog Oreo played an important role in my father’s nursing home and certainly made me see that even with the severest forms of dementia, the presence of animals reduces agitation and symptoms of depression.

If you love animals and/or have ever known anyone who has suffered from dementia, you need to read this little book.

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.”LEONARDO DA VINCI

Bottom Line: This is a review of a fascinating story of a cat that seemed to know when a person’s death as a result of illness or age was imminent.

Karen’s dog Oreo

Karen’s cat Jennie Jones

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Recently I performed cataract removal and intraocular lens implantation surgery on Darla, a very timid and blind nine year old lab cross. She was a new dog once she could see again.

In the course of your work you travel a great deal more than average clinical vet-erinarians. What do you do to overcome jetlag and what do you do to unwind?The trick I think is to take on the time zone of your destination when you get on the plane. So eat and sleep according to the new time. Basically I drink lots of water and then just don’t worry about it.

At the end of a busy day my favourite way to unwind is to fiddle around in my garden. Being in nature–birds chirping, fireflies flickering, moon arising-always gets me back on track.

Not only are you a highly sought after ophthalmologist but you are also a writer.

You have written a number of articles related to your work… but interestingly you are also a novelist. Please tell us about this part of your lifestyle.In the past several years, the creative side of my nature seemed to take hold. I have been developing my craft of fiction writing through short stories and lately novels. It is a long process to complete a book, many drafts and revisions… a work in progress–a true labor of love but one that is a deep part of me. I am finishing revisions on my third book and hope to send it out to find an agent by the end of the year. It can take many years to get your work in print. Basically, writing is part inspira-tion and part skill so, like intraocular surgery, you make it when you are good enough and that takes dedication, time and perseverance.

What is next for you?Keep doing what I am doing, stay focused on the job at hand, do my best to help others (humans and animals) and continue to enjoy every minute of every day. Not always easy but important.

What are three things on your bucket list?• Get a novel published–a writer writes to be read.

• Visit Mongolia–never been there.

• Not to have bucket list–just happy for what I have.

What advice do you have for recent veterinarian graduates about their chosen career?Humans for the most part are far more visually oriented

than animals that rely on many senses, especially smell. Consequently when a pet develops an eye disorder, their owners often opt for a correct procedure because of the importance of sight in their own lifestyle. Much of what veterinarians do is a service to both the pet and its owner. It requires that veterinarians deal with people as often as they deal with the animal. They must have empathy and understanding of all the emotions and factors involved. Most importantly they must be able to communicate the need for a procedure and treatment but also understand that there are economic considerations and other factors that have to be ac-knowledged.

Those veterinarians who choose ophthalmology must develop a skill for microsurgery and the many challeng-es it presents. It requires a lot of time, practice, mentor-ing and experience to feel a degree of competency.

Veterinary medicine has been a wonderful career choice for me. I envy those just starting out for they have many fulfilling years ahead of them. My advice would be to always stay curious, remember to disgnose problems rather than treat symptoms and to always, always, always admit and learn from your mistakes.

Bottom Line: This interview features a highly experienced ani-mal ophthalmologist who also has a passion for writing fiction. See her short story entitled ‘Biscuit’s Lesson’ starting below.

Where was that little monster? When I get my hands on her, she is doomed-no question about it. I round-ed the clinic for the third time looking for any sign of the furry, white mop that had disappeared from the front steps minutes earlier. I couldn’t understand it. She was right behind me as I hurriedly opened the front door of the hospital at six-thirty on the chilly November morning. It was our routine for me to drop Biscuit off there before I headed to the gym for my morning workout. Per usual, she straggled be-hind me, sniffing her way up the front walk. I turned as I went through the door to see her looking up at me through the early morning haze from the base of the stairs. Seconds later, after dumping my armful of books inside, I returned to find she had vanished-poof-into thin air.

Dr. Vivian Jamieson Dr. Vivian Jamieson is a Canadian born veterinarian who practices part-time as an ophthalmologist doing relief work in four clinics in Chicago and surrounding areas. She lives in Vermont and can be reached through the editor of this magazine.

by Dr. Vivian Jamieson

Biscuit’s Lesson

Dr. Jamieson answered the following.

What led you to a career in veterinary medicine?I think I was born with a medical mind because I had a

physician for a father and registered nurse for a mother. I was also born with a draw to the animal world and a great respect for it. I was the youngest of three daughters and definitely inherited some of my father’s passion for medicine but I have always contended that veterinary medicine chooses you, not the other way around.

Please explain your area of speciality and what a typical day looks like.I believe the attraction for most veterinary ophthalmol-ogists is microsurgery. The ability to operate through microscopes in an organ where the slightest misstep can be disastrous is the challenge. It takes many years of practice to feel competent.

A typical day–it depends. I work part-time now doing a lot of relief work and travel quite often in my work. Right now I am relieving the veterinarian ophtho in Vermont (who is on maternity leave) and a typical day starts at my home in rural Vermont. I live in renovated farmhouse so I am up at dawn for a two or three mile walk with my three dogs over hill and dale. This is followed by a 40 minute commute to a multispecialty referral practice where I see patients or do surgical

procedures-e.g. cataract removal and intraocular lens implantation, glaucoma laser procedures, corneal and eyelid surgeries, enucleation or intraocular prosthesis surgeries. Then it is home to play with the pups, work in my garden and do some writing.

As an animal ophthalmologist, what are the main differences in treating human eyes and animal eyes?My father was a physician ophthalmologist so I under-stand this first hand. Early in my career and late in his, we often observed each other’s cases. Human ophthal-mologists are very much concerned with visual acuity and most of their procedures are related to this concern. In veterinary ophthalmology, vision is important (not so much acuity) but comfort and potential for systemic disease (uveitis or neoplasia) are equally important concerns. The comparative aspect to our job, working with so many species or animals, birds and reptiles adds a fascinating element to what we do.

Please describe your role at Rolling Dog Farm.Rolling Dog Farm is a wonderful rescue organization based in New Hampshire which fosters medically chal-lenged animals and finds the means to rehabilitate what problems they can and then find loving homes for these special needs pets.

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“For many veterinarians, the sale of your professional practice frequently results in a financial windfall coupled with an unfamiliar sense of financial security never before contemplated.”

Most veterinarians think of themselves as caretakers and health care professionals for a very select and beloved market. After all, it takes years of dedication to master the necessary skills and medical training required to treat our trea-sured furry friends–extended members of the family if you will–and their accompanying nervous owner-parents. As with all doctors, veterinarians consistently rely on technological advancements and industry modernization to employ their highly trained minds and specialized skills for the benefit of animals’ overall health and happiness. So it’s not surprising that the lion’s share of their focus is on animal care and not on the entrepre-neurial side of the practice. PR

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The Other Side Of Transition– What’s Next?

Continuing my search, I bent down to look under the back porch while I slapped my arms to ward off the cold. When I find her disobedient little soul, she is a goner. Her furry feet wouldn’t touch terra firma again without a leash attached to her skinny neck. My anger became tainted with a sense of betrayal. Why had she done this?

Biscuit had joined my household two months earlier. A favorite patient in the three years I had known her, she was quiet, obedient and very friendly. The delicate cocker-poodle mix was also the delight of her own-ers, the Roberts, a sweet elderly couple. Biscuit lit up their lives with her ‘joie de vivre’. One day, Mr. Rob-erts informed me that due to illness, he and his wife were forced to move into an assisted-living home and Biscuit could not go with them. This would be their last visit. Saddened, I offered whatever help I could to them. Without hesitation, Mr. Roberts asked if I would take Biscuit. This was not exactly what I had in mind. I hesitated. My house was and always had been filled with Golden Retrievers. Although I worked daily with the smaller canine variety, I had never pictured myself owning one. Alas, my guilt got the better of me and home Biscuit came.

The transition had not been easy for my house oper-ated by big dog rules-no getting on the furniture, no barking, no sleeping in my bed and dry food only twice a day. This last rule was the biggest source of contention between us. Biscuit arrived with dietary instructions of milk on toast for breakfast, liverwurst mixed into her lunch-time snack and canned gourmet dog food blended into her evening morsels. I stopped reading before the elaborate concoction for bedtime was described. No, this was never going to fly with my busy schedule. High quality kibble, morning and night, was what it would be. If it was good enough for the retrievers, it was for Biscuit.

Progress had been slow. A cold turkey approach on my part had resulted in a full out hunger-strike on

Biscuit’s. Never underestimate the will of a small dog. After a few days, I relented and added back some liver-wurst to her diet with the hope of weaning it out later. In the last few weeks I had made a concerted effort to rid my life of smelly luncheon meat once and for all. Day by day, an imperceptible amount of the greasy fare was subtracted until two days ago, my mission was accomplished-a life, liverwurst free. But this morning thinking back, I recall an inordinate amount of snuf-fling and pushing of Biscuit’s food bowl around with her snout, along with a move where she backed away from the unsuitable meal with her nose high in the air then stared up at me with definite defiance. In the end, Biscuit did eat a small amount before meeting me at the back door to head off to the clinic. Could this be why she left, why she had abandoned our family?

I stood shivering in the damp November dawn, my flimsy gym attire no match for the cold conditions. The fury that raged within about Biscuit’s disappear-ance had evolved into concern and now rocketed toward panic. It had been twenty minutes of searching and calling to no avail-my sweet, fluffy companion was gone. Terror tightened in my chest when I looked out onto the highway in front of the clinic now filling with the morning traffic. How could I have been so stupid? She had done everything but write me a note about how displeased she was with her fare, but in my human arrogance, I hadn’t listened. After all, Biscuit lived and breathed food. It was her entire purpose. Even her name spoke of her favorite thing in life. In desperation, she had taken matters into her own paws and set out to find a more satiating life for herself. I wanted to cry.

I learned a valuable lesson from Biscuit that day, one I have since put into practice with my patients. Com-munication is a two-way street: first, to clearly articu-late your needs and second, to listen. Biscuit had done her part but I had failed at mine. She couldn’t have been more clear. Even though we don’t share a verbal language, animals speak volumes if only we would open our hearts and minds to them. You will be sur-prised what you can understand about your patient’s needs and desires if only you try.

Thanks to the nameplate on her collar, an hour later Biscuit was retrieved from twenty miles away. She had been picked up after crossing four lanes of busy traffic by a construction worker on his way to his job site. We laughed to think she had managed to end up with a hearty eater. I am happy to announce there has been no further trouble with my beloved chow-hound now that liverwurst is a permanent part of her diet.

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But veterinarians are entrepreneurs and like all entre-preneurs, veterinarians combine their talent and imagi-nation into one overreaching endeavour by risking all their capital to found their own business. For pet-own-ers, access to competent, convenient and dependable veterinary clinics represents critical community services such that veterinarians’ devotion to the clinics’ success transcends their purpose and defines their identity and relationships. Often, the line between personal and pro-fessional recedes, along with the line blurring entrepre-neur and veterinarian. Eventually, achieving sustainable profitability demands total devotion; in the absence of being able to pass the practice onto the next generation, the veterinarian is compelled to sell the asset. Of all the assets in your portfolio, your practice is probably the most important revenue-generating vehicle; but more than that, it engenders your primary motivation and is intricately tied to your identity.

Discussions around transition planning are always fo-cused on financial valuations, legal documents, tax rami-fications and the process of divestment and acquisition. Consequently, very little discussion surrounds life after the sale and the emotional void accompanying loss of ownership. Although it represents the ultimate success, selling the practice you built from the ground-up may leave you feeling empty and marred by a feeling of loss. The identity and community permeating daily life will no longer be integrated with your sense of purpose.

Nevertheless, successfully anticipating “what’s next” once you sell your practice starts with understanding life before transition takes place. The first step is to obtain a valuation of the business; for many veterinar-ians selling their business encompasses a major piece of their retirement plan. So it’s essential to know what your business is worth and track it long before you plan to sell. The second step is determining the money you require to live the lifestyle you want. Finally, if the valu-ation is less than expected, give some thought as to how you can increase the value of your practice enough to meet your retirement needs.

Not only does advance planning significantly improve financial, estate and tax ramifications, it permits you to focus on a future endeavour that wasn’t possible before now.

For many veterinarians, the sale of your professional practice frequently results in a financial windfall cou-pled with an unfamiliar sense of financial security never before contemplated. You may benefit from a wealth management strategy that should take into account your financial needs post-sale, which include:

• Recognizing the real income that needs to be replaced

• Cost-of-living and spending requirements

• Inflation

• Tax regime and anticipated changes

• True returns relative to the investment risk agreed upon when deciding on an investment strategy

• The weighing of different investment strategies and asset allocation in realistic terms by understanding whether this will yield enough cash flow to cover expenses.

Although it demands a different kind of patience and planning, I encourage you to think about your transi-tion strategy as if you were treating one of your animals. Think of your transition plan as if you were diagnosing a problem and prescribing a treatment; but this time, it’s for your own.

The financial rewards from selling your business repre-sent freedom and security more than a means to engage in large-scale material purchases. How should you put this new-found freedom to good use? Consider invest-ing in other ventures, engaging in philanthropy, teach-ing, getting involved on boards of academic institutions or devoting more time to a passion or hobby.

The choice will be yours–and you can never have enough of those in life.

Bottom Line: This article answers two questions: “What do I have to do before retirement?” and “What do I do after I have retired?”

Jackie Rudberg Jackie Rudberg is Director of Legal Affairs for ROI Corporation Brokerage where she provides a combination of legal and financial advisory services to instill and sustain success. She can be reached at jackie@roicorp.com.

Interview With Editor

Todd C. Slater is a regular and highly valued contributing author to Profitable Practice. We asked Todd to answer a few questions so that our readers could gain insight into Todd’s successful career as the president of The $imple Investor and as an author.

What led you to a career in real estate?I have always loved buildings of any kind and always believed it is the best investment of any kind. I have always wanted to help and educate people with what is for most, the most expensive purchase they will ever make. I have seen the mis-takes and heard the horror stories over the years, and it means a lot to me to walk people through this process. Having the pleasure of working with thousands of clients over the years has truly been a bonus. After food, shelter is and always will be a basic human need. As an investment, real estate is unrivalled.

How would you summarize the importance of real estate investment for today’s veterinarians and their practices?Real estate can offer a secure financial base for a veterinary professional’s future. It can be used for retirement or generational wealth but most impor-tantly, it continues to work even when you don’t.

What do you like the most about your business?I truly enjoy working with the people and with the buildings themselves. To help people create an investment solution for their long term, future security is extremely gratifying. So many people struggle with investments, especially real estate, and there is a lot of misinformation out there. We hear stories all the time of people who have had terrible experiences with real estate investment, and the majority of the time it is because they simply did not have the correct information. They get caught up in the emotions of it all, and forget to treat it like a business.

Feature Author Profile/Interview with Todd C. Slater

AUTHOR PROFILE/INTERVIEW

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What was your proudest career moment?I have been so fortunate to have had numerous high-lights in my life. Naturally, the day I became a father was the proudest moment in my life. Having been recognized as one of the top realtors in the world was definitely a source of pride, but I would have to say that helping my investors that had thought they could not create a future for their families and actually make it happen has truly been the most satisfying.

What things give you satisfaction personally and professionally?My young daughter gives me the greatest satisfaction; she is awesome and really puts life into perspective. Creating The $imple Investor and educating people through our seminars has been amazing.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world past or present, who would that be and why?For purely personal reasons, it would be my mother who passed away when I was a child. I would want her to know that the limited time she spent with me really did prepare me for life. If I had to choose someone else, it would be Steve Jobs. He was truly one of most creative minds the world has ever known.

What do you do to unwind?I love the outdoors, so just sitting out in the middle of lake in a boat at the cottage calms my soul. I have been told I bring an intensity to everything I do, and that includes relaxing!

What was the best meal or restaurant ex-perience you ever had?I love to cook, so making wonderful seafood and my signature Caesar salad with friends and loved ones is the best meal every time!

What are three things on your current bucket list to do?That’s actually a tough one! I have been very fortunate and have had opportunities for many worldly experi-ences. At this stage in my life, the things that come im-mediately to mind are taking my daughter to Whistler on a ski trip, and of course, walking her down the aisle. I would also love to take a road trip across the U.S., from one side to the other.

Do you have a favourite quote or expression?I have a few, my favorite is “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. I believe you make your own luck in life. I like this one from Steve Jobs, “That’s been one of my mantras–focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your think-ing clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

What three words describe you best?Driven, passionate and sincere. I believe in what I do. There is never a hidden agenda; I mean what I say, and I believe in being authentic.

Where do you see yourself in five years?I will continue to grow my company and help as many people as I can while maintaining a healthy balance of family time. It sounds cliché, but family time is im-portant to me… you have to find balance in your life, whatever that may mean to you.

Thanks Todd for providing a window into your world.

Todd C. SlaterPresident The Simple Investor Real Estate Group Inc.

Head Office: 905-812-2524 Fax: 905-812-7760 Email: todd@thesimpleinvestor.com Website: TheSimpleInvestor.com Address: 287 Queen Street South Streetsville ON L5M 1L9

Andrea Coombs is one of those self-effacing, down-to-earth veterinarians who takes pride in her career and espe-cially, in her role as a mother. Long ago she shunned running her own practice and freely admits she did not like nor excel at the business side of veterinary medicine. She does excel at the care and treatment of animals and does far more than her share in alleviating the im-mense problem of pet abandonment and overpopulation.She was surprised and felt unworthy when a magazine with the title Profitable Practice wanted to interview her. We at the magazine are delighted to share her story.

Andrea Coombs answered the following questions.

What and who influenced you to be-come a veterinarian? I was always fascinated with animals and at 14, I got a job working weekends at Kipewa Kennels; a breeding, training and boarding facility owned by Bill and Kathy McClure just outside Ottawa. Bill was a well-respected trainer, competitor and field trial judge of Brittany Spaniels and English Set-ters. I learned about the dogs, their care, breeding and training and the business of running a kennel. He was also an avid naturalist so I learned much about the natural world around me as well. I was hooked!

Later, I was fortunate to get a job after school with the local village veterinarian, Dr. Sidney Pickett. His practice consisted mainly of dogs and cats.

A high school classmate’s father, Dr. Ken Hartin, was the local large animal veterinarian and I took whatever opportunity available to go on practice rounds with him to see a wide variety of farm animals. My ‘team’ of mentors was very supportive of my desire to become a veterinarian and they were all very generous with their time and knowl-edge. I would not have achieved my dream had it not been for their encouragement and faith in my ability.

What is your area of expertise or specialty?I spent roughly the first 15 years of my 35-year ca-reer, in small animal practice in the GTA. Follow-ing that I became involved in working with Dr. Jackie Jenkins at Wildcare, a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Vaughan, Ontario. I provided veterinary care for native Ontario wildlife with the goal of returning these wonderful creatures, small mam-mals, birds and reptiles, back to their homes in the wild. I continued with wildlife at a few facilities for roughly two decades while continuing to do some small animal practice as well. About ten years ago I found myself working in two animal shelters and am now working in shelter medicine at the Toronto Humane Society. My current position is staff veterinarian in the Spay/Neuter Services there. I also volunteer with an organization that provides free spay and neuter surgeries for local managed feral colonies.

Describe a typical day for you.I arrive at 7:30 a.m. just as the animals are arriving for surgery. For the next hour and a half the tech-nicians and I give each animal a physical exami-nation to be certain that they are suitable for the PR

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procedures scheduled. We only work on young, healthy animals and if we have concerns about the health of a particular cat or dog, surgery is delayed until the owner has the animal examined by his/her veterinarian. Only when the problem is resolved to that veterinarian’s satisfaction is the animal re-booked for surgery at our facility. We provide low cost surgery only by work-ing with high numbers and therefore want to provide the safest procedures possible. Our results have been exceptional. Surgery begins when the animals have all been examined and pre-medicated and continues until all animals have been attended to. Typically the number ranges between 25 and 30 surgeries per day.

When surgery is finished the inevitable paperwork and logging in to charts is done and monitoring of the animals in recovery continues until all are safely recov-ered from anesthesia. Prior to discharge I examine the animals again and answer clients’ questions or deal with any concerns I may have.

What has surprised you the most in your veterinary career?The biggest surprise, or perhaps shock is a better word, came on my entrance into the world of shelter medi-cine. I had worked in practice for many years and never set foot in a shelter for more than a few minutes nor was shelter medicine ever discussed at school. It was an overwhelming experience at first. I had no idea of the scope of health conditions of the animals that entered the system or the incredible number of animals in-volved. So many pets (unlike my own cherished ones at home) that were unwanted, discarded and begging for attention in cages and kennels… all as a result of the human irresponsibility.

The pet overpopulation problem in Canada, the United States and indeed the whole world is staggering. The number of animals euthanized is horrific. As a practic-ing veterinarian I had heard about the problem but it takes on a whole new meaning when you are confront-ed with the sheer numbers and care necessary for these animals.

What gives you satisfaction both professionally and personally?As a new grad my ambition was to help animals in need and make a difference in their lives. I spent the first part of my career in practice, then in wildlife and now in a shelter. I cannot count the number of animals involved, domestic or wild, but it must be in the tens of thou-sands over my 35 years and counting. I feel that I have had an impact, a quiet one, but one which pleases me greatly.

Wildlife has always been a fascination for me. My early years were spent in the national parks in the Rockies

where the wildlife was abundant and varied in species. Wildlife rehabilitation is often a challenge. Funding is always a concern as there is no government support.

It is also a challenge because the purpose is to return the animals, orphaned or injured, to the wild. To do this they must be fit enough to survive, to care for them-selves, to reproduce and to care for offspring. Some are too badly damaged to be released back into their habitat. The ones we are able to release make all of our struggles and losses incredibly worthwhile. There is something about the ability to fly that defies descrip-tion. To shelter a wounded bird, in pain and terror, with no understanding of its inability to neither fly nor your intentions to help, is quite a responsibility. To open your gloved hand and release that bundle of feathers, be it robin, gull or raptor, and watch them fly again is extremely rewarding.

I became involved in the development of one of the early High Volume/Low Cost Spay/Neuter clinics in Canada after training with an organization called Hu-mane Alliance in North Carolina. We learned surgical techniques to provide rapid, safe procedures for large numbers of animals. I was attracted to this program because it is the only viable PROACTIVE step I have come across that deals with the vast pet overpopulation problem. Animal shelters are necessary in reaction to a problem created by humans. Education is a huge part of what shelters do but it is clearly not enough in itself.

Veterinarians say to me “Are you not enabling poor pet ownership in providing these services to owners who really shouldn’t have the pet they can’t afford in the first place?” Yes, perhaps, BUT the issue is that they do have this animal NOW and something needs to be done to prevent them from creating more animals that need to be nurtured in shelters that are already overcrowded and have few resources. People think about pets with their hearts and not their heads. And unfortunately some of them will make bad choices regarding their acquisition of pets. These are the ones I am happy to help because it is the animal and society that are the ultimate beneficiaries.

Personal satisfaction does come from my career but, and it may sound old-fashioned to say that the great-est accomplishment in my life would have to be my children. I have three adult children, all raised, educated and well into their careers and life. They are all well liked by their peers and co-workers and are loved by all those important to my husband and me. There can be no greater accomplishment than this in my opinion and I am proud to have been their mother and watch them grow and take their place in society. (Perhaps one of them could have wanted to follow in their mother’s footsteps-but it wasn’t in the cards... they all followed their own path!)

Dr. Andrea Coombs Dr. Andrea Coombs is veterinary sur-geon for the Toronto Humane Society and can be reached through the editor of this magazine.

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What would you change (if anything) about the nature, focus and perception of veterinary medicine as it presently exists in Canada today? Students in every veterinary school should be required to observe the animal sheltering of all do-mestic species, large and small. As mentioned, I had no concept of the issues involved or the numbers affected until I was actually volunteering or work-ing in a shelter. You need to see it to understand.

What do you do to unwind?Spend time with family and pets (currently four dogs, three cats, two turtles). I like photography and I also volunteer at a local elementary school’s breakfast program. I sing in the church choir, enjoy bird watch-ing and riding (or should I say ‘falling off ’) horses.

What advice would you give to the graduating veterinarian class of this year? Same advice given to me… set aside some time to read/research on a regular basis. It’s easier to do now because the ever-expanding volume of information is available online and can be accessed quickly. There are computers in our shelter, and in almost all veterinary clinics that provide vets with data and advice to use in our practices and proce-dures that are available with the click of a mouse.

Lastly I would advise them to spend as much time as they can with their families. Because children (if they have them) grow up in a heartbeat… try to be there as much as possible.

Editor’s Note: In the course of putting this in-terview together with Dr. Coombs, one of her mentors and colleagues had died. Dr. Coombs regretted that she did not have the opportunity to tell him how much he had influenced her career. She related her feelings as follows: ... as things often happen at the same time, I had to attend the memorial service for my first boss and mentor Bill McClure recently after just having mentioned him in the interview. As often happens one does not get time to say goodbye. I didn’t know he was so ill. Going through this interview reminded me just how much of an influence he was in my growing teenage years. I learned about dogs and trust and responsibility and a little about business from him. Hence my fascination with animals and my desire to become a veterinarian. His love of nature made me look at and appreciate the natural world around

me. From this came my commitment to wildlife rehabilitation medicine and my love of bird watch-ing. His interest in photography fuelled my inter-est in the same-though I will probably never be as talented. I wish I had told him how much he had influenced my life. I said as much to his wife Kathy and the kids. She told me that he was proud of me. I was certainly privileged to have been his pupil.

Bottom Line: This interview features a veterinarian who has practiced in different areas of veterinary medicine and currently works for the Toronto Humane Society.