Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep. #33 Transforming Pet Emergency Care: Ashley Gray’s Passion and Innovation at VEG
What does it take to revolutionize emergency pet care? Join us as we explore the inspiring journey of Ashley Gray, the medical director of Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG). From facing burnout to finding her passion, Ashley shares the unique ways VEG is transforming pet emergency care. Discover how VEG’s open concept, immediate triage, and inclusive approach make it a game-changer for pets and their families.
Learn why doctors at VEG sit on the floor to comfort pets and how pet parents are encouraged to be involved in their furry friends' treatments. Operating 24/7 with a walk-in-only policy, VEG ensures that help is always available when your regular vet isn’t. Don’t miss out on hearing why Ashley is so dedicated to this exceptional organization and how VEG is celebrating its two-year anniversary in Charlotte. Tune in for an episode filled with passion, innovation, and a commitment to compassionate pet care.
Veterinary Emergency Group (Charlotte, NC)
Ashley Gray
4716-A Sharon Road Suite A
Charlotte, NC 28210
(980) 880-6062
charlotte@veg.vet
veterinaryemergencygroup.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina Lee.
Speaker 2:Hi everybody. Welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'd love to introduce to everyone Ashley Gray. She is the medical director of Veterinary Emergency Group, better known as VEG, as you told me.
Speaker 3:Welcome. Thank you so much for having me, Regina. I'm so excited and, yes, we are VEG and I am a veggie, so we're cheesy over here because we are growing and popping up across the country 80 plus locations. So it's good you know both of our names because you will hear both out there. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So I know you're located near South Park Mall in the Sharon Corners Shopping Center, but let's start with what Veg does and how you got into this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would love to start there, and in an exciting way. We actually are celebrating our two-year anniversary on Saturday, so it has been a fun journey bringing Veg to Charlotte. I, in a brief summary, am a veterinarian who graduated from Virginia Tech, have been in the Charlotte area since 2014, doing a mix of general practice and emergency. I actually got burned out on emergency. Unfortunately, a lot of my colleagues do face burnout and compassion fatigue in this industry and so, having gone through that, I spent some reflection on figuring out what I wanted out of my career and after about seven years practicing, I just wanted more. I was curious do I want to open my own practice? Where am I headed with my future?
Speaker 3:And I learned about VEG, this very not normal 24-7 pet emergency hospital, and I honestly wouldn't be in emergency again if it wasn't for VEG. So I love how we operate and when I heard about this open concept and getting doctors on the phone and all these different things, I honestly was like, how does this even work? Like does this work? And yeah, I was going. What do you do? That's different. I'm just curious. I can see how excited you are, I know, and so that is exactly where you know it pulled me in was hearing all of these things and so I went and toured and everything I heard was real.
Speaker 3:So here's what we do. We are an open concept pet emergency hospital, which means when you walk in you're greeted right away. A doctor will come see you honestly, typically within a minute or two, and give you that peace of mind up front and that triage of hey, your pet's stable, or, if your pet is unstable, we'll be able to intervene very quickly, so within minutes of arrival. On top of that, you know we like to sit on the floor and be where pets are most comfortable, so you will see us doing that. We find a way to say yes. So we have pet parents who will stay overnight with their pets when they're hospitalized. They'll watch the procedures, they can be a part of anything. So all we do is emergency and we're here to help people and pets when they need it most. So we're walk-ins only 24-7. Anytime your vet is closed or cannot fit you in for an appointment, that's when you can think to come to us, Wow.
Speaker 2:So when your bed is closed, gotcha. So you guys are just amazing. I can see your passion. Tell us about what does make you different. You kind of shared what you do but what makes you different from other emergency bed places.
Speaker 3:Great question because you know I would call it a misconception in general about the field at large. A lot of us have had tough emergency situations, whether it's in the human ER or the pet ER, where you know you come in, you're scared, you're anxious, maybe you're upset because your dog ate, you know your son's joint not to throw the sun under the bus, but you know there's all these factors that bring you into the emergency room and it's scary and in a lot of traditional settings you're either in a waiting room for hours or you're put in an exam room and you just have no idea what's going on. You're not a part of anything, and so how we're different is that we've broken that down and that barrier is gone. We're an open concept, so you stay with your pet the whole time. You can see those treatments, the value is right in front of you and the favorite part surgery you know all the different facets are right there in front of you and so that allows us to be a better team.
Speaker 3:So you see what we're doing and you also see the impact it has on your pet. So it really is a big focus on the customer experience and people and pets as a whole, whereas I feel like at large, our industry focuses more on the pet, which is fair. You know we're veterinary medicine, but pets are attached to people and they're their children now, and so we really take that bond in a special direction and have elevated that to a level where we're a team and we're working together. So I feel that that is very beautiful and it's something that is worth coming in and seeing for yourself, and it's something that is worth coming in and seeing for yourself.
Speaker 2:Well, you know a lot of us. In those emergency situations you just kind of go oh, vet, near me, but this makes so much sense to really think about this for your love pet and you know, if there were an emergency, who would? I want and I can't imagine. Yeah, you guys would be amazing. So, as far as testing and all the equipment, what can you do?
Speaker 3:in your setting? Great question. So I like to think of VEG as kind of your middle man between specialty hospitals. So your specialists would be like a neurologist, an oncologist, cardiologist, so we have all those specialists in vet med as well. And then on the other side you have your general practice vets, that's your family veterinarian, who does the routine blood work, vaccines, spay, neuter, dentistry. So we're right there in the middle and we only do emergencies.
Speaker 3:So we do it best. It's what we do every day. We are not phased by a busy day where 60 patients come in. That's where we shine and so our capabilities run that gamut. So basically, for any type of emergency from snake bites to a torn toenail to sudden acute vomiting my dog ate seven medications we're here for all those. Our tools and capabilities are digital x-ray ultrasound. We have ability to do a vast variety of surgeries. So anything in the typical emergency realm we can do, and we do have an endoscope. So we have a scope where we can actually remove foreign bodies from the stomach, where you don't have to do surgery and you can just go in and it's kind of like a video game and you can pull out different things. So we had a dog the other day that ate an air pod and it didn't come up with vomiting, so we were able to go down there and pull it out and the pet woke up, was able to go home, you know, two hours later. So oh my God Gosh, that's the variety of treatments and diagnostics.
Speaker 2:What variety of animals can you care?
Speaker 3:for and that's a great question too we are very unique in that we will see any species that will walk in the door. We're very aware of our capabilities. So with certain exotic pets, think of us as the triage stabilizer. We often can't do extensive diagnostics on, for example, birds, or we just had a hedgehog call this morning. You know there's things along those ways where you know we can focus on the core, which is, you know, help with pain meds, antibiotics, wound care. You know things along those lines. We also can do x-rays on these pets, but when it comes to blood works, sometimes you need special equipment for that. So we kind of know our limitations and the good news is is we have great relationships with the community and can help guide you for follow-up. But think of us for anything. The bread and butter, of course, is dogs and cats. That's what all of us have at home. But for those who have their exotic pets, like birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, snakes, we are here for you when your vet is closed.
Speaker 2:So okay when your vet is closed, but typically if your pet suddenly has something going on should they call you, or during normal hours, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And another factor that's unique for us is spike two. So we have seven spikes in how we practice. Spike two is that we get a doctor on the phone. So very good to know that if you just have a question and you're like, hey, my dog vomited one time but is acting completely normal, you get to talk to a veterinarian at VEG and get that good peace of mind and we may guide you in that. Hey, why don't you call your general practice vet? See if they can fit you in. If they can't, we're here. So that may mean you know same day, because sometimes vets are booking out a week or two weeks out. You know, just know that we're here and we can help provide you with good advice from a veterinarian at any hour.
Speaker 2:That's amazing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's so terrifying.
Speaker 2:I've only had to deal with that once and it's, it's very, very scary. Well, you guys just sound amazing, amazing.
Speaker 3:Is there anything else you would like to share? I would say that the main things to know about us are that you know we are here when you need us at any hour. You know remember that we get that doctor on a phone for you, so call us if you have any questions. We are open concept. So of course, when you come in you will see exactly what's going on. We still have rooms because there are dogs that are reactive to other dogs. Maybe they're very anxious. If you are a bit squeamish with things, of course we understand that. So we do have rooms to allow for privacy and otherwise, you know we are here to collaborate with your vet, so we want to make sure that when you leave here you have a copy of your medical record, your vet has a copy, and that there's great, consistent follow up, since we're here to fill in in that emergency situation.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. You're so knowledgeable. Wow, very, very impressed with you, ashley. Well, we appreciate your time today, so let's tell our listeners how to reach you again and your location.
Speaker 3:Great. So we are in the Sharon Corners parking lot in South Park. You'll see us on the side facing Sharon Road. You can follow us on Instagram, veterinary Emergency Group. We have underscores in between each word and you'll get to see us grow. We have 80 plus locations, as I mentioned earlier, so coming to a city near you, quite a few in the Carolinas as well. And if you want to follow along on our website as well vegcom it will show you your closest veg location, as well as our phone number and our information.
Speaker 2:Excellent. Well, very excited to know you and I can see you know your passion. Thank you for your time and I look forward to meeting you out in the community.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you so much for having me. This was great, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPSouthCharlottecom. That's GNPSouthCharlottecom, or call 980-351-5719.