Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh

E88: Animal Healing Now - Working with Vets to Enhance Quality of Care Naturally

• Leila Carter & Dr. Michael Savko • Episode 88

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What makes Dr. Michael Savko with Animal Healing NOW a good neighbor?  

Could your furry friend benefit from a different kind of healing? Dr. Michael Savko brings 25 years of experience in holistic animal therapy to this eye-opening conversation about the power of complementary veterinary care.

What sets Animal Healing Now apart isn't just their expertise in animal chiropractic and bodywork, but their unique collaborative approach. Working directly within four veterinary hospitals across the Pittsburgh area, Dr. Michael and his team bridge the gap between conventional medicine and holistic therapies. Rather than functioning as separate entities, they create a seamless experience where both approaches enhance each other.

The results speak for themselves. From limping legs to digestive issues, Animal Healing Now achieves positive outcomes in approximately 90% of cases. Dr. Michael dispels common misconceptions about animal chiropractic care, explaining how their gentle trigger point therapy differs from the adjustments people might imagine. This approach focuses on unlocking the body's natural healing potential, helping pets overcome issues that might otherwise require more invasive interventions.

What truly distinguishes this practice is their dedication to personalized care. When pet owners call, they speak directly with a doctor who takes time to understand their concerns and coordinate with their veterinarian. This extraordinary level of attention extends beyond business hours, with Dr. Michael sometimes fielding calls on weekends and holidays. "We care just as much as you do about your critters," he explains, and that compassion shines through every aspect of their service.

Ready to explore whether holistic therapy could help your pet? Visit animalhealingnow.com or call 724-261-7915 to speak directly with Dr. Michael or his team. Your animal companion deserves care that addresses not just their symptoms, but their whole being.

To learn more about Animal Healing NOW go to: 

http://www.animalhealingnow.com/

Animal Healing NOW

(724) 261-7195


SPEAKER_01:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Is your animal in need of some holistic animal therapy? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Dr. Michael Southcoe with Animal Healing Now. Dr. Michael, how's it going?

SPEAKER_03:

It's going great. I'm very excited to be here. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for being here. Yeah, we're excited to learn all about you and your business. So please tell us more about your company.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, we are chiropractors. We work with veterinarians in veterinary hospitals, and we provide like a holistic bodywork trigger point sort of therapy, working with the vets to try to help the animals do as good as they possibly can. We can treat all sorts of conditions for everything from limpy legs to sore necks to goopy eyes to stomach aches. Essentially, we're trying to help the body do a better job and dealing with it with whatever it's dealing with. We have 25 years experience. We work out of four local veterinary hospitals. We have set hours weekly there. And instead of it being vet chiropractor or vet therapy, different, we're together. So I think it provides a better uh continuity of care for the patient and the clients. Absolutely. Usually we get pretty good results.

SPEAKER_00:

Very good. And how did you get into this business? It's very unique.

SPEAKER_03:

I've always been an animal lover. And you know, I was the guy where it was like, oh, this this uh cat doesn't like guys, and then the cat was uh crawling on me, you know, kind of thing. Or I remember my mom telling me that you know, would we go see the movies as a kid that I was always very uh sensitive about the like Bambi's mom and stuff like that, you know. So I've just always had an innate connection to animals. And I uh when I decided to go the holistic route uh and I found out that you could work on animals being a chiropractor, I uh immediately kind of gravitated towards that. And um, here we are 25 years later.

SPEAKER_00:

Awesome. Well, 25 years, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Are there any myths or maybe misconceptions in this industry that you'd like to talk about today?

SPEAKER_03:

Sure. That it can't help. Uh it's it the bottom line is it can't hurt. If we take a case, uh, we are generally helpful about 90% of the time in some way. It doesn't mean that we're gonna save the day, even though sometimes we do or we help doing that. But it it it it with our approach, it's more like a trigger point therapy body work versus an adjustment, which is what most people think of as chiropractic. So it's very safe, it's very comfortable for the animal. We have a long-standing reputation of being good humans and doing good work. Um, we have a huge network of veterinarians that we work with, in addition to the four that we practice out of. So I think um uh, you know, the misconceptions that it might not work or that it it may hurt. Uh if you take a look at our uh reputation and our results, you can see that most of the time it does do something and it never really hurts. Uh just like anything else. If you start a new exercise, if you start a new therapy, if you start a new medication, if you're at the vet office and you're getting poked, prodded a little too much, you might be a little sore afterwards. But in holistic medicine, we call that a healing reaction. So we're trying to kind of unlock the body so that we can get the body better instead of being stuck, you know, with where it is currently.

SPEAKER_00:

Sure. And so are your target customers anyone with a pet who might seem like they could need some balancing, or who who are these people and these animals? And how are you currently attracting um the owners to the business?

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, luckily at this point, um, with all the years and the reputation, it's it's a lot of word of mouth. And then the veterinarians that we work with in-house, like I said, we have four locations kind of around the Pittsburgh area, they'll send us uh cases also. But it's mainly word of mouth, or people will find us through online, they go searching, they're getting uh recommendations that don't sit well with them, or maybe their vet you know doesn't know about everything. So they start looking for things and um they contact us. And really, we the doctors, we have a very unique approach here. So our technique isn't unique. And when somebody calls the phone number, they eventually talk to a doctor first. So it's not like they're talking to an office manager or a receptionist. We want to make sure that number one, the person understands who we are and what we do and how we do things. And we don't like surprises for people. So we we talk to them, we make sure that also that their vet is on board with uh what they're doing or that their vet knows who we are. So we're big fans of, we want to work together. And both of us doctors have uh a lot of experience in multidisciplinary. So we're used to working with uh the medical side or traditional doctor, if you want to call it that way. So it's it's a lot of word of mouth, online, direct referral from the veterinarian, or they call it a consultation, really, with what we're doing. So the state looks at it like we're consulting with the vet on the case, which is kind of like what happens with most therapy, physical therapy, that kind of thing. In the state of Pennsylvania, the state looks at it like the person's veterinarian or a veterinarian is kind of the hub that everything comes out of, which is good. That way, there's always their vet is involved, the vet knows what's going on, we send the vet a report. So it's about as uh, you know, keep it in the family and everybody's kind of on the same page as possible. And like I said, we usually get pretty good results.

SPEAKER_00:

Very good. Yeah, I love that you guys get to work together to heal the animal in a holistic way that's all-encompassing. Um, so have you ever thought about maybe starting your own podcasts to talk to the animals' owners about maybe some of the concerns that they're wanting to address and how to address them in a way that would be kind of unique to them?

SPEAKER_03:

It's crossed my mind, and usually we're kind of in the trenches working uh a lot, and luckily we've been busy enough and we don't have tons of time to do like videos or things while we're working, but doing this has definitely um sparked uh I it's been in my mind, but who knows? You may you may get me on a better path here to get the word out a little bit more, and I won't I won't forget about you if that happens. Very sweet.

SPEAKER_00:

So outside of work, what do you do for fun?

SPEAKER_02:

Um, I like music, I like sports, I like uh putzing around the house, I like doing yard work, that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03:

Outside, um my wife and I we live uh outside of the city, so we like doing yard work. We like spending time at the pool. We kind of keep it simple. Uh, we have a nice and simple, uh nice relationship and uh makes things easy.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, very nice. Yeah, we love our home improvement projects around here too.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, yes. I I hopefully I'll have enough time to do a little bit today now that it uh stopped raining around here in Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, exactly. We've gotten quite the downpour in these last couple days after a long drought. So my garden's probably very happy about it. Yes, Dr. Michael, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about animal healing now.

SPEAKER_03:

Unique, one-of-a-kind experience, excellent results, uh, can't get better quality customer service. Uh, with the doctors are readily available for people. I've talked to people on Sundays, on holidays. We care just as much as you do uh about your critters, and we want to help.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I can feel that energy even through the call that you really this is the best job for you to be in. Just something, yeah, where you're showing your care and compassion for animals. How can our listeners learn more about Animal Healing Now?

SPEAKER_03:

Our website is www.animalhealingnow.com. So animalhealingnow.com. From there, you can go to Facebook, you can go to YouTube, uh, the phone number 724-261-7915, which I'm sure you'll put up somewhere here. Um that is direct to us, and you're either speaking to a doctor or the office manager when you contact that number. So, again, very, very close-knit group here. We get back to people. If we're busy, we get back to people immediately. Most people are shocked that we get back to them so fast and that they're speaking with the doctor right away, and that we'll take the time to talk to them and all those sorts of things. So it really blows people away. The kindness, the compassion. And then when you add on the results, it's um it's been a fantastic journey, and we we want to continue helping more and more and more.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, very sweet. Yeah, a lot of times whenever you're dealing with issues of chronic pain or whatever they're going through, it is an urgent matter to that owner. So the fact that your response time is very quick, I'm sure, is appreciated across the span of your customer base.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and because we're answering the phone and talking to people, we talk to a lot of people that need to go see their vet first.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_03:

So we know we say, hey, uh, you know, you you if you're having stomach issues or or the dog hasn't been eating, and that's not where you we we appreciate the the holistic vibe of the client that's thinking that, but we want to make sure that they're where they're supposed to be first. So really the client sh is at the vet or talks to the vet and then comes to us. So and and we're happy to do it that way, and that's the way that it should be done because the vet is really the main practitioner or the or the lead kind of clinician for animals in the state of PA. We kind of function with them, kind of underneath that or in conjunction, you know, together.

SPEAKER_00:

So thank you. Well, Dr. Michael, I very much appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on the show. We wish you and Animal Healing Now the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburgh.com. That's gnppittsburgh.com or call 412 561 9956.