Veterinary Team Spotlight: Howard Beach Animal Clinic
Director of Marketing & Foster/Rescue Parent - Pawlicy Advisor
At Pawlicy Advisor, we’re proud to partner with outstanding veterinary teams across the country—like the compassionate professionals at Howard Beach Animal Clinic in Howard Beach, NY.
As a highly rated provider, Howard Beach Animal Clinic has earned a reputation for delivering exceptional care to pets and peace of mind to their owners. In this spotlight, we sat down with the team to learn more about their approach, their community, and what sets their clinic apart.
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If you’re a member of a veterinary team, you can access our free resources and materials for veterinary practices.
Tell us a little about your hospital.
Our office has been around since 1981 and is privately owned. We always say that we are family-owned and operated because that’s how the business began. One vet and his wife until more staff were hired, and most ended up being siblings or relatives.
Our team (https://howardbeachvet.com/) is very ambitious, intelligent, hardworking, and extremely passionate about veterinary medicine and helping animals. I’ve never met a more dedicated bunch. From doctors to kennel staff, everyone treats the patients who walk through here as if they were their own pets, so the quality is very high.
What does a typical day look like for your team?
We begin with coming in before everyone else and making sure our office not only looks great on the inside and outside but also smells great! Our technicians and kennel staff make sure all of the animals are cleaned, walked and treated based on the reason for being in clinic.
Everyone has had their coffee and are usually eager to get the day started. You can hear a mix of either bachata, reggae, salsa or rock softly in the background amidst conversations among the staff about how their evening or morning went. When we say, we’re family, we truly are…even if not all by blood.
Why do you believe financial education around pet care is important?
I believe financial education is absolutely important around pet care because let’s face the fact: Pets cost money!
When it comes to pet health, diagnostics are often necessary to determine what’s going on with a patient and those costs can add up. Clients seem to have a better idea of the direction they’d like to take with a pet when they know what they’re spending ahead of time as well as when they know it can be covered by insurance. We find that they’re more apt to running diagnostics with a better peace of mind if they have insurance.
We do not always bring up finances with a client unless they ask for an estimate. So at that time, if we see some reluctance, we inquire about insurance and or loans/credit cards for payment options.
How has your experience with Pawlicy Advisor been?
Pawlicy Advisor has honestly made our conversations with clients shorter and much smoother!
In the past, we had tons of pet insurance brochures from various companies, and we honestly couldn’t give a proper review because we knew nothing about any of them. We would give advice based on what a previous client sai,d and that’s not really saying much since folks can have different experiences.
Pawlicy is truly the ‘kayak’ of pet insurance, and when we say that, clients understand exactly what we mean and seem very open to the idea.
Any success stories where pet insurance helped a patient get care they might not have otherwise?
Actually, my sister in law has insurance for her pet and I believe she purchased through Pawlicy after asking me what my suggestion was for pet insurance.
She’s been meaning to get a dental done on her 2-year-old Golden-Doodle and has been putting it off.
Would you believe that once she obtained insurance, she came into our office to book the procedure that was well over $1000! She was very happy to have had insurance.
What advice would you give other hospitals thinking about working with Pawlicy Advisor or prioritizing pet insurance education?
If I had the opportunity to speak with other hospitals, I would 100% advise them to collaborate with Pawlicy because it’s an absolute no-brainer!
We do not need to educate on something we didn’t learn about. We spend much less time going over different types of pet insurance when they can go to one website and get the quotes.
One simple brochure or qr code could be the difference between a client’s spending in the vet office and not spending at all. The customer service is absolutely a pleasure and the reps are phenomenal human beings!
Just for fun—what’s your clinic’s go-to coffee order or team motto?
Our team enjoys breakfast so an early morning or mid-day Starbucks run is always a pick me up on days when lunch seems to evade us! Having that dash of caffeine on an overwhelming day seems to brighten everyone’s mood!
More fun - What’s your clinic’s spirit animal, pet breed?
I’d have to say our spirit animal could be the lion! We’re a mighty and powerful team and always on the move, ready for the next thing that walks through the door! We’ve had visiting doctors compliment our speed and calm during emergencies that walk through the door unannounced!
Best “pet shenanigans” story recently?
Just this past week, we had a client come in with his pet. He was an older gentleman and was so excited that he taught his dogs all these tricks. He began showing the doctor and the receptionists all the things his pet can do and after about 2 things, the pet stared at him as though thinking, “really dad? I’m not a circus clown, I don’t want to do any more!” It had the staff in tears laughing because the more he tried to impress us, she wasn’t having it. One of the lighter moments here that we appreciate!
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Director of Marketing & Foster/Rescue Parent - Pawlicy Advisor
Edwin Plotts rescues and rehomes cats in Savannah, GA - while leading Pawlicy Advisor's brand growth. He's a pet parent of two rescued sibling cats: Greyson and Babs. He's also an avid volunteer with Flatbush Cats and The Toby Project.
