We Are Upstate NY with Ethical Veterinarian Dr. Jefferson

We Are Upstate With Ethical Veterinary’s Dr. Eileen Jefferson

By inside + out | January 22, 2024

Can you believe there’s still a doctor who makes house calls? A vet, no less. Dr. Jefferson is a special kind of veterinarian who prioritizes the health of her patients above conflicting industry interests, cultural trends, conveniences, or conventions. The cornerstones of her Ethical Veterinary practice are preventive medicine, client education, thorough physical exams, and the gentle handling of creatures in her care.

The cats and dogs in Dr. Jefferson’s care are approached with the utmost sensitivity and emotional awareness. She doesn’t engage in declawing, cosmetic ear cropping/tail docking, convenience euthanasia, over-vaccination or anti-vaccination, reliance on homeopathy/non-evidence-based remedies or the overuse of prescription pharmaceuticals. Neither does she engage with current fallacies that “infection (‘positive test’) equals disease,” that “correlations constitute evidence,” or that medicine can be accomplished in the absence of physical exams. Her recommendations derive exclusively from accumulated scientific research and clinical findings, and she doesn’t condone the use of dominating styles of restraint, as she believes they’re neither beneficial to animal patients nor conducive to human safety.

We’re privileged to sit down with Dr. Jefferson as she tells us more about her personal story and her philosophy of compassionate veterinary care.

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INSIDE+OUT: How did your company get its name and how did you develop the idea for your business?

Dr. Jefferson: When I was in veterinary school, it was already becoming clear that unethical practices involving animals were at the root of many (if not most) of the medical problems that veterinarians treat. A multitude of veterinary illnesses can be traced back to puppy mills’ irresponsible breeding, misleading marketing of pet foods and products, animal neglect, misrepresentation of animals, dog/cat overpopulation or overuse of pharmaceuticals. Repeatedly band-aiding symptoms of a recurrent problem without addressing an underlying cause is illogical and often wasteful of resources. If there is an industrial or cultural reason a particular physical suffering is manifesting repeatedly, I also wanted to address that. I knew topics involving ethics would be an essential part of my job.

What sets you apart from your competition?

I don’t think of other veterinary businesses as competition per se but more as colleagues. Vet hospitals in the county have referred patients to me and vice versa because we all have different capabilities. Unlike a hospital vet, I might be able to drive up a mountain in a snowstorm to euthanize an immobile animal at its home. A hospital vet, however, can do surgeries and dentals in their facility, which I can’t do out of my car. So, I’m grateful to have their help and support. There are unique features of my practice, though, compared to others. I go to the house, which is much less stressful for many animals. I spend a lot of time with my clients and patients and can focus on addressing underlying causes, which is something hospital vets don’t always have as much time to do. I have complete continuity of care; I’m the only doctor in my practice, so I know my patients and their medical trajectories extremely well. I also have a lifelong exam discount for shelter/rescue animals.

What is one question you’re constantly asked or the biggest misconception about your business?

Whether I’m perpetually on-call or able to arrive immediately, like an ambulance. It’s true that I do more next-day urgent care than a typical house call vet, so perhaps I brought the misconception upon myself. But I still cover all of Ulster County and have a schedule to keep, so unfortunately, I can’t serve the same functions as an E.R./walk-in clinic. True emergencies are best served at an E.R. with x-ray and hospitalization capability.

How do you grow your business and how do clients find you?

It is nearly 100% word of mouth, and after 13 years, I’m currently filled up regarding new clients. However, I think educational information about how to best care for a dog or cat is often more crucial than which veterinarian an animal sees. My website offers that education through a Home Guide to Dog and Cat Care.

I also have a new venture: giving preventative tips on my @ethicalveterinary Instagram account. My clients have received this information verbally for years, but I’m writing these tips down for newer or non-clients. This project is geared toward those looking to avoid emergencies and veterinary bills they cannot afford. I don’t exaggerate when I say that an animal guardian could save hundreds or thousands on vet bills simply by implementing the general advice in the Home Guide or the @ethicalveterinary Instagram. Given the current levels of veterinary hospital inundation, veterinarian burnout and veterinarian shortages, preventative tips feel like a win-win for everyone.

My hope is for this free proactive information to reach animal guardians—locally or anywhere in the world—who might not even have access to a veterinarian due to geographical, financial or other reasons. It’s also a practical resource for anyone between vet visits since it’s based on the most common veterinary questions I receive from clients.

What does your typical day look like?

Part of my day is spent in appointments and driving around to appointments. However, at least a couple of hours daily are allotted to other tasks – contacting clients, medical records, reviewing lab work, etc. I do my own scheduling, bookkeeping and inventory. I re-designed my own website, for which I provided photography, writing and editing. People sometimes ask me why I don’t have employees. It’s true that even magical beings like Santa Claus have elves working for them. Still, it keeps me more personally fulfilled when I do many disparate things in one day.

How did you wind up in the Hudson Valley?

I live in High Falls and have had the advantage of traveling through every Ulster County town during my first two years running the practice. I got to know each town’s residents, cultures and scenery intimately. Stone Ridge, High Falls and the New Paltz outskirts were my favorites.

What about this area makes it unique to live and work?

Firstly, High Falls is incomparably scenic, nestled in a valley between the Shawangunk Ridge and the Catskills. High Falls and Stone Ridge also have a “salt of the earth” quality, with just enough urban influence. Like many, I cherish that rare balance. High Falls is also close to many different centers: Stone Ridge, Accord, New Paltz, Rosendale, Kingston and New Paltz are all 10-15 minutes away. So, my location to reach patients quickly is unbeatable.

What impact does your business have on your community?

In addition to treating animal ailments and injuries, my role is to educate people about animal care, which can keep animals from developing painful or distressing problems in the first place. I want my patients to have longevity and I’m happy to say that nearly all do. I particularly admire the spirit of geriatric animals and love helping people support their animals as they age. Helping animals in their home is also highly intertwined with helping people since many of those seeking home visits are themselves elderly, disabled, emotionally distraught or maybe just busy juggling many things.

How is your industry changing? How is your town changing? How are you adapting?

The veterinary industry is closely linked to the human health industry, and both are becoming increasingly dominated by the same pharmaceutical and technological companies. Unfortunately, I do not feel the industry is changing in a way that ultimately benefits the patient. Impersonal health care and a slew of high side-effect drugs, in the absence of proactive health education, do not benefit the patient. Online “physical exams” that do not include palpation or listening to the heart and lungs do not benefit the patient. Yet, there are many suddenly pushing for these changes.

I’m seeing firsthand that real science and medicine are being replaced with official-sounding pseudoscience and extreme profiteering… and the means being used to ease people into this have been both insidious and disingenuous. Many of the people allegedly rooting out misinformation are supporting major corporate financial campaigns that are actually the epitome of misinformation. Fortunately, I saw this writing on the wall as a vet student 15+ years ago and quickly became as independent of a practitioner as possible. Thorough physical exams and preventative health education will always be the cornerstones of my practice.

What local businesses do you rely on to be successful?

Hospitals like Rhinebeck Animal Hospital, Hurley Vet Hospital and the Kingston Animal E.R. have consistently supported my patients and me for critical emergencies, routine surgeries and dentals. Stores like Lucas Pet Supply and Accord Feeds & Needs are good local sources of over-the-counter animal care products. They also carry Made in USA, grain-free dog foods, which I strongly recommend, despite misleading, unscientific industry campaigns in recent years to discredit them.

What would be your dream Hudson Valley staycation?

It would be fun to spend a night at the Mohonk Mountain House like a tourist, even though it’s only minutes from my house. I’ve hiked around it so many times but have never stayed there.

Tell us something about yourself people might be surprised to learn.

I’ve finally started publishing some of my poems and gallery-exhibiting my photography. I’m also working on multiple works of creative fiction. In vet school, I often joked that veterinary medicine would be my “side job.” The science-art divide in me is so intense it’s necessitated a pen name or art alias, Ena Firinn. I’ve just started putting up some of my Hudson Valley photography on my @enafirinn Instagram account.