Lauren Scavola

I attribute my success to hard work, the support of my family, especially my husband, and being able to be with my girls. You have to put the work in. I was in college for almost 9 years, and then I was doing shock clinic at one point every single Sunday all day. I worked so hard, and now I'm at a point where I can make the decision not to have to work Saturdays. I put so much work into it. My husband is so supportive. He was blue collar, working for Patco Speedline in Philadelphia on the

railroad, then working on the Walt Whitman Bridge. Now he's the full-time practice manager at All Creatures, and he's made it to where I can be a doctor and do what I love. He runs the clinic and our household, and he's the best dad. He's a huge part of my success.

My client told me that you can try to move a rock in a day, or if you move a pebble a day, you'll have a rock at the end of the month. This really taught me that you have to take it slow. You can't rush it, and you have to listen to what your body and your brain are telling you. You just have to take it day by day. There's so much going on, but taking it one step at a time makes all the difference.

Always ask for what you deserve. Don't ever be afraid to speak up, because someone is going to be out there that will value you as you value yourself. Make sure that all your boxes are checked. Never settle. The industry is changing so much from when it was very heavy male doctor dominated. I was growing up watching my dad work from 8 in the morning to 7 in the morning every single day, every weekend. I am in the same position that he was at that time in his life, but I have made it so I'm home and I have dinner with my children every night, and I'm going to spend weekends down the beach. You have to wait for what you deserve and prioritize your family.

I don't really think there are any challenges. I think the biggest opportunities are that there are many more vet schools opening. There's one that is probably 10 minutes, if that, from my hospital. The opportunities to really open your own clinic are great. The ability to be able to get into the profession is becoming more reachable than it once was. When I went to vet school, there were like 26 vet schools in the U.S., and so I went to Ross in the Caribbean. But there's many more now, and it's making it much more reachable, which is nice.

Being kind is the most important value to me. You have to be kind. The core value and motto for All Creatures is 'be kind to all.' I have it on the wall in the lobby, I have it everywhere. I found shirts for the girls, and Veda asked what the shirts say, and it says 'kindness is free.' Being kind is so easy. It takes so much more energy to not be nice. You don't ever know what other people are going through, and you just have to be respectful of people. Treat others as you want to be treated. If you put positive and nice out into the world, you will receive it back.