Furry friends: Don’t work around your vet’s schedule!
Work around your own with Riverdale’s travelling RVT
Written by Fleur Boomsma
Does your furry friend need to get a mani/pedicure? Contact Meaghan Michaud for her services // Image by LISA ROLLAND
Your precious, furry, little friend deserves the best care in the world and taking a trip to the clinic or pet store isn’t always as comfortable for the both of you. What if you knew about a registered veterinary technician (RVT) that could come to your home to offer the services you need?
Pet Pedis is Riverdale’s travelling RVT and has been in business since 2012. The owner and RVT, Meaghan Michaud, offers treatments like nail care, ear cleaning, B12/insulin injections, and now also offers pet-sitting for a great price. This way, you don’t have to work around your vet’s schedule and start working around your own.
Michaud comforts her furry friend, Hank as she is trimming his nails // Image by MEAGHAN MICHAUD
Michaud realized that nail care for pets wasn’t necessarily something that owners payed attention to. Some owners who may have physical disabilities weren’t able to put their pets in a carrier and bring it to the vet once or every couple of months to have its nails trimmed.
‘When I was working at a vet clinic, I thought it would be an interesting side project for myself,” Michaud said. “Little did I know that a lot of people would be interested in this kind of service.”
To distinguish the difference between a vet and a RVT is that the vet is essentially an animal doctor and the technician is a person who has successfully graduated from an accredited school and has met all the requirements identified by their provincial state or state association. Michaud also likes to refer herself as an animal nurse.
According to Michaud, to be a RVT you have to write the national exam, pass a criminal background check, and have to attend professional ethics seminars. These technicians are required to keep up with continuing education whether that means attending a conference, a lunch-and-learn, or take an online course. This way the RVT is constantly learning about the changes and updates in medicine.
As a Riverdale resident, Michaud has developed many relationships over the years. She believes it’s a privilege to be trusted with people’s pets, let alone to be trusted enough to be invited into their home.
Hetfield is getting his medication // Image by MEAGHAN MICHAUD
“They’re taking a complete risk asking a stranger to come into their home and handle the most important four-legged creature in their life and yet they do it,” Michaud said.
Michaud has also found that some pet owners don’t quite understand the vet’s instructions and don’t want to ask any further questions because they may feel distraught.
Image by SUZANNE LEWIS
The difference with Pet Pedis is that Michaud goes over the instructions at a pace that works for her clients and in a home that they are comfortable with.
She will take the extra time to make sure that they understand and may even send a follow-up email going over and adding additional information that will help with any further concerns they have.