Meet Karina Salvo | Integrative Veterinarian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karina Salvo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karina, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success is that I work exclusively one on one with each and every one of my clients. They have direct access to me after hours if needed to answer and questions or concerns they may have.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I now own my own practice and can practice 100% the way I chose to. I intentionally do not have a receptionist or a technician. Patients are scheduled on the hour instead of every 15 minutes. This allows for me to work one on one with the patient and the owner together, eliminates any waiting for the patients or owners. My ‘ team’ in my practice is the owner, myself and the patient and by working together all of us can better understand the patient and the medicine. I only have one patient in the practice at a time, if I have to leave the room for any reason, I leave the door open in case the patient ( typically a dog) wants to follow…as I drop treats behind me. I have set up a room that resembles a living room, complete with a bookcase with books, Knick knacks, hidden treats, some products, treats and scented candles, oils and various items. Being able to allow the patient to explore the room as I discuss history with the owner while watching the patient move, interact and finally approach me in a more calm and inquisitive manner while I sit on the floor has been jolting to my approach. My patients love coming in and finding the treats I may have hidden for them! Their interest in various smells and textures is exciting to them as its all new for them. I try to change my room around every few weeks to keep those that return interested in the ‘exploration’ part.

I have had more than a handful of clients reach out to me and their initial few sentences include “ my dog had a bad experience at the last vet we took them to”. This pets enter with hesitation, but a little confusion as when they enter its quiet, and carpeted. So many of my patients have a great time with treats and ‘playtime’ ( this is a treat motivated exam that I make fun by using tasty treats to get the patient to move on their own but in a fashion that allows me to examine without assistance in such movement; such as a sit or head turning to look at the ears, or examine the mouth etc. The best feeling is when the owners are ready to leave and the patient stays behind and makes eye contact with me waiting for another fun treat or when they return and they are pulling their owner into the building.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in South Florida we have many places to chose from, I would take my best friend to the Everglades for an airboat ride ( it isnt Florida unless you see some alligators). The beach, the clear blue water and snorkeling to see the array of tropical fish we have here would be on the list. A drive out to Key West to zoom around on scooters and look at the bungalows and take our time driving home.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I began my career within the veterinary field when I was 12years old ( I did volunteer work at a local clinic cleaning cages). Eventually 16 years had past and I had worked within the field at various clinics and hospitals, some single doctor and others multi-specialty large scale hospitals. I was able to experience many different ways of not only practicing veterinary medicine, but patient handling, client education and various levels of standards of care. When I look back through the years in my career, two people stand out the most…Dr. David Bessler and Dr. Lisa Radosta. Dr. Bessler, the founder of the largest Veterinary ER hospitals ( VEG: Veterinary Emergency Group), was one of my mentors during my internship and he oversaw the Emergency Department. He always kept his cool, was fast, efficient, always pleasant, supportive and most importantly remained compassionate and dedicated at the same time to the pet, owner and situation at hand all while walking us interns through what we felt was a complete disaster…he kept us on track and facilitated us to build our confidence. . Dr. Radosta is a veterinarian that I first met while she was an intern and she became a board certified veterinary Behaviorist. Dr. Radosta is one of many key people in the fear free movement, which is a mindset that as practicing veterinarians, we not only focus on the medicine, education of the owner, but decreasing the fear, anxiety and stress that can be associated with coming into he veterinary office..

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