Christie Long, DVM

I never set out to be a veterinarian. After college I started a career in software, coding and selling systems without any particular passion for it. It paid the bills, but something was missing.

Then came a year-long trip around the world with my husband in 2000. After a vivid encounter with a Peruvian shaman and, later, while trekking in Nepal, I found myself asking a simple question: what would I do if I were to pursue something I truly loved? The answer came clearly: veterinary medicine. I love animals and science, and what I had enjoyed most about my software career was solving problems for people.

Fast-forward through veterinary school at Colorado State, practice in Fort Collins, a family move to Mexico, and a stint at one of the first veterinary telehealth companies (which we eventually sold to Petco). My path led me to Steve Eidelman, founder of Modern Animal, in 2019. We shared a vision for making the veterinary experience better for both pet owners and the people who work in clinics.

What struck me immediately about Steve was something I’d never encountered in the business world: a genuine belief that medical quality matters. Most executives I’d met viewed quality care as incompatible with a successful business model. Steve saw it differently. He understood that exceptional care and a thriving business are interdependent, not mutually exclusive. We opened our first clinic in April 2020, right as the pandemic began. Today we have 30 clinics and nearly 600 employees, over 120 of which are veterinarians. Our approach is fundamentally different from traditional veterinary care, and the results speak for themselves. Chewy’s acquisition of Modern Animal in May of this year affirms the model we’ve been building and its potential to improve the veterinary experience at greater scale.

Lowering the traditional barriers to care

When we started Modern Animal, we made a bet: the traditional exam fee model was keeping pets from getting the care they needed. In most clinics, you pay $85 to $120 just to have a veterinarian look at your pet. For many pet owners, especially those with tight budgets or multiple pets, this creates a significant barrier to seeking care.

Our solution was a membership model. For $199 per year per pet, members get unlimited exams and 24/7 access to virtual care. We’ve since added other tiers—an “essential” plan with one free visit per year plus virtual care access, and a traditional pay-per-visit option—but our all-access membership remains the overwhelmingly popular choice.

The impact has been profound. Our doctors report seeing patients earlier in the course of disease, when treatment is often more effective and less costly. Pet parents love knowing they can bring their pet in without worrying about an exam fee, and they especially value being able to reach a nurse any time, day or night, with questions or concerns.

This approach addresses one of the most troubling trends in veterinary medicine: declining visits. Industry data consistently show fewer pets making it to the clinic each year. By removing financial barriers and adding convenience, we’re hoping to reverse that trend one pet at a time.

Technology that solves real problems

From the outset, we knew technology would be at the heart of our vision. We started with an app that allows clients to chat with our team, schedule visits, and manage their pets’ care. We knew that people hate waiting on hold when calling a veterinary clinic, and clinic staff hate the constant ringing of phones. Our app eliminated both problems. About six months after we opened our first clinic, we made a bold decision to develop our own practice management system. It wasn’t easy—there were definitely moments when I questioned this choice—but it’s proven invaluable. Having full control of our technology stack has allowed us to quickly integrate AI features and continually improve the experience for both clients and our team.

What sets our technology development apart is our approach. We involve our doctors and nurses in the design process from the beginning. They’re our customers, and we build solutions that address their actual needs, not what we think they need. It’s the same principle I learned in the software industry: identify a human problem, then develop technology to solve it. More than convenience, our technology is about transparency and education. When a pet has lab work done at Modern Animal, the results are delivered through our app, along with an explanation of what they mean. Clients leave with a digital summary of their visit that details what was done and why. This addresses what I believe is one of the biggest disconnects in veterinary medicine: clients who paid $500 for a visit and have no idea what they received in return for their money.

Designing for well-being

When people first encounter Modern Animal, they often comment on our clinic aesthetics. Yes, our spaces are beautiful, but the design goes far deeper than appearances.

We’ve created environments that reduce stress for everyone: pets, clients, team members. Natural lighting, skylights, and fixtures that mimic natural light make our spaces pleasant to work in. The absence of ringing phones dramatically lowers the noise level. We practice low-stress handling and aren’t shy about using appropriate medications to keep animals calm during visits.

Our hospitals include features that can get overlooked in traditional clinics: We have dedicated offices for doctors to make calls and complete records, quiet rooms for nursing mothers, and separate dental suites rather than performing dentistry in the main treatment area. We invite clients into any space they want to enter except the surgery suite. We believe that by creating transparent spaces for our work, our clients value that work more and build trust with our teams more readily. This transparency extends to financial matters as well. Everyone gets an estimate before proceeding with care, and they can approve it directly through our app. No surprises, no confusion. While creating beautiful clinics and writing software have been challenging, the hardest part of building Modern Animal has been cultivating the perfect environment for veterinarians to practice in. Every doctor is different, with unique needs and preferences. We’re constantly refining our employment model to accommodate different work styles while maintaining a sustainable business. We want Modern Animal to be the employer of choice in the veterinary industry. Innovation that matters At Modern Animal, we define innovation as using technology to solve real problems for people. We’re not innovating for innovation’s sake or to chase the latest trends. Every change we make, every feature we add, every process we implement is designed to make life better for our team and the pets and people we serve. We don’t add AI capabilities to our practice management system to be sexy. It’s because we want to help doctors get home on time. When we design a new clinic layout, it’s not for aesthetics. It’s to create a space where people feel comfortable and pets feel safe. This approach to innovation, focused on solving real problems rather than chasing novelty, is at the heart of everything we do. It’s why we’re growing, why our clients are loyal, and why our team members stay with us.

The future of veterinary care

As we expand to new markets like Arizona and continue to refine our model, I’m increasingly convinced that the future of veterinary medicine lies in removing barriers, whether those are financial, technological or emotional.

Pet parents want to do right by their animals. They want quality care at a fair price, delivered in a way that respects their time and their bond with their pet. They want transparency about what’s happening and why. And they want to feel like they’re partners in their pet’s care, not just passive recipients of services.

At the same time, veterinarians want to practice good medicine. They want to use their skills and knowledge to help animals. They want to educate clients and build relationships. And they want to do all this while maintaining a healthy work-life balance and feeling valued for their expertise.

At Modern Animal, we’re proving that it’s possible to meet the needs of both groups simultaneously. By removing barriers to care, embracing technology that solves real problems, designing spaces that promote well-being, and creating flexible work environments for our team, we’re building a model of veterinary care that works for everyone.

The challenges facing veterinary medicine are real—declining visits, price sensitivity, staffing shortages—but they’re not insurmountable. By focusing on innovation that matters and putting people first, we can create a future where pets get the care they need, clients feel empowered and informed, and veterinary professionals thrive.

That’s the Modern Animal approach, and I believe it’s the future of our profession.

Christie’s email: christie@modernanimal.com