Veterinary Innovation Podcast

This week, Shawn Wilkie and Dr. Ivan Zak sit down with Dr. Brad Waffa, a small animal and exotics veterinarian and co-founder of Truss Vet - Veterinary Urgent Care, to discuss the growing need to define urgent care in veterinary medicine. Dr. Waffa explains how Truss Vet fills the gap between overburdened general practices and high-cost emergency hospitals by providing true intermediate care.
He shares how Truss Vet's unique operational model helps protect veterinary team members from burnout while delivering exceptional patient experiences. The discussion also touches on how practices can navigate changing market pressures, build strong referral relationships with local GPs, and continuously innovate to support both clinicians and pet owners.
Learn more about Truss Vet - Veterinary Urgent Care.
Dr. Brad Waffa recommends "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company" by Robert Iger. He also mentions currently re-reading "The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" by Ben Horowitz.

This week, we speak with Anthony Gatti, co-founder and CEO of PetPax Co., about how their proprietary SupplaMelts® are fixing one of pet wellness's biggest bottlenecks: administration compliance. Anthony explains how these thin wafers sit above the gum line to deliver microencapsulated active ingredients directly through the oral mucosa, bypassing stomach acid and taking effect within minutes.
He discusses how pairing effective formulations with simple, mess-free delivery formats helps pet owners stick to daily preventative routines. From calming anxious pets to maintaining daily oral hygiene, this episode highlights how PetPax Co. is bridging the gap between clinical intent and actual home compliance.
Learn more about PetPax Co.
Discover more about SupplaMelts®.
Anthony Gatti recommends the insights shared in Yo-Yo Ma On Sharing Joy & Finding Connection Through Music regarding shifting mindset from "proving" to "sharing".

This week, Shawn Wilkie and Dr. Ivan Zak sit down with Dr. Jake Rodgers, a relief veterinarian and founder of Rodgers Veterinary Care and Vet Buddies, to address a critical flaw in veterinary medicine: breakdowns in care between clinic visits. With 52% of pet owners skipping needed care, traditional discharge sheets are no longer enough to maintain client compliance and continuity of care.
Dr. Rodgers explains how Vet Buddies bridges this gap by pairing pet owners with veterinary students under clinical supervision to manage a living medical record and provide ongoing support. You will learn how this relationship-first model provides students with hands-on communication experience, offloads busy practitioners, and creates a scalable framework for independent practice.
Learn more about Vet Buddies.
Dr. Jake Rodgers recommends "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari.

This week, Shawn Wilkie and Dr. Ivan Zak talk with Gary Peters, co-founder and CEO of PupPilot, about how AI front-office technology is helping with front-desk understaffing and burnout in veterinary practices. Gary shares how PupPilot manages inbound and outbound calls, texts, and emails using AI voice models and dynamic PIMS integrations built for veterinary teams.
He explains why human-healthcare platforms fail in veterinary medicine and how PupPilot's hardware and software make it possible to automate scheduling, post-op check-ins, and website content updates. This episode offers practical insights into how clinics can eliminate phone overload, improve client compliance, and capture lost booking opportunities.
Learn more about PupPilot.
Gary Peters recommends the YouTube channel and podcast by Dwarkesh Patel.

This week, Shawn Wilkie and Dr. Ivan Zak catch up with Neshmeen Faatimah, the founder and CEO of Nuzzle Technologies, Inc., to discuss how AI-powered simulations are transforming veterinary communication training.  
After losing her cat during a complex care journey marked by communication breakdowns, Neshmeen set out to solve one of veterinary medicine's most overlooked challenges: teaching vets how to navigate difficult conversations with clients. Nuzzle's platform allows veterinarians to practice realistic case scenarios with AI-simulated pet owners, helping teams improve trust-building, treatment discussions, cost conversations, and clinical decision-making in a low-stakes environment. 
This episode is a fascinating look at the intersection of AI, behavioral science, education, and the future of veterinary mentorship.
Learn more about Nuzzle Technologies.
Neshmeen recommends "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton, a foundational text on negotiation and alignment that helps reframe vet-client interactions.