Innovative Animal Housing Solutions for Veterinarians

Effective 

animal housing solutions

 are important for veterinarians seeking to reduce stress and fear for pets needing short-term and long-term housing. Learn more and also earn CE credit.     

Reducing Stress and Fear

It is important to ensure your veterinary practice is doing all you can to reduce fear for your four-legged patients.    Fiberglass kennels and cages provide animals with a quiet, soft and warm healing environment as an alternative to cold metal to aid in surgery recovery. For example, in response to research by animal shelter veterinarians, Mason Company's five-foot-wide Fiberglass Cat Condo is designed to meet the "Association of Shelter Veterinarians" guidelines to specifically reduce stress in cats.   Color choices may cause - or reduce - stress for dogs and cats. Softer, lighter colors, as recommended by Fear Free PetsSM, may create a lower stress environment that helps reduce fear. Fear-reducing colors are available on Mason Company's fiberglass Quiet Cottages and our recently expanded palette includes 9 reduced fear colors in FRP for side and back isolation or gate privacy panels.    It is also important to wash, dry and groom pets with less stress. Elevating wash units and electric grooming tables allow for a healthier, more efficient and ergonomic work environment, benefiting both the animals and staff. Being able to move animals up and down quickly helps reduce fear and makes for a calmer, happier client. Mason Company offers the only elevating UltraLift fiberglass wash units in the industry, and our electric grooming tables have a unique double-cantilever lift system and raise and lower faster than other tables in the industry. Additionally, Mason Company's dryer cages are manufactured with durable fiberglass materials.   

Luxury Boarding: A Smart Business Choice

Boarding and doggie daycare can provide a complimentary add-on business that can quickly – and with modest risk – double a practice's profit while also increasing core veterinary revenue.    Download the Boarding Best Practices Guide from Mason Company for helpful information about boarding as another way to build a practice, and view our financing overview to learn more about the steps involved when buying, building or remodeling a practice.   

Many veterinarians have found synergies with offering boarding in addition to running their medical practice. Don't just take our word for it: hear from our customers, including Chimney Hills Animal Hospital and Carolina Ranch Animal Hospital and Resort.   

Chimney Hills Animal Hospital.

Chimney Hills Animal Hospital serves Tulsa, OK and surrounding areas, dedicated to providing the highest level of veterinary medicine, quality boarding and friendly, compassionate service. They have remodeled nearly every aspect of the building, which they have occupied since 1978.    “We recently remodeled our clinic and added luxury boarding,” said Dr. Chad Lewis, DVM, Hospital Director of Chimney Hills Animal Hospital. “I had a concept of what I wanted and Mason Company was able to make it happen. They were great to work with and designed the perfect high-end custom luxury boarding suites I needed.”     Dr. Lewis wanted to offer high-end luxury boarding and focused on quality over quantity.  He installed eight upright suites, including six 5' x 7' and two 5' x 10' suites, complete with toddler bed and siding in a variety of colors.    When looking for a professional partner who could help with the design, his manager was impressed with the photos on Mason Company's website and Dr. Lewis watched several RACE-approved webinars for CE credit to help in his thought process.    Dr. Lewis says the new units are easy to clean and maintain.    “Dogs are family members and our customers want their dogs to stay in a nicer area that feels like home,” said Dr. Lewis. Everyone who has used our new luxury suites from Mason Company has loved them.”   

Carolina Ranch Animal Hospital and Resort.

In the past 40 years, John M. Strasser, DVM, has invested in more than a dozen veterinary medicine concepts that combine an upscale medical facility with professional boarding. His customers find security in knowing the boarding is staffed with doctors.   His newest concept is Carolina Ranch Animal Hospital and Resort.   “I recognized quickly that providing veterinary services with boarding, grooming and day care was an immediate hit. There is great synergy because there are referrals and customers coming from all sides of the business.”   “Boarding provides immediate business because nearly every pet owner has that need. We provide a one-stop shop by serving our customers through a single connection point all under one roof.”   Strasser uses Mason Company equipment for all of his customized animal housing needs, from kennels to doors and gates. “Partnering with Mason Company has worked out like a dream.”   The results speak for themselves. Strasser says it can take five years for a new stand-alone veterinary practice to break even and using a model with boarding cut that time to two years. Occupancy rates are at least 75 percent capacity on holidays and weekends and 35 percent during the week, plus there is additional revenue from daycare.   When he added kennels to increase boarding capacity by 30 percent, he only hired three new staff members because of his medical team.   

CE Credit

To receive continuing education credit, Mason Company offers a number of free RACE-approved webinars available to help veterinarians with financing, boarding and fear-reducing solutions. These on-demand webinars can be done alone or with the entire practice. Session options include:  

Adding Boarding to Your Vet Practice.

Grow with a little help from your friends! You already have a lot of friends-every patient you see, everyday. Why not grow your business with those friends? You might even make some new friends in the process. Watch this free RACE-approved webinar, Adding Boarding to Your Vet Practice. Learn how adding boarding can help you grow revenue, maybe even double it, by using many of the resources you already have and earn CE credit.  

Dog Boarding Solutions: Best Practices and Trends.

Hear the latest trends and solutions in boarding dogs. It's perfect for veterinarians who offer boarding or are interested in expanding their knowledge of boarding as another way to grow a practice. It is also valuable for veterinarians working with animal shelters or any environment where animal housing may present safety or disease contamination concerns.  

Refurbishing and Remodeling Animal Housing Facilities.

Want to give your veterinary facility the makeover it needs? Learn why refurbishing and remodeling can be a cost-effective option for competing with newer facilities in this free RACE-approved CE webinar. Construction work can potentially be done in phases to allow the facility to remain open and align with budget considerations. Learn more about the options available that can freshen up an older facility to better compete in today's competitive environment when a veterinary facility is facing new competition.  

Integrating Kennels and Floors.

Too often the floors are done poorly or incorrectly and result in a host of problems like cross contamination between runs, kennels that don't fit together, poor drainage, and many other avoidable issues. Learn the most common floors in kennels and their respective costs, pros and cons and how to set yourself up for success from kennel floor seals to drain options and, yes, even cross contamination.  

What is that Smell?! Pros & Cons of Kennel Drain Options.

When it comes to kennel drains, there are several choices, including front or back drains as well as individual or trench drains. It is even possible to run a facility with no drains. There are pros and cons to each design choice. The right answer depends on personal preferences, what operating factors are important to the owner or staff, and in some cases, what brand of equipment is used. Learn more about the issues involved in the decision-making process and how to determine what design is best.   Mason Company looks forward to partnering with you!   

Greg Taylor is President and CEO of the Mason Company.

Mason Company offers a variety of products to meet your animal care needs while ensuring animal health and the safety of both animals and staff. We have animal housing solutions for short-term holding, long-term boarding, surgery recovery, isolation and disease prevention. Our patented Silvis Seal™ and Sani-Slope™, available only from Mason Company, provides both superior floor mounting and leveling to ensure a barrier between kennels that helps prevent cross-contamination and stops the spread of diseases like parvo, kennel cough and the canine distemper virus. Mason Company has focused exclusively on animal enclosure solutions since 1892.