Front Matter

Chapter 23 The Business of Canine Rehabilitation 569

and modalities, hold a patient during acupunc-
ture or therapy sessions, address client educa-
tion, and manage the service’s equipment. This
frees up the veterinarian and the physical ther-
apist to do patient evaluations, design treat-
ment plans, and manage the practice.

Location/space needs

If the rehabilitation practice is a department in
an existing veterinary practice, the location is
already determined. The department will be
located where the practice owners have allotted
space. Opening a stand‐alone practice will
require careful consideration of possible facility
locations.

Location

The ideal location has minimal competition, so
that it can be “the only game in town.” This tac-
tic will help to attract clients from a greater
radius. Consideration should be given to popu-
lation density and proximity to veterinary hos-
pitals that can be a source of referrals.

Lease/buy

The decision to lease or buy will be determined
by finances, as purchase costs and financing fees
must be covered in addition to the other costs
involved in opening a new rehabilitation facil-
ity. Leasing requires finding a landlord that will
allow an animal practice, and will allow the
planned improvements/renovations. Both leas-
ing and buying require that city ordinances per-
mit an animal business in the area, and allow
overnight boarding if that is a planned service.

Parking

There must be sufficient parking not only for
customers but for staff as well. Many clients
will be bringing pets that are large and unable
to walk. They will be hesitant to bring their pet
to the practice if parking is inconvenient.
Considerations of space for staff parking should
include the possibility that the number of staff

will grow as the practice does and the resultant

need for additional parking should not reduce

the availability of client parking.

Space requirements

If the rehabilitation service is a component of an

existing practice, some creativity will be

required to make the most of the space allotted.

For example, the underwater treadmill

(UWTM) may need to be in the room where

treatments take place. This may limit the num-

ber of patients that can be seen at one time.

Another consideration is that the distance

between the kennels and the rehabilitation area

can impact profitability because time is spent

moving dogs, especially large nonambulatory

patients.

A free‐standing facility will require a detailed

layout that demonstrates how the services

being offered will be accommodated. Ideally,

the area for exercise should be large enough

that two or more dogs can be treated simultane-

ously without the animals being forced to inter-

act. Acupuncture or manual therapy treatments

are best done in a private room, so the plans

should consider how many such rooms are

needed. Hydrotherapy equipment (pools and

UWTMs) require significant specialized space,

and this also needs to be taken into considera-

tion. The reception and waiting area must be

large enough that dogs do not have to be close

to one another during check in/check out.

Kennels are necessary, whether offering over-

night boarding or not, especially for patients

with clients that prefer to drop their dogs off for

treatments and pick them up at the end of the

workday. Additional space must be allotted for

office, charting desks, staff break room, office

manager space, bathrooms (addressing require-

ments for mens’/womens’/unisex and ADA

(see later in this chapter)), laundry room, and

meeting room/conference space for staff meet-

ings or educational classes.

Construction considerations

Build out requirements are determined by the

services to be offered. Each service has its own

space and equipment needs that require specific