Is your pet sick? Take him to the vet urgent care center

CARY, North Carolina — Kimberly Kelly took her miniature dachshund, Rupert, to Truss Vet after she started noticing Rupert was tense, shaking and having trouble walking.

Growing worried, she called her primary veterinary physician on Monday, Feb. 20, but they couldn’t fit Rupert in that day or the next.

But Truss Vet could.

As soon as she stepped in the door after her 18-minute drive from Holly Springs to Cary, the Truss Vet client care coordinator knew who she was and helped clean the accident Rupert had in the middle of the lobby.

The appointment was quick and easy, Kelly said. Dr. Brad Waffa, chief medical officer of Truss Vet, comforted Rupert, and even sat on the floor, encouraging Kelly to do the same for the exam process.

The visit took about 45 minutes.

“I’ve been to 50 million vets and I’ve not had an experience like this before,” she said.

Truss Vet, a new and innovative veterinary urgent care in Cary, aims to provide non-life-threatening care to dogs and cats by using animal care techniques that reduce fear, like “touch gradient” where touch is maintained during care, and three-day workweeks for most employees to help combat veterinary burnout.

Traditional emergency veterinary hospitals — that do take care of life-threatening emergencies — are overwhelmed with the number of pets coming to see them, according to The Atlantic. Veterinary urgent care presents an opportunity to alleviate the demand, similar to what has happened in human urgent care, according to Medical Economics.

Truss Vet features an atypical style of front desk where its tasks were moved to the back of house with views into the treatment room and the doctor's office: Michelle Gillum, client care coordinator, answers calls, answers client questions, looks at medical records and does tele-triage. The actual reception desk is simply to greet clients as they walk in, take them to the right exam room and communicate with the rest of the team. — Truss Vet features an atypical style of front desk where its tasks were moved to the back of house with views into the treatment room and the doctor’s office: Michelle Gillum, client care coordinator, answers calls, answers client questions, looks at medical records and does tele-triage. The actual reception desk is simply to greet clients as they walk in, take them to the right exam room and communicate with the rest of the team.

Veterinary burnout

Truss Vet opened with the intention of creating a fear-free environment for both pets and their owners for an inherently stressful visit, and to provide its employees with a work schedule that aims to remedy worrisome trends in the veterinary field.

After a grueling few years in the veterinary care industry — working in clinical practice and then at a startup — Waffa, co-founder of Truss Vet, was ready for a new career venture.

The veterinary care industry is a stressful and time-consuming profession and Waffa said he experienced some burnout.

“It turns out, it’s really common in veterinary medicine,” Waffa said. “We’re experiencing a pretty significant mental health crisis.”

Waffa and CJ Casselli, co-founder of Truss Vet, met at a serendipitous time when Casselli wanted to start a business in an industry he was passionate about.

Having dogs of his own, it just so happened to be the veterinary industry.

Together, they realized that – like human health care – veterinary care includes general practice for regular checkups and emergency hospitals for life-threatening emergencies.

Tallulah, the dog of one of the employees who suffers from an inflamed digit, receives loving care at Truss Vet.

What veterinary care often lacks is that in-between space: injuries that must be taken care of as soon as possible but don’t present a threat to life – a bothersome ear infection, a broken nail or itchy skin.

“And so my kind of idea for the modern vet clinic was paired with his uncovering of this idea around urgent care,” Casselli, chief executive officer, said.

From idea to opening

In June 2022, they signed a lease in a perfect location: across a few parking lots from Fenton shopping center and development right off of Cary Towne Boulevard.

Truss Vet opened on Jan. 9, 2023.

The colors chosen for the clinic, off-white “Kitten Whiskers” and light to dark blue colors, are based on Fear Free palettes, colors that animals can see that do not frighten them.

“Our doctors and most of our staff are certified Fear Free,” Waffa said. “Which means we’ve been through advanced certification to make sure that when we’re handling our pets, talking to our pets, touching pets, restraining pets, it’s all done in ways that are thoughtful, gentle and as stress-free as possible.”

Inside the treatment room is a digital radiography suite to take x-rays. Up on the computer is an x-ray of Tallulah's paw which was used to check if her toe was broken -- it was not. — Inside the treatment room is a digital radiography suite to take x-rays. Up on the computer is an x-ray of Tallulah’s paw which was used to check if her toe was broken — it was not.

The innovative changes

With employees in mind, the break room includes a fridge, sink, table and cubbies, as well as a respite room. It can serve breastfeeding mothers or as a mental health room where employees can take a moment after a difficult case.

Most of the staff only works three 12-hour shifts throughout the week, from either Sunday through Tuesday or Wednesday through Friday. The vet is closed on Saturday.

Ruby Fishbein, registered veterinary nurse at Truss Vet, said she’s been enjoying her four days off from work.

With their Waitwhile “Save My Spot” reservation system online, the team already knows which animals they will be seeing that day.

The system is to ensure that, even though they have a waiting area, it’s not as used as a regular veterinary hospital or general practice, Waffa said.

Brad Waffa (left) and CJ Casselli, co-founders of Truss Vet, stand beside a backlit dark blue sign of the company name in the lobby. "'Truss Vet' comes from this idea of bridging a gap in care, but also a truss is a triangle, which is where we get our start," Waffa said. "Truss," which sounds like "trust," alludes to the fact that they want clients to be able to trust the personnel as well. — Brad Waffa (left) and CJ Casselli, co-founders of Truss Vet, stand beside a backlit dark blue sign of the company name in the lobby. “‘Truss Vet’ comes from this idea of bridging a gap in care, but also a truss is a triangle, which is where we get our start,” Waffa said. “Truss,” which sounds like “trust,” alludes to the fact that they want clients to be able to trust the personnel as well.

Casselli said they have three categories of clients: people who call them, those who reserve an appointment online or those who walk in. At this time, around 75% of clients call ahead, 20% save a spot online and 5% walk in.

Kelly, who called ahead and then drove to Truss Vet, said she saw a difference in Rupert’s demeanor after the urgent care visit.

“He wasn’t as anxious at all,” she said. “The ride home, he was cool, calm, collected. He wasn’t shaking.”

And after perfecting this first location, the co-founders hope to open a second one.

Valeria Cloës

Valeria Cloës is a senior living in Raleigh, NC, but is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is majoring in Journalism with a minor in Music. She has experience in copy editing, reporting and writing in a newsroom and magazine setting, and fact-checking. In addition to her writing for Media Hub, Valeria has also taken on editing. Valeria hopes to pursue a career in editing.