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Managing Veterinary Care Costs: A Complete Guide to Payment Options for Pet Owners & Vet Practices
This guide is a comprehensive, practical roundup of the financing and payment options available in veterinary medicine today. It includes pros, considerations, and best-fit scenarios for both pet owners and veterinary teams. If you know of additional resources, please leave a comment so we can keep this updated.
For more support on navigating financial conversations with clarity and compassion, check out this Life Boost with Amelia podcast episode with Dr. Shona Kowtecky:
Ep. 94 | The F Word in …
Ep. 94 | The F Word in Vet Med (Part 1): Overcoming Fear Around Finances
With Dr. Shona Kowtecky — practical strategies to talk about money without stress.
Join Dr. Amelia and special guest Dr. Shona Kowtecky for an honest, practical conversation about one of the most stressful and avoided topics in veterinary medicine: finances. Whether you’re a veterinary professional or a pet owner, financial stress affects how you think, feel, and make decisions — and yet it’s rarely discussed in a way that feels supportive or clear.
In this episode, we unpack why money con…
7 Sneaky Ways People-Pleasing Sabotages Your Healthy Habits (And How to Break the Cycle)
People-pleasing isn’t a personality trait, it’s an unconscious survival strategy. As someone who was a people-pleaser for decades, that realization was life-changing for me.
I didn't realize that the reason:
- I always said "yes" with a smile on my face (despite desperately wanting to say "no")...
- or the reason why when a friend asked my preference I'd just say, "I'm happy to do whatever you want to do!" (even when I had a strong preference)...
...wasn't because I was easy-going and "nice…
Ep. 93 | Concussion Chronicles #6: From Control to Trust - Making Peace With Discomfort
Healing isn’t about control — it’s about trust. In this episode, Dr. Amelia shares the lessons her concussion recovery taught her about releasing resistance and the need to control, embracing discomfort, and finding peace in uncertainty.
Transcript:
Podcast Intro:
Welcome to the Life Boost with Amelia podcast — where we're changing the narrative around what true health and success look like.
They should give you energy, not drain it.
I'm your host, Dr. Amelia — multi-passionate integrative…
Ep. 92 | Concussion Chronicles #5: The Hidden Struggles We Don’t See - A Nervous System Perspective on Healing
In this Concussion Chronicles episode, Dr. Amelia revisits a past concussion and the lessons it revealed about unseen struggles, caregiving, and empathy. She explores how viewing behavior through a nervous system lens offers a universal language for understanding ourselves and others—even when we don’t know the full story. Discover how compassion, curiosity, and connection become powerful tools for healing and leadership in life and veterinary medicine.
Transcript
Intro:
Welcome to the Li…
Beyond Appreciation: 5 Meaningful Ways to Support Vet Techs During (and After) Vet Tech Week
Vet Tech Week isn’t just a time to acknowledge the critical work and contributions vet techs make to veterinary medicine.
It’s an opportunity to pause, reflect, and ask how we can be more proactive—collectively—in supporting their energy, well-being, and growth so we can continue to attract and retain these superheroes in our profession.
After a decade in clinical practice, I have so much gratitude for the RVTs I’ve had the privilege of working with. They’re a unique breed — full of grit, hear…
When Data Isn’t Enough: The Missing Language of Meaning, Connection, and Joy
“You’d think that biologists, of all people, would have words for life. But in scientific language our terminology is used to define the boundaries of our knowing. What lies beyond our grasp remains unnamed.”
— Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
I’m currently reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, and that passage really spoke to me, because I’ve experienced it.
It’s an especially meaningful message to reflect on for Indigenous P…
Ep. 91 | Concussion Chronicles #4: From Victim to Main Character Energy
Transcript:
Intro:
Welcome to the Life Boost with Amelia podcast where we're changing the narrative around what true health and success look like. They should give you energy, not drain it.
I'm your host, Dr. Amelia — multi-passionate integrative health and life coach, entrepreneur, and recovered burnout veterinarian.
Together, we'll explore the science behind how your brain and body work, including the unconscious mind, while also connecting with what your heart needs in order to stand …
Ep. 90| Concussion Chronicles #3: 6 Ways To Cope When Things Feel Really Hard
Transcript:
Hi friend. I am going on my morning walk, so going to share more of my concussion recovery journey.
If you don't know the full freak accident story, check out the first of these Concussion Chronicle episodes. I am going to be reading some of the posts that I shared on social media during this time. I found I couldn't look at screens at all, and it was even hard to be having conversations, like thinking about things was hard.
But I did discover that if I simply wrote my t…
An Unpopular Opinion About Depression (That Could Change the Way You See Yourself—And Others)
In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, I'm sharing a perspective on depression that could shift the way we view it—both personally and as a society.
My Story
One of the darkest periods of my life was a summer in college. From the outside, very few people knew I was struggling (even now).
It felt like someone else had taken over my body. Even on perfect Maine summer days when the sun was shining and everyone else seemed carefree, I felt like I was living in another world. Everything was heavy, …
