Meet Dr. Karen Whala | Veterinarian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Karen Whala and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Karen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always thought of myself as a great ’employee’ and starting my own business was a foreign concept until, borne out of necessity and desperation, I decided, ‘what else did I have to lose’? I was burned out after practicing veterinary medicine for 12 years and decided to try switching to government work instead. This option was even worse on my physical health than general practice and after a few years, decided to try starting my own business. I didn’t originally see it as a replacement for a regular job but after 10 months (8 months getting a business set up and 2 months seeing clients), I was thrilled with the possibilities of being my own boss. I knew at that early stage that I was going to grow my business into something larger and help other vets who too often also feel burned out in their own vet journeys.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After 12 years of practicing as a veterinarian, I was burning out and desperately looking for alternatives that didn’t require me to gain more education, take on more debt or relocate. It was while I was working at a small animal practice that I learned about In home pet euthanasia. Not as a career, but as an opportunity to help pets pass peacefully for their incredibly grateful owners. I loved the very few times I was asked to help a special client who requested this service. After my first few, I became a willing volunteer and made it known to my supervisor that I would absolutely be willing to go help. These appointments refreshed me, took me away from the high pressure, stress and indoors of the clinic and it was then that the seed of offering In Home Pet Euthanasia was borne.

CodaPet came about as a solution to the issues I discovered trying to offer In Home Pet Euthanasia to my community. When I decided I wanted to serve my community by offering In Home Pet Euthanasia, I had 2 options, choose to be employed by a IHE provider or start from scratch. Since my city wasn’t large enough at the time to interest an IHE Employer, I went ahead and started a business from scratch. The planning and costs that go into starting a business was much more involved than I had anticipated took me a long 9 months before I was ready to help my first pet. But once I started experiencing the joys of offering this service to my clients and the benefits that came with it, I knew for certainty that I wanted to help other vets offer this service too.

Codapet helps veterinarians address the same burnout I experienced, yet allows vets to offer this service without the headaches of getting a business started. By partnering with CodaPet, veterinarians can enjoy the freedom and income of offering IHE to their clients in their city on their own schedule.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh, this is an easy one…well kinda. I live in Fresno CA, a city smack dab in the middle of CA. Not a very popular place to live in itself, but its right in the middle of many amazing attractions.

To start, I would take him/her to the undergrown Forrestierre Gardens. A unique-to-Fresno venue with an amazing series of tunnels dug by hand by one man over his lifetime. I’m ashamed I’ve lived here more than 20 years before I visited.

If my friend is more of an adventurer, I would definitely consider hiking in Yosemite or seeing the Giant Forest in Sequoia or the famous Boyden caves in Kings Canyon. All a few hours drive away, but definitely worth it!.

Depending on the time of year, I would recommend visiting our local Rodeo or Blossom Trail (spring), our Veterans Day Parade (Nov) which is the largest one West of the Mississippi or drive to Apple Hill in the Fall. Other honorable mentions which I found magical: The lantern festival or visiting San Simeon to see the Elephant Seal migrations. I find myself captivated for hours just watching them sleep, talk, fight and gossip HAHA.

For foodies? You can’t beat the fruits and veggies that are home grown in the Central Valley. There are numerous fruit stands and You Pick strawberry or berry patches.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My God who mysteriously arranged everything to work out so that a clear path was cut for me. It wasn’t by accident that the vacation weeks my supervisor randomly gave me a year prior fell on the weeks I could attend the Euthanasia Training Academy, or that my brother worked at a print shop just long enough to print all of my marketing materials, or that a bonus came in just enough to get my business started or that my Conflict of Interest Forms just sat on the desk of my supervisors so I could proceed with my business plans without going through a lengthy review process, etc and etc.

Also my dad and my friend Richard who were very handy with getting my home and garage set up for my business. They made my life so much easier and I’m so grateful for them!

Website: www.codapet.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-karen-whala/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.codapet/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/codapet-fresno-fresno-4

Other: These links will need to be added later.

Image Credits
Dr. Bethany Hsia and family