Veterinary medicine has evolved rapidly, bringing incredible advancements in technology, diagnostics, and treatment options. Yet, as care becomes more sophisticated, it’s also becoming more expensive, complex, and in many cases, less accessible for everyday pet owners. In this episode, hosts Jordan Tyler and Dr. Stephanie Clark sit down with world-renowned veterinarian Dr. Jan Pol to explore how the profession has changed over his 50+ year career. From hands-on training and common-sense diagnostics to the rise of corporate clinics and increasing costs, Dr. Pol shares candid insights on what it takes to deliver effective, compassionate care in today’s landscape.

Helpful Links

🐶 Learn more about Dr. Pol Clinical Nutrition, a new line of targeted diets to address weight management, food sensitivities, and gastrointestinal care—no prescription required!

📺 Check out “The Incredible Dr. Pol,” a TV show featuring Dr. Pol and his family that aired on National Geographic for 24 seasons!

👋 Connect with Dr. Pol and his community on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.

📖 Read more from Dr. Pol in “Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow: My Life as a Country Vet.”

Show Notes

00:00 – Inside the Episode

02:03 – How Dr. Pol Fell in Love with Veterinary Medicine

08:04 – How Things Have Changed Over 55+ Years in Practice

10:38 – The Far-Reaching Impact of “The Incredible Dr. Pol”

15:18 – Corporate Clinics, Rising Costs, and Accessibility Challenges

19:47 – Common Sense Diagnostics vs. Reliance on Technology

24:55 – Affordability, Accessibility, and “Doing No Harm”

32:50 – Dr. Pol Clinical Nutrition and Affordable Pet Wellness

38:29 – Dr. Pol’s Vision for the Future of Veterinary Medicine

42:16 – Classic Cars, Life Lessons, and Looking Far Enough Ahead

46:50 – Final Takeaways

If you've ever watched the incredible Dr. Pol, you've probably thought, how does this guy do it, right? He's pulling calves in the middle of the night. He's making house calls. All of it feels kind of like we're stepping back in time into a version of veterinary medicine that doesn't really exist anymore.

Yeah, that's kind of the point. Veterinary medicine and honestly animal agriculture as a whole has changed dramatically over the last few decades. We've gone from small, local, relationship-driven care to something much bigger and in a lot of ways more complex.

Totally more technology, more specialization, more access to incredible care—more incredible than ever before. But that also leads to higher costs, less independence, and a growing gap between what's actually possible and what's actually affordable.

And that tension between progress and practicality between gold standard care and real-world access is exactly what we're digging into today.

We're sitting down with one of the most famous yet most down-to-earth veterinarians in the world, just to hear how things have changed from his perspective over more than 50 years in practice.

We'll uncover how Dr. Pol fell in love with veterinary medicine, the role of common-sense diagnostics versus too much reliance on technology, his perspectives on affordability and accessibility, and what the future of veterinary medicine may look like.

Get ready for a whole lot of stories, plenty of strong opinions as always, a few reality checks, and an exciting new product announcement toward the end.

Welcome to Barking Mad, a podcast by BSM Partners. We're your hosts, Dr. Stephanie Clark—

—and I'm Jordan Tyler.

I was the youngest of six. I was quite a bit younger than the next one above me. I was 12 years old, tall and skinny, and the local veterinarian that we had was a typical large animal veterinarian with lots of muscle. So anyway, my brother had bought some pigs that were not supposed to be pregnant, and they were. So, when they had trouble getting the piglets out, he stopped by our house, he tells me, “You come with me.” He was, you know, with the pig in the pen, in the straw and he told me what to do. And I was laying behind those sows up to my shoulders looking for the little piglets inside and pulling them out. I thought that was so much fun. I come home and tell my mother, “Mom, I want to become a veterinarian.” “Well, then you better study hard.” And that's how it came. Before that, I could become a dairy farmer or what makes no difference, but...

Dr. Jan-Harm Pol (3:07)

…when I was delivering those little piglets and they come out, you know, screaming or whatever, that was fun. And yes, at this moment, it still is a very beautiful thing to pull a live calf, to pull a live foal and anything. When you pull a calf and it's laying there and it starts breathing, “Hey man, it's alive!” It's an elation that never will go away.

Yeah, it's electric.

I don't know, I don't get shocked, but no, it's fun. And I still think for me that's still fun. I still enjoy it. When I became a veterinarian, when I was in college studying, it was all large animal. But by the time I graduated, I had done my own C-section on cows. It was hands-on. And the farmers at that time would take the animals to the college. It would be free because veterinarians worked on it. I mean, students worked on it. And yes, this how we learned. There was always the veterinarian looking what you were doing, but like I said, I had done my own C-section. Of course, it was with two or three other students, or everybody did something, but we knew how to do a C-section by the time we graduated.

So surprisingly, this isn't always how it works today. Most of the time, actually, the teaching veterinarian will conduct the procedure and training vets, so the student veterinarians will stand behind them and just kind of watch. So, in Dr. Pol’s view, this less hands-on approach could maybe be contributing to an over-reliance on veterinary diagnostic tools over what he describes as common sense diagnostics, which are often a lot cheaper for the pet parent as well.

You know, Jordan, Dr. Pol mentioned something and it kind of ties into a couple of different stories that have come out really just this year of universities, more specifically veterinary universities, canceling or banning or phasing out what they call terminal surgeries. So, “terminal surgeries” is a phrase for surgeries that vets will perform on an animal where the animal doesn't wake up at the end. So essentially it is the end, it's terminal. And these are, have been kind of a necessary evil for a while, right? It's: how do you get that hands-on experience without putting someone's pet at risk, but also in a learning environment where you can learn, but also keeping animal welfare in check.

And so, because of the ethical concerns, the public pressure, a lot of veterinary universities are now starting to phase out or ban these terminal surgeries. And so, Dr. Pol had kind of mentioned that we need more hands-on experience. And I agree, right? Like, how do we practice something, how do we perform something, how do we get good at something without doing it? And there's only so much simulation you can do, but at the same time, how do you balance animal welfare?

So it's really... It's a lose-lose, right? It's a Catch 22. How do you get the experience but also keep animal welfare? So, I don't have a solution. I don't know if we'll have a solution in our lifetime, but what he's asking for, we're actually going in the opposite direction with vet schools right now.

I was sewing up a dog after I had taken the tumor off, and the professor looked at me and says, “Have you been working for a vet?” “No.” “Well, because your suturing is so fast and good, I can't believe it.” Then again, I was the youngest of six, I had to help my mother and she taught me how to knit, I know how to sew, and all that stuff. Yeah, for that matter, was nothing new for me. And when I was in my first practice, my colleague there said, “Yeah, anybody can cut but Dr. Pol can suture like a Singer sewing machine.” So yes, things like this are fun. And as my oldest brother always said, if your work is fun, you never work a day in your life. And that's why I'm still working.

My parents always told us that lesson. Yep. I mean you mentioned that you've been practicing for 55 years so, how has the industry changed over time like what are some things that you've seen from when you first started practicing to practicing now?

Complete change. Forty-five years ago, we started this practice. And there was 80% dairy. There were two or three farms every mile. And yes, we got called out any time of night because the dairy people, the owners of dairy cows, watch their cows very closely. Beef cows are not so much.

But anyway, yes, there was one night, I can tell you that. So, the one called me at 12 o'clock in the morning that they had a cow trying to have twins. So, I go over there, pull the twins, go home, take a shower. Three o'clock in the morning, got the call from the other ones with the cow down with milk fever. I was young, I could do it. But yeah, so, those are all gone. What we see now is mega-farms all over Michigan here. All these individual family farms are gone. I feel bad about it, because now I'm driving down the road here and all the barns where there were dairy cow [barns] are falling in. It's a tremendous bad view. I hate it. But that's how it is. We can't afford keeping the barns up because there's nothing in there. And, you know, the mega farms you see all over.

Yeah. We've seen this movie before, right? As agriculture has industrialized, small family farms, my family's included, has been squeezed out by scale, efficiency, and consolidation. And something similar is now happening in veterinary medicine. Over the last decade or so, corporate ownership of vet clinics has surged from under 20% just a few years ago to more than 30% today. As larger players move in, we're seeing a shift: fewer independent practices, more standardized care, shorter appointment times—Lord, do I know—and higher prices—oof, feel that one too.

In fact, recent data shows veterinary visits are actually down a bit while industry revenue is still growing. Basically, clinics are making more per visit because they are charging more, not because they're seeing more patients per se. And this is really scary. This creates a real divide. If cost isn't a concern, access to advanced care has never been better. But for a lot of pet owners, especially in low- or mid-income families, affordability is becoming a real strong barrier.

But yeah, this is exactly the type of thing that Dr. Pol has been witnessing and dealing with on a firsthand basis throughout his 55+ years practicing veterinary medicine. But also 13 of those years were in front of a camera, bringing the whole world into that clinic and into the barn as he cared for animals and the people that loved them.

So, Dr. Pol is the star of “The Incredible Dr. Pol” show. It's one of the longest running veterinary shows to date, airing 24 10-episode seasons for a whopping 240 episodes. There's probably like a few extras out there that I didn't even clock, but they've been broadcasted across 180 countries worldwide.

This guy has touched so, so many people and when I said earlier that he's one of the most famous and one of the most down-to-earth veterinarians, I hope by now in this interview you can see why, because those two things are absolutely true. And when we sat down at SUPERZOO with Charles, Dr. Pol’s son, and Mike, one of his longtime producers of the show, they made it clear how intentionally and authentically they built everything from the clinic to the show to now Dr. Pol’s line of food for farm animals and for dogs and cats.

But I would really love to just get your perspective on the overall impact of the show, knowing that it ran for such a long time and touched so many people. What do you think that impact was like?

Tremendously. It is so strange. Diane and I go to church, and we treat others like we want to be treated, and that has also to do with accessibility and affordability, but that comes later. But for some reason or other, that comes through. And there are so many letters we got from fans that said, “Yeah, I had major surgery. I was almost ready to give up. But then I started watching your show and I knew there was more in life. So, I wanted to get better.”

Then when we had our party here in Mount Pleasant that I had was 50 years a veterinarian, the very first lady at the table says, “Thank you.” I says, “What for?” “You're the reason I'm standing here.” Same thing: major surgery, ready to give up, they start watching the show and then they say there's more in life and they get better. And it's, it's, it's scary because that was never the object of the show, but it comes through like that.

The latest last summer, we got a letter from a lady whose mother is 96 years old, has Alzheimer's. When she watches the show, they can talk normal to her for one hour afterwards. How in the world is that possible?

That's really something special, you—

Yes, what is this show to them? I don’t know. But that’s how it is.

I mean it’s a deep, deep emotional connection. You know?

And like I said, I don't know why this show is that much because I think it's the reality. The youngest girl was 17 months old that recognized me, grinned, and fist bumped me. The oldest three years ago, on her 100th birthday was pushed through the wheelchair through the door of the clinic, had to meet before she passed on. And so it is, like I said from 17 months to over 100, everybody loves the show.

Yeah, I mean it is we all love animals. Yeah, those of us that love animals We love all animals and not just our pets, but we also like to view other people who you know truly care and want the best.

And this is another thing, you know, when I was a kid, one of my favorite things was, “Why?” Until my brother said, “Shut up.” Because I want to know why. And I do the same with the pet owners, the animal owners. I tell them exactly what I find and why I'm treating it the way I do. So that they understand, because then they will follow through with the treatment a lot better. And just because of that too, if you can make it simple, don't make it hard.

Yeah, there's like a sense of resourcefulness to the way that you approach your practice that maybe we're starting to lose in this day and age.

In a way, because yes, so we own the practice and hopefully that somebody will take over. But many veterinary clinics are corporate owned, and yes, I can tell you horror stories from that. Like I said, like in the AVMA journal, where these veterinarians got burned out. One of the things was a young couple that had a Doberman and some way, the poor guy got run over by a tire. I don't know if it was a car or what. And he didn't have a veterinarian. They took it to the emergency clinic. “Oh yeah, to save that leg, it'll be between five and six, maybe $10,000.” Well, they don't have it. Okay, so they wrapped it too tight and sent him home.

So, they called the animal rescue because he was a young dog and no, they didn't want to put him down. Well, they got a hold of a lady in the next town that I work with that rescues Danes and dogs. So, she calls him up, “Will you look at it?” “Definitely.” So, they bring it in and the dog is walking on three legs because the bandage is too tight. So, I take the bandage off and yes, I can feel. Now this is, we have five senses. So, I feel the foot, there's not a broken bone in there. There's some cuts on the top and there's road rash on the bottom of his pads. So, I fixed the top. Sew it up, tell him how to treat the bottom. He comes back 10 days later, think the stitches out the door is walking normal. $300.

It’s common sense. I have so many of these sayings. I don't know where the sayings come from, but one of the sayings is if you can't sell them a Cadillac, sell them a Ford. They can get that in the Ford. You don't have to, have to, have to. This is what you can do as a private owner. In a corporation, they can't.

To be honest with you, we have also a charity fund. So, if we really want to and have to do these tests, then we say, “Okay, in order to make a right diagnosis, we have to do this. But if you can't afford it, we'll help you.” And this happened many years ago one time, he had no money and he has a sick dog, veterinarians in town didn't want to look at it. I said, “Bring him over. I'll help you.” And that's why we use the charity fund.

For me, doing nothing is doing harm. And like I said, when I was in college, the first thing they told us, the first thing you do is do no harm. Doing nothing is doing harm. And that bothers me. So, yes, like I said, I try to help as many people, as many animals as I can. And that philosophy is not there anymore because the bottom line counts too much.

I'm a vet tech. Your stories are relating with me very spot on with the having to put, you know, healthy animals down and the emotional weight of having tough conversations. How do you manage all of it?

Yeah. Careful. You know, never get upset. You know, even when they bring in an emergency animal, the main thing is keep your calm. Because if you get upset, the owners get really upset and then everything goes wrong.

So, even with the animals, know, yes, they ask me many times, what would you do? I says, “I can't tell you because I don't see the dog all the time, but you know what the dog looked like a year ago. And what does he look like now? What is his quality of life?”

I don't make the decision for the people, but I can talk to him in the right direction. You know what I mean? Because they know the animal. And when I say that, “What is the quality of life?” And they say, “It's not there.” Well, animals are not afraid to die. You know, and then it says, “Did you ever hear about the rainbow bridge?” You've heard of it. I don't know if it's true or not, but I hope so.

We were just talking about common sense. Where is the balance between using common sense when you're assessing an animal and relying on technology that has become more and more pervasive in the practice?

Yes. Okay. We have five senses. Use them. Taste is that last, be honest. But that's not what I learned in school. There was an old dairy farmer and he told me, he says, “When you have a cow that runs a temperature, you don't know what's wrong with it, taste the milk because when mastitis starts, the milk is salty.” I have used it many times where, you know, the cow has the temperature and you can't tell anything. Just a drop of milk in your hand, stick your tongue in, “Oh, that sow is coming down with mastitis, so we better start treating it.” But otherwise, yes. I can tell another story. Do you have time for all these stories?

Absolutely.

Yes. I was still in college and somebody brings a cow in. So, the students examine it, it has a temperature, it doesn't eat, no rumination, diagnosis: Hardware [Disease]. In those days, we did surgery. We didn’t put a magnet down like we do now. But we had a brand-new X-ray machine at the college that would shoot through cows. So, it goes to the X-ray department. And they take an X-ray and it comes back, you guys are wrong, there is no metal in this cow. So, we check the cow over again. Same thing: temperature, no rumination, no eating, it's Hardware. It goes back to the X-ray department. Nope, you're wrong.

Okay, we put the cow in the barn. Three days later, the cow is dead. So, it goes to autopsy. It was Hardware, but it was not metal. It was a broom handle that was six inches long that came in the stomach, went directly through the stomach into the heart and killed the cow. If we had used our common sense and did the surgery to find out anyhow, the cow would have lived. I'll never forget that.

So, for me, an examination is everything. You listen, you look, you see or look, listen, whatever. Touch, taste is dead last. Like with a dog, I could feel in the foot there were no broken bones. So anyway, this is the thing. You examine an animal and then you use the testing, whatever you want to, x-rays, blood work to determine or to make sure you have the right diagnosis.

But you're retired, you did this for so long—see, and that's what I want to get at. What are you doing these days?

I'm not retired. I work full time and there's only three veterinarians in our practice. We need more veterinarians. We need more veterinarians that will do large animal. And those are very hard to find because for some reason or another, like Michigan State, the last I heard, one in 50 new graduates will look at large animal because there's more money in small animal. Because when you have a pet, people will pay more. Large animal, it's a matter of dollars. If the treatment is more expensive than the animal is worth, and that goes especially with cows, then yes, you don't do it. The cow isn't worth it. So that cow is going to slaughter and it's going to be hamburger. And yes, that is not cruel. is, yeah, a large animal veterinarian’s work. Does that make sense to you?

Absolutely it does. And I think that's something that a lot of people maybe don't realize about the veterinary profession is it's not all puppies and kittens and small companion animals. It's also these animals that we rely on for food, and so, you—

Or work, you know, and they come from three, four hours away to bring horses to our clinic for surgery, because people talk, believe it or not. And Amish don't have telephones, but they talk also.

Well, and two, you know, when there's a lack of large animal veterinarians, you have a smaller network to choose from. So, people are traveling probably further than they have to. That's really interesting. So, talk to us a little bit about how you feel like that experience, you know, being a large animal veterinarian and really getting your hands dirty and, you know, learning lessons the hard way. How did affordability and accessibility really, like, solidify as core tenants of your philosophy.

Because they are animals. They are not humans. And yes, we have pets in the house. Yes, now there are people that pay a couple thousand dollars for animals and that's fine. But at a certain moment, they're still animals. And when I was in college, the first thing they told us: the first thing you do is do no harm. And with today's corporate veterinarians, the bottom line gets too high many times and people can't afford it. I have an AVMA journal on my desk from a couple months ago where these young veterinarians working in corporate veterinary clinics get burned out because this animal can be saved, but the people can't afford the price, so they have to put it down. And yes, we put animals down. But that is not the fun part of veterinary practice. Animals are not afraid to die. That's for sure. But when you have to put an animal down that can be saved, that hurts. Because yes, it hurts the people and it's—actually, it plays with your mind.

We put a lot of animals down because we have clients that have been with us for 45 years and their pets are old. And yes, the main thing is for me also when the quality of life of these animals is gone, let them go. Now I had to teach animal control in about five counties, how to euthanize animals after the laws changed. And the euthanasia solution that we use, phenobarbital product, really hurts going in. When the animals are awake and you put it in the vein, you see that panic look on their face like that. And I says, “Nuh-uh, I'm not doing it.” So, what I do now, what I have a mixture of a tranquilizer, a painkiller, and an anesthetic. It's an IM injection, so it does hurt, but it knocks the animal out completely, like for surgery, pre-anesthetic, whatever you want to call it. And then they have no pain when the euthanasia solution goes in and it just go to sleep and quit breathing.

So, it is not that sudden thing for the owners. It's a gradual thing where they see, “Okay, he's going to sleep, he still breathes and then the last shot he quits breathing and everything is fine.” It's the same thing. You know, I've been doing this for 55 years, but I still do autopsies. And people cannot look at their pet corrupt. But they can look at pictures, and if you look at my phone, I tell you, if somebody steals my phone, they'll throw it away so fast, because I take pictures of the things that are wrong, not the whole animal, but just that part. And that way they can look at it. They can look at the picture, but they cannot look at that animal cut up. And that gives them many times closure. I don't want the owner feeling blame for the animal that we have to put them down. You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah. I think in companion animals specifically, I can see how in the large animal space or in the livestock space, you know, that emotional connection is totally different. we had to put our senior dog down last fall and you know, it was a similar experience. He probably would have held on for longer, you know, but he was in pain.

But that's the thing, you only can control so much pain.

100%. Yes, absolutely.

And animals mask the pain. You don't know how much they hurt.

The end of a pet's life is always devastating, every single time, but you know, that's nice to hear. You know, for the average pet owner, because, you know, I didn't know that we used to not give them that medicine beforehand. So, I can imagine, you know, if you've not experienced that before, could be really scary and uncomfortable and emotional.

You know, I remember when we had to put Brownie down last fall. And you know, Dr. Steph, I was texting you, you know, asking for your advice. Like you could possibly know what we should do. But you gave me some really amazing advice in that, you know, some dogs, when it's their time, it's their time. And sometimes the best thing that you can do for them is to let them go. If you can't keep, you know, giving them the quality of life that they need. And Brownie was just at that point where he was struggling to get around, you know, he wasn't having a good time. And as much as we really loved him and wanted him to stick around, you know, he was so, so ready to go. And the way that we did it, which I really want to do an episode on this at some point, because I think it could really help a lot of people is we actually, we didn't take him to the vet. We actually had a vet come out to our house, kind of like a hospice situation and give us their opinion and just kind of talk us through. And, you know, we kind of knew what we were getting ourselves into. We just wanted somebody to be there and kind of walk us through it. And she was so, so great, so comforting. And Brownie was, you know, he was just able to just hang out on the couch that he hung out with us on every day. And he just, you know, fell asleep in his usual spot. And it was really, really beautiful. And, you know, for something that was really, really traumatic, it was like a really peaceful way to go. So anyway, I'm telling you this really sad story because I know we've all gone through it, right? I know Dr. Stephanie, you've gone through it, too.

Yep, I was going to say… I think, Gracie Lou Freebush, I mean… I think she would have held on forever, right? Pets just like, they don't want to give up on you. They love you unconditionally. And so sometimes the most selfless thing you can do is let them go. And like, it's kind of like, I don't know, if you've ever like had like a grandparent that like they're just waiting for like that one person to come, like just, put the period at the end of the sentence, know, just like in the chapter. And I think that's what you can do.

But for me personally, you know, having been on both sides of this, right? I've been in the vet clinic, I've been in the rooms consulting pet owners, you know, having to stand by them, making this tough decision and being on the flip side, having to put my own pets down and, you know, ending their life in a way that it's relieving to know that they don't feel that pain at the end. And for pet owners looking to proactively support their pet's health early on in life and, you know, kind of taking a pivot from this, right? So like, what can we do to give them the best life in between then, right? And you don't want to break the bank doing it. Like we always want to make the right choice, whether that's proactive health, maintaining house, trying to get them back to health or giving them some peace at the end of their life. We don't want to break the bank. And I think what Dr. Pol and the team are doing behind Docson Brands, dare I say has come to the rescue.

Yeah, I think what they're doing is really cool. So Dr. Pol, you make pet food and animal feed through your brand, Incredi-Pol. And you've just announced a super exciting new line of veterinarian formulated clinical diets that don't require a prescription. And to make things even easier, you can get them at Walmart. So, tell us a little bit more about the line, why you're launching it and why you think it's an important innovation for today's pet nutrition landscape.

If you have high quality food, you pay $80 a bag. And then the prescription dog food is even more. But prescription dog food does not have medicine in it—no NSAIDs, no cortisone. It is just a different way of making food and we can do the same thing for half price. But anyway, for my philosophy is also, if you can decrease the amount of medicine to give a dog, it’s better to do it with food than with pills. It's healthier, and this is why we do it.

So, vet tech, turn nutritionist. And I always say that I hate nutrition being a selling point or a competitive advantage. Like we should be putting the best out there. And so, I think what you're doing is really novel, but also super, super needed because yeah, there are pets out there that need nutritional help. And it's almost behind like a firewall of prescriptions and so you have to get that prescription to get that nutrition and it really shouldn't be that way.

Thank you. I really appreciate that. Because that is my philosophy, too. That's perfect veterinary medicine.

I mean, prescription's needed, you know, occasionally medicine's needed, but you're trading one thing for another. They all come with side effects and adverse effects.

Animals are the same as people. They can get allergies, upset stomachs, you know. When the treats are too fat, the dog gets overweight, especially little dogs, or they eat off the table. We have that overweight management.

They just want love and affection. They don't want all the treats.

No, they need that pet on the head. Yeah. And yes, you can train the dog with all these things, of course. This is what you see all over the place, where the dog thinks for the treat. But too many treats, and especially if it's fat and all the stuff in there, makes the dog overweight.

Yeah, I really love I love the concept of this new line that you're launching. I think it's needed, as Dr. Stephanie said, just because it seems like the pet food industry is really racing to the top price point, you know, all this premiumization and, you know, these exclusive ingredients and proprietary blends and things are really driving the price of pet food up to the point where and again, this comes back to it's an emotional category, right? We are very invested in the way that we feed our pets and the animals that we love emotionally. And so, we feel guilty, you know, if we can't afford this top tier food and we have to go for, you know, a more value brand when in reality, you know, is there really that big of a difference? Is there, you know, does every dog really need ultra-premium nutrition? So, I just think this is really amazing in bringing that clinical level of insight into nutrition and how it can support health at the ground level.

Limited ingredient is the main thing. Limited ingredients, and the regular dog food is already limited. And now we have this, yes, dog food that will help with certain conditions, maybe. Now, it's a clinical nutrition dog food that will help the owner prevent certain things or keep weight under control

Dr. Pol Clinical Nutrition is an alternative to prescription diets that can be used before or alongside veterinary care. It’s not intended to replace medical treatment or therapeutic diets when those are necessary. The key difference is Dr. Pol Clinical Nutrition is sold through Walmart, allowing it to be offered at a lower price while still focusing on high-quality, advanced nutrition. For pet parents who’d like to learn more about the Clinical Nutrition line, we’ve linked more information in today’s show notes, and we encourage you all to consult with your veterinarian before making any dietary changes, especially if your dog has a diagnosed medical condition or specific dietary needs.

So, food sensitivities, weight management, and gastrointestinal care—I mean those are just so huge in the eyes of consumers today, you know, whether their pet truly needs it or not, people are paying attention and they are really in tune with the way that their pet is behaving. And they are ready to reach for something like this, you know, if they even if they perceive even the slightest, you know, something's out of balance or something like that. So, I think it was really, really on trend.

Well, like I said, we were already selling the regular dog food for many years now. And I always tell the owners, do not just switch cold turkey. You have this food here, take three or four days to switch food so the dog gets used to the different taste. And that works the best.

Let's talk about the future of veterinary medicine, animal welfare, for production animals, livestock to companion animals. What does your ideal future look like? If you could put it out there in the future, crystal ball, right? What would you see for veterinary medicine? What would you like to see?

I would like to see a lot more hands on before they graduate. And so that they don't have to learn after they have graduated because maybe there are some of that, “Oh my goodness, know, I hate to cut in there because I didn't know how to sew up.” When I was in college, like I said, they made us hands on. We learned before we graduated, and that is the main thing. So, they should know a lot more than just theory when they come out of college.

And we need more vets to practice knitting and sewing at home before they get to vet school, right? Just kidding.

I think that's kind of a great note to end on. I guess the only thing I would have to add or be curious of your opinion on Dr. Pol, is if you could give one piece of advice to, let's say, a person going through a veterinary program right now, what would you say?

Through the show, there are so many kids: “I want to become a veterinarian like you.” Fine, but learn to work with animals. So, if you're not on the farm, start volunteering. Volunteer at animal rescues. Volunteer at the veterinary clinic if they let you, so that you learn animals.

The main thing is never to be afraid of an animal. I also say many times, look the animal in the eye and you can tell what they think or what they will do. I worked for I don't know how many years with a rodeo outfit. And PETA was saying, “Oh, these poor animals, they are so mistreated.” Uh… no, rodeo animals have a life of variety. The horses are taught to kick that rider off in eight seconds. And then they can rest the rest of the day. So, they buck for a minute and they're done. And the bulls are even worse.

So, this is the thing, you cannot be afraid of the animals, but you have to know what these animals are doing. It goes very much with horses. If you are afraid of a horse, you get hurt. So before you become, “I'll go to vet school,” learn to work with all kinds of animals. And like I said, you can look in animals' eyes, dogs' helps. It only works not with cats. You can look a cat in the eye and you have no idea what they think or what they're going to do.

They don't know either.

The best thing about them, why people like him so much. I love cats just because they are so independent. They do what they want to when they want to and how they want to and if they want to be petted they come over and say, “Pet me!” And then suddenly they go away because no, I see something else I want to play with. That's cats. But otherwise animals, yes. Learn to work with animals before you go to vet school so that you know what you get into. And like I said, the main thing is, never be afraid.

Great advice. Yeah. Well, Dr. Pol, we have four minutes left, and I hear you have a pretty cool car collection. Do you want to talk about that at all?

Okay. I grew up in the Netherlands when there was no speed limit. And I always liked cars. And I think, you know, we came back with the Triumph Spitfire, a little sports car. And yes, we drove it fast and we had a Volkswagen in Netherlands, but then I saw the DeLorean, the stainless-steel car. Couldn't afford it. There was one guy in my practice, he sold his or he rented his land to an oil company and got a whole bunch of cash and bought two of them. Doggonit, I want one! I'm driving down the road. I see, that's a DeLorean! So I take the number down. So, I bought a DeLorean. Fantastic car, heavy.

And then they came out with the Plymouth Prowler. That's the little race car. And they were only so many made—I think they only made 10,000. This one I got in Vermont, in Burlington, Vermont, when my daughter lived there. She said there's one for sale and they want to sell it before the winter. So, over the phone I made a deal with them, them cheaper. I'm Dutch, you know. Yes, I love them. And then we were in Wales on vacation and we saw a Rolls Royce and this is a limousine and it was cheap. So, you know, we had it shipped over and that is actually the classic car.

You have a Rolls Royce limousine?!

Yes, 1937 Rolls Royce limousine. It runs like a charm. And I have done weddings with it. Beautiful. Yes. But like I said, I used to drive in the Volkswagen. We had a Volkswagen Beetle in those days, in Europe. going uphill, 60 miles an hour, downhill 85 miles an hour on the Autobahn in Germany, and just as fast as you could, you floored it.

But we had Diane's mother and girlfriend come over one time and they said, it's so busy on these roads, you don't watch the car in front of you, you watch 10 in front of you. And I had just said that and the brake lights come on, and everybody just hits the brakes, nothing happened. And yes, then about five miles down the road, we saw one of those big American cars that couldn't slam on the brakes fast enough and hit somebody else.

But yes, we drove all over Europe in a Volkswagen, had a lot of fun doing it. And now, yes, I drive fast. And because I work with animal control in all these counties and with the police—because if a dog gets hit by a car, they bring it to our clinic—then the cops know me. And yes, I have not had accidents in all the time that I've been driving. So yes, I'm a safe driver, but I drive fast. But don't look at the car in front of you. Yes, look farther ahead. And this is the same with animals. Look farther ahead. See what you can do for the animal.

There you go. Life lessons with Dr. Pol.

Coming full circle.

Like I said, after all these years, you're so full of stories that you just can do one after the other. I love it. I just like doing it. But yes, the main thing is, thank you for having us on the podcast. I hope that people watch it and that you realize what is available now on Walmart. I think that's the main thing right now.

Absolutely. We're really pleased to share this with our listeners. And also, I'm really happy to know that you're still practicing, you still are surrounded by animals, you got your car collection. It seems like you're really loving life and I love that for you.

I do, I do. And I think that came out in the show too and that's it was so popular too. My glass is half full, it's not half empty.

At the end of the day, Dr. Pol’s stories and experiences are moving. But what's even more moving is the philosophy he's built behind them.

Exactly, Dr. Steph. It's really this idea that veterinary medicine doesn't always have to employ the most advanced tools or be the most expensive option on the table for it to work for that animal and their owner. You know, we can talk about gold standard care all day long, but if people can't afford it, then it really doesn't matter how advanced it is.

Definitely. For Dr. Pol, he's all about common sense, accessibility, and meeting people where they are. If you can't afford a Cadillac, sell them a Ford, right?

So maybe the takeaway is this, progress is important, innovation is important, but so is practicality. And sometimes the best solution isn't the Cadillac, it's the Ford that's actually going to get you to where you need to go.

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Barking Mad. If you want to learn more about BSM Partners, please visit us at www.bsmpartners.net. Don't forget to subscribe on your favorite leading podcast platform or share it with a friend to stay current on the latest pet industry trends and conversations.

A huge thank you to Dr. Pol and his team for sharing their time, insights, and stories with us today. We'd also like to thank our dedicated team: Ada-Miette Thomas, Neeley Bowden, Kait Wright, Cady Wolf, Anna Guilfoyle, and Jacob Parker. A special shout out to Lee Ann Hagerty and Michael Johnson in support of this episode, and to David Perez for our original music in the intro and outro. See you next time!