PetSmart Charities

Those pets planted a seed that quietly shaped, because Robin was not an early identifier, but shaped a fascinating career in veterinary medicine.

Today, Robin serves as Director of Veterinary Affairs at PetSmart Charities, one of the most impactful animal welfare funders in North America.

Robin came to this role through a varied career path, private practice, corporate veterinary roles at PetSmart, shelter medicine at Arizona Humane Society, community medicine, a state veterinary medical board appointment by the governor of Arizona, and now leading a veterinary strategy at PetSmart Charities.

In this conversation, Robin shares what not being afraid to try something different can do for your career satisfaction, what shelter and community medicine can offer as a career for veterinary professionals who have been told it's not financially viable, and what PetSmart Charities is doing through their new fellowship program to expand access to veterinary care for the pets and families who need it most.

This episode provides practical wisdom and genuine hope for what veterinary medicine can look like when we all work together.

Let's get to the conversation with Dr. Robin Janes.

On that note, is there a particular story or situation that you remember that you, you seem to kind of reflect back frequently?

Um, gosh, I think there are so many different stories.

Oh, yeah.

This partnership that PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Canada puts on with National Adoption Week and our AdoptJoy program is phenomenal for promoting adoptions of these animals.

Yeah, absolutely.

Okay, so if anybody is out there listening and they're like, oh, you know, I've been thinking about it.

We're helping people.

I see this every day, 'cause I'm seeing patients on our platform too, people that when I say, "Oh, it would be great if you could go in person so that I could check the tympanic membrane and make sure that the eardrum's intact," and they just say, "Doc, I live two hours from a veterinary clinic," or, "I work when my vet clinic is open, so I wouldn't be able to go in for two weeks." And you realize that, you know, vets are like, "I really feel like I am helping people." I try to check in with vets, you know, within their first couple weeks of being on the platform to get their initial impressions, and they say, "I feel like I'm really helping people." That PetSmart Charities report that says that 52% of pets are getting no care because of cost or access, and I feel like we are reaching that 52% of pets because they can access our platform.

And I, I hear that from our vets when they come to telemedicine for the flexibility, but they stay because our EMR makes it easy and because they feel like they're really helping people.

It's like that, you know, that work that's so rewarding.

And tonight will include a proclamation declaring this week, October 4th through the 10th, as Fire Prevention Week.

It's expected that a resolution that authorizes the mayor to execute a memorandum of agreement between the City of Hobbs and PetSmart Charities for participation of the Hobbs Animal Adoption Center in the PetSmart Charities adoption program will be approved.

Discussion will include a presentation by Kathy Mitchell, interim president of New Mexico Junior College, about the general obligation bonds for higher education, which will be on the general election ballot tomorrow.

Also, Zia Park Casino will have recognition and appreciation to the City of Hobbs for support of the Summer Concert Series, Texas Tech and Permian Strategic Partnership proposal for Healthy Communities Program in Hobbs, and discussion of a proposed new recreation fee for use of Hobbs Industrial Air Park for non-concert events.