Community Highlights: Meet Victoria Sutherland of Nails2Tails

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Sutherland.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The summer before my senior year of college, I was at a loss for what I wanted to do with my life. I had found that the career I had pursued up until that point wasn’t quite my area of passion and felt frustrated that I had dedicated so much time to it. As any independent 21-year-old woman would do, I called my mom crying. I distinctly remember my mom reminding me of the pets that I had always begged for as a kid, the pet-sitting I had done for neighbors, the horse shows I had competed in, and our family cat that I had taken in and raised from a newborn kitten in my early teens. She reminded me of my passion for animals and encouraged me to look into pursuing the veterinary field. After some serious soul searching and prayers, I made the decision to pursue veterinary medicine as a career in my senior year of college.

For the next few years, I worked at a small animal general practice and emergency hospital. During my three years working there, I went from kennel attendant to bather, to veterinary assistant, and finally to surgery assistant. As my love for the animals and for what I was learning about veterinary medicine grew, it became clear that my path was leading toward vet school. With the love and support of my family, friends, and mentors within the veterinary field, and by the grace of God, I was accepted into NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall of 2019 and am now halfway through my journey to become a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine!

Upon starting veterinary school, I was quickly faced with the cold reality of the financial demands required to attain my career goal. I got a part-time restaurant job my first semester but found that it was too time-consuming to allow me sufficient study time. It also fell far short of providing enough income to meet my financial needs. Once Covid hit hard, I was let go from the restaurant and back to looking for a way to support myself.

I decided to post an offer for pet-sitting on the Nextdoor app. Because not many people were traveling due to Covid, I didn’t have much response until one neighbor asked if I had experience trimming nails and expressing glands on dogs. Since I had worked in an animal hospital for three years prior, I had lots of experience in this department! I accepted her offer and we set a date for me to come by. After I completed the service, she recommended that I offer those same services on Nextdoor. As soon as I got home, I created a post, and it blew up! I received so many messages from clients wanting to use my service! I will forever be grateful to this kind “first client” for this incredible idea and for taking a chance on me. Deborah and her son, Robby, are pictured together with their two sweet dogs, Tessa and Trooper. They are still regular clients to this day and I am grateful to them for trusting me with their fur-babies!

Since then, I have worked tirelessly to grow my business and to provide the best possible services that I can to my clients and their fur-babies. This has been an incredible way for me to work with flexibility, learn more about customer service and provide care for animals, all the while getting my education in veterinary medicine.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Owning your own business is never easy, and I have by no means “arrived.” From worrying that no one will want your services to having more work than you can handle, there is always a challenge to be navigated.

Running my own business has been a huge learning experience for me, as I previously had no idea of all that was involved. Although I do feel overwhelmed at times by all of the considerations around successfully growing a new business, I am so excited to learn more through consulting reliable sources and gleaning from other’s experiences.

Right now, I simply don’t have enough hands to cover all of the requests that are coming in. And I wouldn’t have it any other way! There is so much more I plan to do with and for my business, including finding qualified individuals to bring onto my team.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Nails2Tails is an in-home pet services business that offers nail trims (either with clippers or dremel), internal gland expression, medication administration, and pet-sitting (overnight stays or stop-by visits). I come to you and I bring all of my own supplies.

Nails2Tails is an excellent service and value, even for more anxious pets. There are no stressful car rides, no overwhelming amounts of new sights/sounds/smells, and no taking your pet “to the back.” The owner is always present and is often even involved to help feed treats or distract with head rubs during the service. This creates a more relaxed environment where pet services can be completed with ease for pet and owners alike.

What is unique about Nails2Tails is that it is owned and run by a veterinary student and that all future additions to the Nails2Tails team will also be either vet students or licensed vet technicians/assistants. Owners can rest assured that their pets are in good, qualified hands.

By supporting Nails2Tails, pet owners are simultaneously supporting the rising generation of veterinarians as well as a small, local business.

Currently, Nails2Tails only services North Raleigh, but I hope to expand to surrounding areas soon.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Many of my clients know that I am a veterinary student at NCSU, however not many of them know that I am a huge advocate for mental health, particularly in the veterinary profession. The veterinary field currently has the highest suicide rate of any career field. A number of factors contribute to this sad statistic; chief among them is financial strain. Many veterinarians, including myself, have left or will be leaving veterinary school with an average of 185k+ in debt. Veterinarians today are underpaid for the cost of their education and often struggle to pay off all of their loans. Veterinarians are also often blamed for the prices of services and hospitalization over which they have no control. It is not uncommon for a veterinarian to hear phrases like “you’re only in this for the money” on a daily basis. I believe some people often don’t realize the level of sacrifice that it takes to become a veterinarian. Not only does it require countless hours of hard work and studying, but it also requires a huge financial investment with the knowledge that you will most likely be underpaid when you graduate. Those that choose the profession do so because of their love for animals.

When pet owners are unwilling or unable to pay, their pets are often left untreated, which is heartbreaking for veterinarians who devote their lives to caring for animals. Finally, there is the mental and physical toll on vets who daily see tragic cases of such things as animal abuse, road accidents, parvovirus puppies, and toxicity cases, to name only a few.

The combination of financial strain and high levels of job stress leave many veterinarians feeling burnt out, hopeless, and under-appreciated.

One day I hope to turn Nails2Tails into a full-functioning animal hospital that focuses on quality animal care in addition to supporting the mental health of its employees. I have a number of ideas in mind, including hiring a licensed therapist to work on-site and be available at no cost to employees during their work day; and retaining a financial advisor who can help hospital employees with financial plans, particularly regarding student loan repayment. Additionally, I hope to be able to partner with and donate to organizations such as Not One More Vet that help educate and provide emotional support to veterinary professionals.

Lastly, I have two cats that are my best business advisors, Ollie & O’Malley. I completely empathize with all pet owners when they have a concern about their fur-babies and hope my works help many other pets in our area.

Pricing:

• Nail Trims: $20 for clippers, $25 for dremel
• Internal Gland Expression: $25
• Overnight Pet-Sitting: $75 per night
• Stop-By Pet-Sitting Visits: $20 per stop
• Medication Administration: $10 per administration session

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nails2tails/?hl=en

Image Credits
Professional Photo Taken by Cearrab Photography