When Ronit Berdugo moved to Steamboat Springs from Florida, the longtime veterinarian had hopes of continuing the business he started in Key West.
“I had a house call and boat call practice for about 20 years,” Berdugo said. “It’s all small animals and some exotics, and I practice alternative and traditional medicine.”
Berdugo opened Pampered Pet Home Vet shortly after moving to the Yampa Valley a year ago, offering physical exams, laboratory tests, allergy diagnostics and treatment, multimodal disease management, diagnosis and treatment, vaccine blood test and titer, health certificates for pet travel, acupuncture , laser therapy, microchip implantation, rehabilitation techniques and end-of-life care.
He said he offers most veterinary services, but said he does not offer dental procedures, surgery, radiographs, ultrasounds, emergency treatment, and spays and neuters. She recommends her clients develop a relationship with a local animal hospital in case their pet needs a service she can’t provide.
Berdugo said he is among the few veterinarians in the area who offer house calls and currently waives the additional $75 house call fee for first-time customers. The initial exam for new clients is $200, and a complete list of fees can be found at PamperedPetHomeVet.com.
“Mobile is like a unit that you think about where you can operate — that’s not what I do,” Berdugo said. “I go to people’s homes to provide care and comfort in bad weather, for people who don’t have cars and for people who don’t want their pets to be at risk of getting sick in an animal hospital.”
She says the model allows her to spend more time with pets and owners and provide more personal care.
“I show up on time and set aside an hour for appointments,” Berdugo said. “We are not in a hurry and I can also check everything that is happening at home, which sometimes plays with whatever we are treating, and the animals are calmer.”
Berdugo earned his degree in 2001 from Ross University School of Veterinarian Medicine in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis islands bordering the Caribbean. He spent his clinical years at Louisiana State University and Oklahoma State University. She received her Chinese Acupuncture certification from Chi University and her Animal Rehabilitation training from the Canine Rehab Institute.
Before moving to Steamboat Springs, Berdugo operated a house-call veterinarian service in the Florida Keys.
“I had a practice called Island Paws and serviced up and down the Florida Keys,” Berdugo said. “We just wanted something different, to be honest, and that’s how we ended up here. We wanted seasons, and skiing, so we gave up fishing and boating for snow.”
After he completed his studies, which included animal rehabilitation and Chinese medicine, he looked for ways to open his own practice. He soon realized that there were not enough animal hospitals to meet the needs of the residents, and many in the Florida Keys did not have traditional transportation, so he began to offer the concept of home care.
“I tried it and have to admit I wasn’t sure if it would go away, but it did, and it was huge,” Berdugo said. “I enjoyed and really loved the relationships. I still keep in touch with a lot of (Florida Keys) clients today, and they’ve become friends. I never expected this to be something I’ve been doing for almost 20 year.
John F. Russell is the business reporter at Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.
