(Animal) Doctor in the House

by Mary Kate Dubuss, Staff Writer
Reprinted with permission.

Caring for a sick parakeet is no fun. Watching Noni, a small white and blue exotic bird, communicate the symptoms of her illness through her tiny eyes distresses Jan Kearns and her family. But help is on the way.

The arrival of a black pick-up truck at her Framingham home brings Jeremy Gransky, who just launched At Home Veterinary. After the birth of his daughter, the 34-year-old Natick veterinarian was prompted to leave the Framingham Animal Hospital for a more flexible career – working in the homes of his patients.

“The [care] is the same. The way I’m doing it…is personalized, not rushed.”

Though Kearns said a visit from Gransky is slightly more expensive than visiting a hospital, the extra dollars are worth it. Since small birds are very sensitive to temperature changes and can be stressed by the journey, 29-gram Noni is better off perched in her cage on the Kearns’ kitchen table.

“With birds it is worth the extra investment because they are sensitive,” said Kearns.

Staff photo by Allan Jung

Jeremy Gransky, who operates At Home Veterinary, prepares a needle as Aylah, left, and Savannah investigate the veterinarian in their midst. Aylah and Savannah are two of three Rottweilers owned by Scott and Megan Nix of Sudbury.

She is also sticking with Gransky because he is one of the only local veterinarians who treats “exotics,” a range of animals including snakes, ferrets, rabbits, birds and mice – almost everything except dogs and cats. “

It’s convenient,” said Megan Nix, a Sudbury resident who owns three Rottweilers. Savannah, Aylah and Chance, all under 3-years-old, travel together for their annual check-ups. Though this is their first at-home visit with Gransky, Nix says having their vet come to them makes sense.

Gransky, who also serves Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton, Watertown and Wellesley, offers all the amenities of an animal hospital and then some. He takes a digital picture of each patient that is loaded into its computer file. After each visit, the owner is mailed a “health check report card.”

In addition to a refrigerated bag of medicines, syringes, vaccinations, roles of Petflex, gauze, a surgical stapler and other general veterinary medicine paraphernalia, Gransky totes along a compact, but complete, modern office.

To each home he brings a slim laptop, printer, prescription label printer and a device to process credit card payments. He carries the equipment to inject animals with microchips (in case they are lost or stolen), a Glucometer to test blood glucose levels, a cat scale and the tools to trim birds’ nails and file down a rabbit’s teeth.

Staff photo by Allan Jung

Jeremy Gransky administers an injection to Chance, a male Rottweiler owned by Scott and Megan Nix.

“It was fun getting organized. [The employees] at the Container Store were overjoyed.”

His comprehensive traveling bag even features a pocket he calls the “ophthalmology department.”

If he does not have a prescription on hand, an online veterinary pharmacy, Vetcentric, will fill it and ship it to a client for free.

“I want to be able to give anything [prescriptions] for that day or a few days.”

Gransky has been working solo since early September and says he has no complaints about the change. He typically sees about three patients between MetroWest and Boston and hopes to visit eight animals a day once everything is in full swing.

Though he treats fewer patients than at the animal hospital, he is now also busy replenishing his inventory, dealing with lab couriers and thinking about the billing side of the equation.

“It feels like a new second job. …It is fun in a way.”

Gransky realized he wanted a change after taking a six-week parenting leave after his daughter’s birth.

“I brainstormed my way through,” the planning stages, he said, explaining how he just began to write lists of all the equipment he would ever need to treat a sick animal. He purchased most of the supplies from the same providers who sell to traditional animal hospitals.”

So far, “I haven’t been caught empty handed.”

“I’m really optimistic, it is something I want to do for the long term.”

Some of his clients are elderly, while others are busy or cannot make it to a vet’s office during business hours.

“One woman was so thankful,” Gransky said. “(She said) ‘I am 84-years-old, I’m 85 pounds and my dog is 75 pounds.”

“The elderly is one area where I can really help people,” he said.

He has begun to contact assisted living facilities and is busy getting the word-of-mouth buzz going.

While At Home Veterinary is convenient for owners and often less stressful for animals, it is often most important once an animal is very sick.

Gransky can euthanize animals at home and works with a cremation facility. This often devastating experience can go better at home, rather than in a sterile hospital setting.

Gransky recently euthanized a cat whose kidneys had failed. He called the process “a peaceful goodbye.”

“It was really easy for the cat. …(It) died on its favorite blanket.”

The most surprising thing about his new style of practicing veterinary medicine is how calm the animals are. Whereas they were nervous and on edge in the hospital setting, they welcome Gransky and are typically relaxed during an examination.

“They are home, happy to have a visitor.”