Constance Thomas’ 11-year-old Shih Tzu is well taken care of by veterinarian Marcy McKeithen.
Thomas’ son also is benefiting from the family relationship with McKeithen, 37, of Detroit, who launched Motor City Vet Care in November. It’s an at-home veterinary service for preventive, hospice, palliative and euthanasia care.
Khamani Thomas, 17, a senior at Cass Tech High School in Detroit, dreams of becoming a veterinarian and shadowed McKeithen when the vet opened her business.
“He has worked closely with Dr. Marcy, even when she was building her business,” said Constance Thomas. “She’s like, ‘as I’m preparing this and building my business, you are going to go through this journey with me, so that you will then have the blueprint once you graduate from vet school.’ ”
McKeithen and Khamani have regular check-ins to keep Khamani on track to becoming a veterinarian science major.
Care of the Thomas family pet is important. But by also helping Khamani, McKeithen is serving a greater purpose: being an example for Black young people who aspire to be veterinarians.
About 2.6% of the nation’s veterinarians are Black, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report in 2020. McKeithen makes sure to help and inspire anyone she can when it comes to the veterinary industry.
Example: To support Khamani’s goal to be a vet, McKeithen did a project with him that called for Khamani to research how to find equipment and space, and how to manage a budget. Khamani already works at a pet store, where he cleans and cares for animals.
“I’m gonna have a little jump-start for when I decide to start my own business,” said Khamani. “(McKeithen is) helping me with different knowledge about different animals, helping me become more knowledgeable about what I want to do and helping me understand what I can expect and what I have to do when I get to college.”
Providing something needed
Although the house call business recently launched, McKeithen has been a veterinarian for 10 years. McKeithen services the city of Detroit, and wanted to provide this service here because she said there aren’t a lot of home care services available in the city. She also provides care to animals in the suburbs.
More:Survey finds racial gaps in Detroit nonprofit leadership: What that means
More:Black entrepreneurs feel the pull to locate in Royal Oak: Here’s why
“A lot of times veterinarians just don’t have time to give the client the attention that we so desperately want to give them,” McKeithen said. “It’s just the nature of the business — there’s so much going on. So just being able to control how much time I can spend with my clients has been fantastic.”
The business’ preventive care services include vaccinations, heartworm testing and other routine diagnostics, along with diagnosing minor illnesses. Hospice, palliative care and in-home euthanasia are available for pets with terminal illnesses. There also is an online pet pharmacy to get medications for animals that have already been seen by the vet.
Pet parents can book an appointment for their furry friends online at motorcityvetcare.com, and McKeithen recommends having an enclosed area reserved in a home during a visit, for the pets who like to run away. She arrives with her computer, scale, vaccinations and more, and she talks you through the evaluation and post-care.
More comfortable at home
One of McKeithen’s clients is a Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute mix named Thor, who was adopted by her friend Brittany Washington, 33. Thor’s appointments typically take place in Washington’s living room, where Thor receives a physical checkup for his paws, ears, teeth, heart rate, lab work, shots and any concerns that may be present.
Washington chose to go with an at-home service because she found that many brick and mortar vet businesses weren’t allowing clients to come inside for safety reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also felt that her dog would be more comfortable in his own environment.
“She’s very knowledgable, and the fact that she’s mobile is a plus,” Washington said of McKeithen. Washington is the owner of Faith’s Learning Institute, which is a mobile tutoring service. “Sometimes it is not as easy as we would like it for people to get and have access to the things that they need, and it provides a level of convenience because we will come to you.”
She said mobile businesses like this have the potential to change the world.
McKeithen said she still spends time helping out at local businesses.
“My house call practice is not meant to replace the relationship with a brick and mortar. There are just some things that I can’t do operating out of my car or in your home. So it’s not meant to replace, but it’s definitely meant to supplement some of the brick and mortar practices that are just kind of over their limit.”
When your pet is having a medical emergency, McKeithen recommends going to a brick and mortar pet care facility.
The business is accepting new clients, and is able to travel from Detroit to its adjacent suburbs all the way to Interstate 275, with a consultation and traveling fee of $150. There will be discounts available throughout the year.
Leading other Black students into the industry
McKeithen graduated from Cass Tech High School in Detroit, received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Florida A&M University and earned a veterinary doctorate from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainsville.
After living in a predominantly Black city and then attending a historical black college, or HBCU, she experienced culture shock at veterinary school, she said.
People said “lots of different things to me that were extremely ignorant,” she said. The experience motivated her to bring Black culture to the industry in which she wanted to work.
“On the very third day of vet school, I had to make a choice,” said McKeithen, “Was I going to be the person that was constantly offended, withdrawn and not make friends with anyone because I felt like I didn’t connect with anyone? Or was I going to use this as a teachable moment?”
She typically brings up this topic when she finds herself as the only Black veterinarian in the room.
“It’s not anything that anybody needs to be ostracized for,” McKeithen said, when explaining what was said that was offensive. “But I think that it needs to be brought to attention that this is a very, very, very homogenous field and we (people of color) need more representation.”
McKeithen offers these tips for caring for your pet:
- Have an established relationship with a veterinarian. It’s important to have a veterinarian visit at least once a year.
- Make sure pets are safe, warm and protected with unlimited access to water and good nutrition.
- Make sure they’re receiving adequate preventive care.
- Dental care is important.
Contact staff writer Chanel Stitt on Twitter: @ByChanelStitt. Become a subscriber or gift a subscription.
