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Name: House Calls for Pets

Type of business: Veterinarian; makes house calls to care for dogs and cats needing medical treatment

Address: Scotch Plains

Telephone: (908) 322-2649; cell: (908) 346-3423

Web site: www.housecallsforpets.org

Hours: Available seven days a week by appointment and for emergencies

Number of employees: 1

Founded: 2009

Top officer: Dr. Keith Gordon, CEO

How would you describe your business?

"I provide veterinary care in the comfort of the pet owners home," said Dr. Keith Gordon. "I do everything in the house that can conceivably be done in-house, including providing diagnosis of what's troubling the pet, give check-ups, vaccinations, wellness care, post-operative care, emergency, and hospice care.

"I also provide euthanasia for animals of owners who wish to have their pet die at home. Obviously, there are things that can't be done in a person's house and I offer to take the animal to a local animal hospital I'm affiliated with to bring the pet in for dentistry or surgery."

What makes your business special?

"I am available seven days a week for emergencies at any hour as well as by appointment to come to the home to care for a pet. I try to accommodate people's needs. If it's an emergency and I can help, like a recent incident when a dog was hit by a car, where I went to the home at 11:30 p.m. If I can't help enough, I will refer the owner to a place that is open at night. Either way I will give information to the owner."

"I am also a certified provider of stem cell therapy. For the past few years, there has been stem cell therapy for horses and most recently for small animals -- mostly dogs -- to help with arthritic changes in a dog's hip and knee joints and bone fractures. In stem cell therapy the fatty tissue is taken from the dog being treated and stem cells are harvested from only that tissue. I send it to a lab and within 48 hours, I get it back in a syringe with millions of stem cells in a small quantity of fluid. We inject the fluid into the dog's joints and the results have been amazing."

What are your goals for the business?

"I'd like to grow the business. Right now, I'm in the early stage of a new business. I've been practicing veterinary medicine since 1985. I love being a veterinarian and I've always loved doing house calls even when it was a small percentage of my earlier practice."

How has your business changed?

"It hasn't changed much, because this is a recent business and I am trying to get the word out. Right now, the business is a work in progress."

What is your most important deal?

Ten to 20 percent of my house calls are to provide euthanasia services. People like to have their pet finish their life in their home rather than get the animal in the car, then wait to be seen in the hospital. I take care of the body for them and can arrange to have the animal's ashes made available to the owner if they wish."

What changes do you expect in your business in the next 10 years?

"I hope to provide more services so more can be done in the owner's house. I believe a portable X-ray unit will be available soon so I could do small surgeries in the home. The more I can do in someone's house the less they can be concerned about their pet. Also a lot of people can't leave their home with their pet. Either they don't have a car or they have small children and a huge dog -- difficult to transport."

What is the most important thing you've learned in your business?

"One of the most important is a phrases my father taught me: Inform before you perform. A lot of trouble people have in animal hospitals is communication, especially over the bill. People will come in and be given a quote for $500 for a procedure. Then when they pick up their animal the bill is $700 or more and they freak out. So I always give an estimate of the cost before I do a procedure and if the amount will be significantly more, I won't do anything until I speak with the owner."

What advice would you give to someone considering your line of work?

"First of all, you must have a love of animals and trained as a veterinarian. Besides the animals, you have to be a people person as well. You are going into people's homes and it's a different dynamic. Typically the people are more friendly and relaxed because you aren't in a rushed environment, needing to treat the next animal. Most of the time you get to know the people fairly well and it's a more personal relationship."

Is there anything you would rather be doing?

"No. I love being a vet and making house calls, even though it can be inconvenient at times."