Story & Lesson Highlights with Dr. Shadi Ireifej DVM, DACVS-SA

We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Shadi Ireifej DVM, DACVS-SA and have shared our conversation below.

Shadi, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I was invited to give four talks at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in September of 2025. Two of the talks were focused on veterinary telehealth and the other two talks were focused on specific surgical conditions found in dogs.

The success of any particular in-person talk is not only gauged by the number of individuals in the audience, but also in how engaged they are during and after the talk. For my lectures at this event, not only was the audience fully engaged, asking many questions after the talk, but attendees also asked for selfies with me. To my recollection, this is the first time I’ve had complete strangers want to take a picture with me after giving a talk.

This recent moment made me laugh and feel proud. I laughed because I did not understand why a selfie with me would be desired, as if to say, they may be confusing me with somebody else! And of course I felt proud that my talks resonated with the audience in such a way that they felt compelled to ask me questions, engage in conversations with me, and even make me part of their life by immortalizing me in their cell phone photo library.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Dr. Ireifej’s love for surgery began before veterinary school, during veterinary volunteer and work positions, then grew during his undergraduate and veterinary education. Shadi J. Ireifej DVM DACVS attended Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine where he received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (2006, DVM). After completing his studies at Cornell, Dr. Ireifej completed a one-year small animal medicine and surgery rotating internship at Angel Animal Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts (2007), followed by two one-year small animal surgical internships at Long Island Veterinary Specialists (LIVS) in Plainview, New York (2009).

Dr. Ireifej achieved his board certification in small animal surgery by completing a three-year small animal surgery residency at LIVS (2012), becoming a Diplomat for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (DACVS). After operating for almost 10 years at LIVS, Dr. Ireifej elected for warmer weather, and transplanted to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2016. Dr. Ireifej then operated in numerous multispecialty and emergency veterinary hospitals across the United States, as both a surgeon, hospital owner and department head of emergency/critical care as well as multiple specialties.

In 2017, Dr. Ireifej changed gears in his career, creating a novel and state-of-the-art means of reaching concerned pet owners and their ailing pets worldwide, VetTriage. Dr. Ireifej currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer. His main three goals with his career and the VetTriage platform is (1) spearhead the movement with veterinary telehealth, (2) improve the access and spectrum of care by providing concerned pet owners a convenient and affordable means of seeking veterinary advice, and (3) to aid colleagues in brick and mortar who have been suffering from veterinary shortages, staff shortages, long work hours, mental health concerns, and so many other contributors to work-life imbalance and a poor quality of life inside and outside the clinic.

Shadi has been published in scientific and medical journals and enjoys lecturing to a variety of audiences. He is known for being a positive force and energetic force, both professionally and personally. He has since been featured on numerous media outlets including television, podcasts, radio, articles, and conferences. Dr. Ireifej is frequently sought after for giving in-person and virtual talks on the current state of veterinary medicine, the current and future paths of veterinary telehealth and how to empower up-and-coming veterinary professionals so that they have the tools necessary for a successful and rewarding career.

VetTriage is the world’s first and foremost provider of veterinary telehealth services. Our team of experienced, compassionate, and knowledgeable veterinarians are screened to ensure the highest quality of services for you, the concerned pet owner.

Our founders created VetTriage so pet owners could have immediate access emergency veterinary advice, monitoring instructions, and care from licensed veterinarians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When pet emergencies arise, they often occur outside the normal family veterinarian hours. Maybe you’re traveling with your pet, or enjoying the great outdoors in a remote location. Maybe access to veterinary care is limited where you live, or you simply don’t know if your pet needs an emergency hospital visit. We can help you!

VetTriage maximizes access to veterinary care for pet parents. In times of uncertainty, pet owners can instantly connect with our in-house team of veterinarians via video chat from any computer or mobile device. VetTriage veterinarians are able to view a live stream of your pet on screen, assess the situation, offer advice, and provide a plan of action for your pet. Vet-prescribed plans of action may include at home care and monitoring until your pet is healed or your family vet is available. In some cases we may refer your pet to the nearest 24-hour veterinary emergency hospital (or on-call veterinarian in your town) for immediate assessment, diagnostics, treatment and life-saving intervention.

With VetTriage, you’ll never have to face an emergency with your animal companion alone again. Anytime, anywhere across the world when these situations arise, a quick video call will connect you and your beloved pet to our team of VetTriage veterinarians. Now available for both English and Spanish speaking pet parents!

Dr Shadi personally vets (excuse the pun) all of our doctors to ensure they not only are experienced, but also compassionate and well-versed in many different pet emergencies occurring around the world.

Our team of veterinarians have chosen this line of work for their own personal reasons and professional reasons. Some prefer to practice from home, some are balancing parenthood with their career, and some are near retirement and are looking for an alternative, novel career path. All of our doctors share one thing in common – they want to be at the forefront of this brand new branch of veterinary medicine which continues to expand access to care for pets across the world. Each VetTriage veterinarian has a deep passion for animal care, and is dedicated to making sure every pet can be seen no matter the situation.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
It is very challenging as a business owner to not have your hand in every single aspect of the business. Our team is 80+ strong and well-versed in our protocols. Over these 6+ years, the company has reached a point where my involvement in their day-to-day activities ought to be minimal, with the sole purpose of my involvement now being purely the evolution of the business.

The part of me that has served its purpose is that which created the foundation for this platform and established the internal rules of the “game”. That part of me needs to be released, as we have been successful in designing a well-oiled machine. To sit back and observe the hard work and dedication I put into this business operate in full effect without needing my involvement is a surreal feeling, characterized by both anxiety and pride. The “anxiety” portion of that statement is what indicates to me that the purpose I originally served in this capacity must now be released, and I ought to allow the reigns of this platform be controlled by my dedicated team.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I refrained from giving completely into that spirit when I was younger because less risky paths were more attractive. It does take experience and wisdom to want to dive into such risky business, a basic foundation of being an entrepreneur.

If I could say one kind thing to my younger self, it would be to trust in yourself that if you have an impulse or an idea that calls to you, then chase after it. Have faith in knowing that your diligence and conscientiousness will be the secret source to your inevitable success. Saying this one kind thing to my younger self may have catapulted my career even earlier and to greater heights. Understanding at a younger age that risk can be calculated, would have helped to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit that I clearly had within me.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would say that loyalty really matters to me. They know that I would do anything for them. My family knows that I would do anything for them. My colleagues and business team know that I would do anything for them. That self-sacrifice is standard when you are in my inner circle.

We all know how much we appreciate it when somebody gives up something to help you out when you are in a predicament, especially when they do not expect a favor in return. An unwavering loyalty is the foundation of family, friendships, and business partners. Without it, you live in fear and anxiety. Without that trust, you see everything and everybody as a risk and a threat. You will live and work defensively. Having that loyalty within those relationships is paramount to being able to operate in a positive light.

The tricky thing about loyalty is that it is subjective, it takes time and effort to attain, and once it is broken, it may be permanently so. But loyalty is what I think my closest friends would say really matters to me. That is not to say that other attributes are not vital! Diligence, open communication, and passion are just some of the many things that matter to me in addition to loyalty.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What I understand deeply that most people do not is that business success is intimately tied in with the emotions that you create within that client interaction. The reason why a movie or a book resonates with us is because it creates a feeling within us. We remember that feeling more than we do the details of the movie or book. It is the same feeling we get when we purchase an item at the store or online; you almost remember the feeling that developed within you at the moment you purchased that item rather than the details of the purchase itself.

So when a veterinarian is speaking to a pet owner about a concern with their pet, the feeling that you give that client within that interaction is almost more important than the quality of the information you were giving them. That is not to say that the quality of the information is not important; it most certainly is! Especially when you are dealing with medicine and medical emergencies. But from a business standpoint, you could be a fantastic source of medical information, but a terrible delivery system of that information, which will negatively affect the emotions that client develops within them, which will give them a negative connotation of the business, despite the fact that you did your job wonderfully as a doctor.

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