Having it All on Your Doorstep

Does your vet make house calls? Do you wish they did? Well Jennifer Muller, who was recently named Veterinary Advocate of the Year by the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association and Veterinarian of the Year by a drug company, does. And in her spare time, she helps craft policy to shut down puppy mills.

Muller, who was recently featured on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer, modeled the house call practice after the one her cousin runs in Key west. "I like the idea of having closer relationships with people," she says. "Instead of 15 minute appointments, always rushing, this seemed like a better way. The animals are more relaxed." Muller estimates she has about 100 current clients in her practice, which has grown strictly by mouth. I wonder how she handles surgeries or situations that require special equipment (x-rays for example).

As for the policy part, well her background is in political science. She served as both a White House intern under Clinton and a domestic policy advisor to Al Gore. She left Washington during the Bush years, moving to L.A. to try her hand a screen writing. It was there that she received the advice that pointed her toward Penn Vet school: "You should do in life what you find yourself doing in your free time." Considering she was walking her dogs at the time, she took it to heart.

Since October 2008, she has been the chair of the Pennsylvania Canine Health Board which is currently drafting new regulations for commercial breeders in the state. It is a win-win situation for the animal loving policy wonk: "I said that one of the reasons I decided to become a vet was not just to treat animals, but to apply my policy experience to help animals on a larger scale," she said in her acceptance speeches.

Bottom line: do what you love, even if it means shifting gears.