Meet Jennifer Le

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Le and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, as a parent, what have you done for you children that you feel has had the most significant impact?
I think one of the most important things I’ve done as a parent is to be fully engaged and present with my son, which not only includes spending as much time as a I can with him, but to also teach him about emotions and how to express and deal with them in a healthy manner.

As co-business owners and veterinarians at our own hospital, my husband and I have the luxury of being able to split our shifts at the business, where I work Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and he works Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, leaving the other days that we are off to be with our son. In this way, we are able to spend as much time as possible with him, taking him to indoor playgrounds and letting him experience his best life as a kid before he starts school next year. It also has the added benefit of being able to save on daycare and childcare costs.

Growing up, I was often told that I was “too sensitive” or “too emotional” and that I needed to be “stronger,” so I always thought that there was something wrong with me because of this. I have since learned that being “emotional” and “sensitive” is something of a super power and it helps me readily empathize with others, which is something that is essential to being a veterinarian. I’ve also learned that people who are sensitive typically are much stronger than others give them credit for, as showing emotion and being vulnerable requires a lot more strength than not doing so. Because of this, I am able to teach my son that having emotions is okay and how to express them healthily instead of bottling them up like so many boys I knew growing up were taught to do. I am proud to be able to break the cycle of toxic masculinity that was ingrained in so many men up to this point so that he can be aware of and take care of his mental health now and in the future.

What should our readers know about your business?
A Couple of Vets is a small animal full service veterinary hospital in Spring, TX that was founded and is co-owned by me and my husband, Zachary Reynolds, who is also a veterinarian. We offer everything from wellness and preventative care (vaccines; heartworm, flea, and tick prevention; spays and neuters) to sick visits and emergency care to soft tissue surgery to specialty services such as abdominal ultrasound, echocardiograms, and laser therapy.

We know that veterinary visits can be stressful, especially when your pet is sick, which is why our veterinary clinic will take the time to talk you through what may be going on with your pet to come up with a customized treatment plan. At A Couple of Vets, our goal is to provide you with the education and tools necessary to decide together the right treatment plan that works for you and your pet. We understand that veterinary care can add up really quickly, so we provide all of our recommendations and let you know what treatments to prioritize for your current budget and which ones that can wait for a future visit if needed.

We are “here for you when life is feline ruff.” “Here for you” is everything that we stand for, as we are here for the client and the patient. No matter who might be having a bad day, our compassion extends to everyone.

When I decided I wanted to become a veterinarian, starting and owning my own veterinary hospital was definitely one of my goals. I didn’t get into veterinary school when I first applied, so after graduating from undergrad in 2009, I decided to pursue my MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship, Management, and Marketing.

I started veterinary school in 2011, where I met my husband, who is co-owner of our veterinary hospital, A Couple of Vets, with me. We unfortunately worked at a toxic work environment following graduation in 2011. We finally left after almost 2 years and started doing relief work around the Houston area, so we got to see how many different hospitals function and what we wanted and didn’t want in the future at our own place. After a few years of doing this, we decided in 2019 that we wanted more stability and the freedom to practice the type of medicine we wanted as we were restricted by what was available at the practices that we provided relief at, so our journey to creating a practice of our own started in 2019.

The journey to owning our own practice was definitely not easy. As mentioned, my husband and I worked at a veterinary hospital upon graduation that had a very toxic environment. Needless to say, we were micromanaged, overworked, underpaid, and literally told that we were not taught correctly at veterinary school. When we initially left and started doing relief work, instead of doing it on our own, we decided to go through a service that helps us find hospitals that are needing a contract veterinarian. Unfortunately, we were also treated poorly by this company, and decided to leave after 3 months. This is the moment we decided that we never wanted to work for someone again, so we started our own veterinary relief service.

At the end of 2018, after almost 2 years of providing relief work, we connected with a real estate agent that specialized in finding spaces for veterinary hospitals. He was from Dallas and it was very apparent when we first met with him to look at properties that he did not know the Houston area at all as he showed us many spaces that were not in ideal locations. We became discouraged after this, however, Michelle Hunt, whom we met at one of the veterinary hospitals we were providing relief work to as she was a sales representative of Henry Schein (now Covetrus), connected us to a local healthcare real estate agency, Xite Realty. We signed the contract for our lease space in April 2019.

When I say the whole process was difficult, we were literally riding the struggle bus, more so than most. The actual store front, which is the building in which the lease space is held, was not yet built. The landlords for the space were supposed to have had the entire shell built by the end of Summer 2019 so that we could start building the inside of our space, however, construction did not start on the store front until December 2019 and was promised to be finished by January 2020, however, it did not get done until March 2020. Then, the pandemic hit as our construction team was about to start building on our space.

Construction was slowed down tremendously as only a certain number of people were allowed to be together at the space at a time. In addition, materials for building were harder to access, so a project that normally would have only taken 3 months was stretched to 4-5 months. When our space was finished, our landlord’s property management team kept telling us that we would be having our fire inspection so that we could open by 8/24/2020. This did not happen as they had not finished aspects they needed for the fire marshal to even come out. We had already hired employees and started training them 8/10/2020. Then, we found out that the landlord did not build the shell correctly and we had water go into our space due to rain. We were finally able to get a fire marshal out for inspection at the end of September 2020 and officially opened September 28, 2020.

We couldn’t have made it through the challenges we faced without having a strong start-up team that had our backs every step of the way. We also couldn’t have made it without the understanding of the employees we hired as well. They all took a pay cut from the jobs that they were at to come to work with us. In addition, they did not have full-time hours for about a month and a half until we were able to actually open.

Through this whole process, we have learned that even when everything seems to be falling apart or they don’t go as planned, it all ends up working out the way it is supposed to. Sometimes you just have to let go of your expectations of how it should be and roll with the punches. Having the right people around you when things go sideways is important.

We met the majority of our employees when we were doing relief work. They were also in toxic environments and were actively searching for new opportunities. We wanted to create a community of kindness that not only celebrates successes and milestones but also uplifts our employees, clients, and patients during the hard moments in their lives.

Our goal within the next 5 years is to eventually have a stand-alone building outside of a leasing center that includes advanced diagnostics, including a CT machine, as well as rehabilitation services, including a water treadmill. I am also currently working on a specialty certification to become a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (DABVP) in Canine and Feline Medicine, which is equivalent to the private practice version of becoming an Internal Medicine Specialist.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Being an owner of a small business, I definitely love supporting other small business owners! I have a 3 1/2 year old son, so I frequent a lot of indoor playgrounds. Some of our favorites include Oh Toodles in Conroe, Stoyrieland in Spring, Cheeky Monkeys in Vintage Park, Galaxy Playland in Bellaire, Kumo’s Wanderland in Richmond, Kiddie Cosmos in Houston, and Hyper Kidz in Houston. We recently went to the Good Vibe Farm on one of their open farm days, which was amazing! We also love the Houston Children’s Museum, the Woodlands Children’s Museum, and Chuck-E-Cheese.

As a mom, I definitely need places to decompress and hang out with my girls! I have been going to RIDE Indoor Cycling in the Woodlands since Thanksgiving 2017. The community here is unlike any other and is where I met pretty much all of good friends I have today. The support and workout there is essentially therapy. You just have to experience it for yourself to understand. For post-workout drinks and food, Postino’s and Sixty Vines are vibes.

If I need a quick bite on work days, Island Grill in City Place is great! Great portions for the price. They are a family-owned business that has several locations around Houston.

For date nights, my husband and I love Bloofin Sushi in Spring (they also have a Woodlands location) and going to Star Cinema Grill in City Place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” – Jim Valvano

A Couple of Vets Animal Hospital (and this Shoutout series!) is dedicated to my dad, Minh Le, who instilled in me a love of animals, a spirit of entrepreneurship, and a mindset of hard work and dedication. He unfortunately passed away a year after I graduated from veterinary school in June 2016 of lung cancer. He was one of my most staunch supporters and biggest cheerleaders while he was alive. He founded his own engineering firm, Pressure Vessel Design Pro Corporation, in 1984, where he specialized in designing pressure vessels and engineering software, finite element analysis, and consulting. During his career, he contributed his skills to NASA’s Mars Rover Project and was a great supporter of the future of engineering through his position as an advisor to the Texas A&M University College of Mechanical Engineering for over 10 years as well as his support of student projects, including the Solar Racecar Program.

My dad lived his life selflessly and generously, always thinking of others and helping out wherever he could. He continuously contributed to many charitable organizations, including the Houston SPCA, Disabled American Veterans, and the U.S. Olympics.

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field but was unsure whether I wanted to work with humans or animals. During my sophomore year of undergrad, one of my kitties, Bozo, was diagnosed with lymphoma. He received chemo and radiation treatment at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, but his liver unfortunately gave out after 6 months. Visiting him in the ICU before he passed away made me realize I wanted to help other animals like him as well as their owners, so this is also dedicated to him, as well as all the animals I grew up with (dog Benji and kitties Childchi, Dollchi, Chimchi, Tabby, Pickles, and Cookie) and the animals I have had since then (dogs Gibson and Fender and kitties Nick Fury, Steven, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor).

Website: https://www.acoupleofvets.com

Instagram: @acoupleofvets

Linkedin: @acoupleofvets

Facebook: @acoupleofvets

Youtube: @acoupleofvets

Other: Spotify: @acoupleofvets

Image Credits
Ashley Newman Photography
Paige Beitler Photography
Audra Oden Photography
Teziti Photo Booth