MANILA, Philippines -- After graduation, Dr. Margarita de la Carpio left for a job in the US to widen her experience in veterinary medicine. She had always dreamed of setting up her own practice in the Philippines, and was already looking for a place she could settle in when she returned.

When Dr. Nielsen Donato approached her to form a business partnership together with two other veterinarians, it was quite normal for her to feel a certain reservation. “My friends warned me that business partnerships usually don’t last, especially if you don’t really know who your partners are,” she said.

Marga and Nielsen had bumped into each other when doing the rounds of animal farms. They had by chance learned that their physician dads were colleagues at the Polymedic Hospital, but that was about all the two vets knew of each other.

Of course, Marga knew the other prospective partner, Dr. Nicholas Carpio. He was a good friend, practically growing up with him, having graduated from the same school and spending a year in the US for training after graduation. Now, Nielsen’s best friend, Dr. Michael Velhagen, and proposed fourth partner, Marga knew almost nothing.

And yet, even if the concept of veterinary doctors forming a company to dispense their knowledge and skills was practically unheard of in the country, Marga and Nick joined in.

The idea of forming a business practice was really the idea of Karl Tan, who had just opened Doggieland, a pet store and grooming station. He was the dyed-in-the-wool entrepreneur who was offering the vets free space on the upper floor of a three-storey commercial unit in Mandaluyong.

“Karl felt that having a vet clinic on the top floor of Doggieland was going to boost his sales. When I saw the place, I wasn’t too keen because pets would have to be brought up a narrow flight of stairs. But the space was going to be rent-free and that clinched the whole deal,” Nielsen said.

The four doctors and Karl, as a silent partner, formed Vets in Practice. “On the day we opened, our first patient was a Vietnamese pot belly pig who came all the way from Valenzuela (in Bulacan) because she was having difficulty giving birth. Because my hands are big, Marga had to bring out the litter,” Nielsen said.

The easy working relationship of the four vets with each other had a positive effect on the business. “We’re lucky that our chemistry worked so well,” says Nielsen. It seemed that having all four vets who worked in harmony together in a clinic gave clients a very secure sense of professional attention and service.

“We never fight,” said Nick, something that their other doctor friends have also noticed in the working relationship of the four business partners. Perhaps, as Marga notes, it is because their trust in each other has never been broken. “If we have something to say, we do so with honesty but still with cautiousness.”

Aside from smooth personal relationship that the doctors have with each other, “more like a family,” according to Marga, the division of work has been cut up to suit each others’ personalities.

Marga and Nick have taken on the roles of “managing” partners. They oversee the office-end of the business, including supervision of employees and junior vets, inventory accounting, and financial management.

Marga attended a short business course to learn the basics of managing the partnership. But practical help came from her mother-in-law who is a certified public accountant, and her husband who had some hands-on experience in running a business, having had to put in some hours when younger in the family’s printing company.

Nick, on the other hand, is more involved with the personnel side of the business. “I do pep talks. I know all the problems of staff. I keep telling them this is not just a clinic or a corporation; we are a family,” he said.

The main responsibility of bringing clients into the business falls on Nielsen and Michael, although this has not been a major challenge because the good word that is passed on had an exponential effect on the number of clients they have been entertaining.

Ever since Vets in Practice opened in 2003, they have had to expand their working area in Mandaluyong to the third floor to accommodate new patients. “We were so surprised at how well we were received,” says Marga. Business growth was so fast that they had recovered their initial capital outlay in less than a year.

There have been offers for them to expand to other areas. Marga, Nielsen and two other vets opened Animal Care Specialists in Tiendesitas in Pasig. Just recently, the original four vets acceded to putting up a clinic in Cartimar in Manila; this time, they called it Carveldon Veterinary Clinic, Carveldon being a play of the first syllables of their last names.

“If we ever open another new clinic, it will most probably have the Carveldon name,” says Nielsen. This would also be the name of the state-of-the-art animal hospital that all dream about. At the moment, it’s still mostly in the talk stage: “We think that the Philippines is ready for a hospital that will have its own citiscans and MRIs for animals,” he adds.

Going into business has allowed the foursome to do what all of them love doing – taking care of more animals – and yet have left them with more time for themselves and their families. “My wife used to complain a lot about my seven-day work week,” Nielsen says.

Nielsen also is able to attend more professional conferences that would undoubtedly provide more value to the business. Of late, they have been carving a name for themselves as professionals at the forefront of advocacy causes that involve animals of all kinds.

The love and compassion they have for animals has been a strong reason for their bonds to grow stronger. “We see ourselves growing old with each other,” Marga says. Depending on the financial viability, they may see through their dream of a world-class veterinary hospital. They will, however, continue to be the best of friends and colleagues – and business associates.