Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Lorenzano.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I always knew I wanted to work with animals. I am from Cleveland, Tennessee and attended the University of Tennessee. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. I have been fortunate enough to have a wide variety of experiences during and after college. During school, I worked as a veterinary technician at several clinics, University of Tennessee veterinary emergency hospital, and interned for the Knoxville Zoo Bird and Red Panda departments.
I met my husband in college, who was from Florida so we moved after I graduated when he was offered a sponsorship to go through the Osceola County Criminal Justice Academy in Kissimmee. I became a performer/trainer at Seaworld’s Pet’s Ahoy show working with domestic animals. Later, I decided to go back to school and acquired an Associate of Science in Histotechnology where I began working in human medicine in the pathology department of Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Everything happens for a reason.
During my employment at LRMC, I got to know my Supervisor, Terry Sandlak, more and her love for rescuing animals. When I had my first son and went out on maternity leave, she approached me about coming to work for her, but at a new non-profit spay/neuter clinic, TLC PetSnip, in Lakeland she was opening. At this time, my husband was a deputy sheriff in Osceola, so we still lived in Kissimmee. Terry allowed me to bring my son, Landon, to work daily when he was just six months old.
TLC PetSnip was selected by the Humane Alliance, now ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance to be a mentored clinic for High Quality/High Volume Spay and Neuter. Terry always says if it wasn’t for them keeping a hand on her back pushing for her to succeed, she would have given up before TLC PetSnip even opened. We were not welcomed at first in the county because the fear of pulling clients from other for profit clinics. We knew we had to prove ourselves, our quality and our place in this field.
When TLC PetSnip opened August 2013, I worked the front desk and we were a very small staff. Everyone one of us put in so much time and leg work getting our mission and name out there. We wanted people to know there was an option for spay/neuter that was affordable and where the quality matched higher priced General Practices. We targeted underserved and low-income areas to let them know they can take care of their pets and not have to choose financially whether or not to give them up.
It was always understood, but still hard after a year of working, my family moved back to Tennessee when I was pregnant with my second son, Alexander. TLC PetSnip was just started to get forward momentum and Terry kept me updated with everything happening while I was away. I stayed involved remotely until my family was able to return to Florida in 2016 when I accepted the position of Operations Manager.
TLC PetSnip was growing significantly. We were constantly listening to the community and adding requested services when the demand was high. We were being contacted by other counties to open a clinic to help. In 2017, we opened our Hillsborough location and in 2018, we opened our Marion county location. I was honored and humbled to be promoted to Executive Director at the end of 2019.
I am blessed beyond measure to work for TLC PetSnip. It is not a job to me, but a passion and I get to live that passion out daily.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening a non-profit spay/neuter clinic in a mostly General Practice field at the time was very hard. Full-service veterinarians wanted to see us fail, they didn’t want us in their community. They felt we were taking clients from them and profit from them. We fought hard to prove that we wanted clients that would never enter their doors or clients who never thought they could afford to take care of their pets properly due to finances.
Eight years later, we have wonderful working relationships with most general practices who even refer clients to our facilities who might be financially restricted.
We never want the stigma of “you get what you pay for”. That is something that I preach to our employees regularly. Just because we are affordable does not make our quality any less then. We had to fight to prove ourselves and we never want to lose that aspect of who TLC PetSnip is. We treat every patient as if they were our own and we know every patient that walks through our doors.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
TLC PetSnip is a non-profit spay/neuter and wellness organization with locations serving Polk, Hillsborough, Marion and surrounding counties. We have ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance mentored clinics and strive for High Quality, High Volume Spay and Neuter (HQHV). We also offer affordable prevention and urgent veterinary care such as annual bloodwork and vaccines, skin allergies and quality of life euthanasias.
We truly are a family and treat every client and patient as a member. We remember the names of our patients, we take every case to heart. We never say no to a client. If it is an emergency case that needs hospitalization that we do not offer, we will still perform any tests, symptom treatments possible knowing that sometimes when we recommend to go to another clinic, that client just cannot afford to go.
We have an “Angel Fund” that is funded by the doller here doller there donations from our clients. That money goes directly towards pets in need of care.
We also have a food bank where clients can come get cat and dog food that may be going through a hard time and need assistance.
I am most proud of our mission and quality. When you walk into our locations, clients have said you can feel the love and the warmth. Our best and most frequent compliment/review is that TLC PetSnip truly cares about the animals.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I actually began my college career as a Concrete Management Major. I worked with my dad for his excavating business and can run pretty much all heavy machinery. I am a tomboy at heart and love getting my hands dirty. It is pretty fitting since I do have three beautiful, rambunctious little boys. They keep me on my feet and busy every minute I am not working. Landon is 8, Alexander is 6 and Jameson will turn 1 on November 1st.
Pricing:
- Rabies Vaccine $15
- Heartworm Test $18
- Cat Spay/Neuter $50 – includes pain injection and veterinary exam
- Dog Spay/Neuter starts at $85 – includes pain injection, veterinary exam & E-Collar
- Community/Feral Cat $25 – includes spay/neuter, pain injection, veterinary exam and Rabies Vaccine
Contact Info:
- Email: executivedirector@tlcpetsnip.org
- Website: www.tlcpetsnip.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TLCPetSnipPolk, https://www.facebook.com/TLCPetSnipMarion, https://www.facebook.com/TLCPetSnipHillsborough
