E21: Inkwell Veterinary Emergency Clinic: Meet Fort Collins Most Transparent Vet

When your pet needs emergency care, knowing where to turn can make all the difference. Dr. Matt Asciutto shares the story behind Inkwell Veterinary Emergency Clinic, Fort Collins' locally-owned outpatient emergency clinic that's changing how pet parents experience urgent care.

After years traversing the country as an emergency veterinarian in specialty referral centers from Alaska to North Carolina, Dr. Asciutto put down roots in Fort Collins when his wife joined CSU. With a growing family and deep emergency medicine expertise, he spotted a crucial need in the community – accessible, transparent emergency care that bridges the gap when your regular vet isn't available.

What makes Inkwell truly revolutionary is its physical design. "The whole place is glass," Dr. Asciutto explains. This deliberate transparency allows pet owners to witness their pet's treatment firsthand, reducing anxiety during already stressful situations. Located at Drake and Timberline, the clinic combines specialty-level medical expertise with convenient hours (open until 10 PM) and a genuinely local approach to business. Dr. Matt Asciutto addresses common misconceptions about veterinary financing while emphasizing his collaborative relationships with area primary care veterinarians.

Beyond his professional identity, we glimpse the person behind the white coat – a family man who once performed improv comedy and still occasionally strums a guitar while falling asleep. His philosophical approach to challenges serves him perfectly in emergency medicine: acknowledge where you are and focus on finding solutions.

Whether you need emergency care today or want peace of mind for tomorrow, visit inkwellvet.com or stop by the clinic to see this unique approach to veterinary emergency medicine firsthand. When minutes count, wouldn't you rather trust a neighbor who built their clinic with your needs in mind?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a reputableveterinary and emergency clinic?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today, I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Matthew Ishudo, with InkwellVeterinary Emergency Clinic.
Matt, how's it going?
It's going good.
It's going good.
Thanks for having me.
We're excited to learn allabout you and your veterinary

(00:32):
clinic.
Tell us all about it.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Well, we are an outpatient emergency clinic at
the corner of Drake andTimberline, locally owned it's
me and an SBA loan, and a coupleof really strong emergency
doctors providing the kind ofservice that you'd expect in a
specialty referral center.
But we're doing it in urgentcare hours.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
How did you get into the business?

Speaker 3 (00:55):
I've been a veterinarian since 2017.
I've been doing really onlyspecialty, referral, emergency
work.
So you work in those bigspecialty clinics 24 hours, 24
seven.
I'm traveling around thecountry to do so.
I've practiced in Alaska andVirginia and Massachusetts and
North Carolina, but we moved outhere three and a half years ago

(01:15):
when my wife got a job at CSUand once we had our kid, I'm
like I got to stay home.
So why not open a clinic downthe street?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Nice.
What are some myths ormisconceptions?

Speaker 3 (01:31):
in your industry.
Oh, I would say the big onethat we hear a lot is about, you
know, financing or that wedon't care about the animal.
I think that that happens, thatthe kind of runs pretty rampant
, which is, you know, of coursemost of the places are kind.
Think that that happens, thatkind of runs pretty rampant,
which is, you know, of coursemost of the places are kind of
corporately owned, Like we don'tget to make any prices, which

(01:51):
is a benefit of where we are now, but it's probably the biggest
one.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Who are your target customers?
How do you want to attract them, or how do you attract them now
?

Speaker 3 (02:03):
The target customers are, I mean, people who are, you
know, owners of dogs and cats,people who have dogs and cats
who are in need of an evaluationright now.
It's like if your animal issick and you want to go
somewhere where you know you canget taken care of, that's where
we are.
Those are our customers, I meanprimarily.
We have I mean we have goodrelationships with the primary
vets in the area, so all of yourkind of GP, you know, wellness

(02:27):
veterinarians.
But just when they're not ableto see you last minute, or if
it's a weekend, or if it'snighttime, you know, anytime
before 10, we're there, right.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (02:42):
At this point, mostly family Work.
Work is primarily life.
And then it's just like, once 5pm happens and everyone's
coming home from work anddaycare, I'm like, all right,
I'm here, we're gonna go on bikerides, we're gonna go play on
the swing, you know that kind ofthing.
That's.
That's it.
In a previous life it was likeI did improv comedy for a long

(03:04):
time and theater for a long time, music for a long time.
So if you, you know, as I fallasleep, you might find me
noodling a guitar.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Let's, let's switch gears, gears.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you
overcame?
How it made you stronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (03:20):
yeah, I you know, I feel like it's um, I was
thinking about that I I don'tknow if I look at life that way.
I feel like life in general isjust hard in in just different
ways, uh, at all times, and, ofcourse, like we've all had our
struggles.
But I find like most of it isum.
The thing that I've learnedthrough all of it is, as things

(03:41):
become tough, it's sort ofsaying like, hey, this is where
we are right now.
You know what do we do to kindof get out of it.
So it's been helpful in beingan emr doctor for sure.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Please tell our listeners one thing they should
remember about InkwellVeterinary Emergency Clinic.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
That it is, that we're local, we're down the
street.
The one thing is that it'stransparent, it's open, it's
accessible.
The whole place is glass.
We want you to be a part of themedical experience for your pet
.
I think that that decreases andit's a scary thing that you're
having to do like to go to an ERnobody likes that and it's open

(04:24):
.
When you walk in, you see glass, you see the treatment area,
you see exactly what we're doingat all times.
So you're welcome.
Welcome in.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
How can our listeners learn more about Inkwell
Veterinary Emergency Clinic?

Speaker 3 (04:34):
Easiest would be to hop to the website.
Inkwellvet vet, like veterinary.
Um, you can also stop by.
I mean, I know it's, it's weirdfor an er, but if you're in the
area and you want to say like,hey, if we're ever in an issue,
if we ever have an issue, wewant to know where we're going
to be, uh, just come on by,we're drake and timberline
inkwell well, matt, I reallyappreciate you being on the show

(04:57):
.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
We wish you and your business the best moving forward
.
Great.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom,no-transcript.