Kennedy Veterinary Services & Soft Landing: Compassion, Expansion, and Community Service

Quotes Courtesy of: Dr. Kelli Kidd

From the time that she was very small, Dr. Kelli Kidd always knew that she wanted to work with animals. She started her career in Veterinary Medicine in the mid nineties cleaning kennels at a local veterinary clinic where she rapidly advanced to an assistant position. When Dr. Kennedy started Kennedy Veterinary Services (KVS) in 2000, she became the first employee of the all mobile service, providing both large and small animal medical treatment for the Walla Walla Valley and surrounding areas. During that time, Kelli continued her education and eventually completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. While she was away at Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, she continued to function as the practice manager for KVS, performing her duties on-line. Over time the practice has grown so much that the mobile part of the practice has diminished and the business is now clinic-based. Kennedy Veterinary Services now has 12 employees and is still growing!

Since the beginning, KVS has operated with a strong sense of community service. Pet population control, supporting feral cat spay and neuter programs, and finding ways to help in cases of financial hardship have long been priorities. Dr. Kidd is quick to point out that the rising costs of veterinary medical care can be a difficult hurdle for many people. “Pretty regularly, we take cases that are financially struggling, and we have people coming from out of town because they can’t afford services elsewhere. A puppy with a fracture or a cat with a urethral obstruction should not face euthanasia just because of financial reasons; these cases are potentially ‘fixable’.” 

Another important aspect of the practice is pet end of life care. Dr. Kidd notes the unique role that veterinarians have in this area: “A special feature of this type of work is that veterinarians are involved in the life cycle of pets from birth through death.”  A growing feature of veterinary medicine focuses on improving the quality of life of geriatric and terminally ill pets, counseling owners through these more difficult parts of the life cycle, and helping ensure a peaceful “good death” at the appropriate time. Both Drs. Kennedy and Kidd wanted to develop local programs and a space that would allow pets to receive things like hospice-type care, quality of life exams, and family-present euthanasia. “Our efforts are keeping the patient comfortable and improving their life to the best of our abilities- until we can’t anymore. As the condition progresses, the owners may experience a lot of anxiety and guilt- we help them through that by advocating for the animal and being a helping hand to the family.” Going one step further, they wanted to provide after-life care in the form of water-based cremation, or Aquamation- a chemical process that uses alkaline hydrolysis which is more eco-friendly and produces no carbon emissions and yet results in ashes that can be returned to the family if desired. 

Dr. Kidd and Dr. Kennedy recently launched Soft Landing, a tranquil and family-friendly facility where they can provide all of these services right on-site. An exquisite feast for the eyes, with live plants and the sounds of running water nearby, the senses are immediately soothed in this space. There are two beautiful rooms and they schedule out a whole hour for these types of appointments “so nobody has to be rushed and can grieve as needed. It’s much more private; we really want this to be a sanctuary.” Thanks to the very close proximity of Soft Landing to the home clinic (about 200 feet), "we can run back and forth as needed”, and those tough euthanasia experiences- which most of us have had to cope with at some point- can be taken care of quickly, gently, and with enough time and space to grieve.

With compassion for both their patients and families, the medical team at Kennedy Veterinary Services and Soft Landing offer reliable, trustworthy medical and end-of-life services.   For more information on Soft Landing, visit www.softlandingveterinary.com.  To schedule care for your pet, call 541-938-9306, and specify which services are needed.