Meet Justin Daughtry

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

Hi Justin, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
When you think of a veterinary clinic, you probably think of stethoscopes, vaccines, and wagging tails. But at our family-owned practice, we believe that taking care of pets starts with taking care of the people who love them.

Our philosophy is built on a concept called “Unreasonable Hospitality” (a term you might recognize if you’ve watched the show The Bear!). To us, hospitality means going a step beyond standard customer service. It means we don’t just see a patient on a schedule; we see you.

Here is how our clinic is working to make a positive social impact on our community, one family at a time:

We See You and We Listen: We know that bringing a pet to the vet can sometimes be stressful or overwhelming. We hold each of our clients as unique and special. Our goal is for every single person to walk out of our doors feeling genuinely seen, heard, and cared for.

Alleviating Suffering, Creating Joy: A community is only as happy as its members. By keeping your furry family members healthy, safe, and free from suffering, we are protecting the deep bonds that bring so much joy to your homes.

A Healthier World, One Pet at a Time: We truly believe that happiness is infectious. By pouring our hearts into the health of local pets, we create a ripple effect of happiness that spreads throughout our neighborhood and out into the world.

We aren’t just treating animals; we are holding our community in our minds and hearts. Thank you for letting our family take care of yours!

What should our readers know about your business?
When I set out to open a family-owned veterinary clinic, I didn’t just want to build another office—I wanted to change the way people experience veterinary care. Today, I am proud to run a privately owned small animal general practice that balances state-of-the-art medicine with genuine hospitality and true financial mindfulness.

After years of working for other clinics and large corporations, a frustrating pattern became clear. Corporate veterinary medicine has increasingly turned toward a constrained, “cookie-cutter” model. Driven by rigid corporate algorithms rather than best practices, these environments rarely give doctors the time needed to truly connect with owners. On top of that, corporate markups have skyrocketed, often taking advantage of people when they are at their most vulnerable.

We are taking veterinary medicine “old school”—inspired by James Herriot and All Creatures Great and Small. To us, that means a few distinct things:

While the industry is trending heavily toward driving patients to expensive specialists for every minor quirk, we keep advanced care and procedures right here in-house. This saves our families time, money, and the stress of bouncing around to different clinics.

Also, I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all recommendations. We look at your pet’s unique needs, listen to your concerns, and customize a treatment plan that fits your family and your budget. High-quality medicine shouldn’t be a luxury. We intentionally structure our practice to keep costs down for owners, ensuring that excellent care remains accessible to our neighbors.

If this journey has taught me anything, it’s that relationships still matter. People don’t want to be treated like a number on a corporate ledger, and pets shouldn’t be treated like an algorithm.

If there is one thing we want our community to know about our brand, it’s this: We are here for you. We are a local family taking care of your local family, blending cutting-edge medicine with a big, old-school heart.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Days 1 & 2
Start with breakfast at Honey Hill Cafe for a perfect neighborhood vibe in Park Hill.
Grab some scooters and zip around the RiNo Art District to check out the incredible street murals. Afterward, we’re grabbing lunch or dinner at Fish N Beer.
You can’t miss the world-class Israeli brunch spread at Safta.
We’ll catch a late-night event at the Denver Botanic Gardens or the Denver Zoo, and cap off a perfect night with a bluegrass show at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom.

Days 3 & 4
We’re spending the morning strolling through the bustling Pearl Street Farmers Market.
To burn off the morning treats, we’ll take a long, relaxing walk up and down the Cherry Creek Trail.
For the ultimate dinner experience, we are taking them to the legendary Sushi Den. On a more casual night, we love hitting up Esters in Oneida Park for great pizza, followed immediately by froyo at Dang.

Days 5 & 6
No trip is complete without a drive up the Mt. Blue Sky Scenic Byway (the highest paved road in North America) to see the alpine lakes and mountain goats.
Next, we head to Golden for a thrilling whitewater float down Clear Creek, followed by a well-deserved outdoor lunch at The Golden Mill food hall.
We’ll end the mountain portion of the trip with an unforgettable, bucket-list concert under the stars at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
If they visit during the winter, our itinerary gets a snowy upgrade: we jump right on the Winter Park Ski Train from Union Station for an effortless, scenic day of skiing and mountain fun!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am only here today because of the incredible mentorship, love, and encouragement of a remarkable group of people.

A massive thank you to Dr. Jim Clark, DVM, for his unwavering belief in me, alongside his invaluable business education, mentorship, and financial assistance. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the UC Davis Vet School for an exceptional education, Valley Vet for the invaluable experience of serving as Medical Director, and Kathy and Carolyn at Taylor and Thornburg Physical Therapy for trusting me to run a satellite clinic early on.

Shoutout to the Kaiser Permanente Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy program, which uniquely taught me how to be an effective communicator and problem-solver—skills I use every single day in clinical practice.

A special thank you to Mary Myers. Mary believed in this clinic just as much as I did from day one. As the first face most of our clients meet, there truly is no one better suited to welcome our community.

My family—my wife, Julie, and her parents, Corrine and Allen Greenfield. Thank you for the endless support, encouragement, and for tirelessly managing everything behind the scenes so I can focus fully on medicine and our patients.

Finally, I dedicate this shoutout to our incredible clients. Thank you for believing in the vision we are building. You prove every day that there is still a vital place for a privately owned veterinary practice—one that believes relationships, truly seeing and listening to people, community, and hospitality matter.

Website: https://stateoftheheartvet.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateoftheheartvetcare/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090535802212