Our Story
Unicorns, A Girl Who Followed Her Heart, and a Vet Clinic that Feels Like a Home β The Story of Integrative Pet Wellness Center
Hello friends,
Dictionary.com defines a βunicorn,β as itβs being used today, as one that conjures up ideas of βthe powerful and the possible,β or one that is rare, or even βanyone who showers sunshineβ¦into our lives.β Thatβs me! Or what my team at my new integrative veterinary practice and I aim to be.
Whether you know me from my time in-clinic, my mobile practice, or have stumbled upon this site in a search for a new veterinary experience, welcome! Hereβs a little background on how I got to where I am today.
When I graduated from veterinary school in 2007, I was wide-eyed, enthusiastic, and so excited to grasp the dream Iβd had of being a veterinarian. I had this dream from when I was a little girl in Taiwan, caring for puppies, kittens, and many other little creatures.
I spent seven years working in-clinic in West Hollywood. Then for six more years, I worked at a clinic on the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula. Working in traditional western veterinary practices gave me so many opportunities to heal peopleβs pets, build wonderful relationships with pets and their parents, in addition to fellow in-house veterinarians, vet technicians, and other staff.
But I was looking for something different. I wanted the veterinary profession as a whole to be more hands-on, warm, and individualized. I wanted to serve frustrated pet parents who felt their pets were just given medication after medication without addressing the root of the issues while also feeling like their concerns werenβt listened to. I wanted to end the cycle of burnout and stagnation I saw in so many practitioners.
I have gotten many comments over the years about being a natural βhealer.β I believe a petβs emotional and mental health is just as important as their physical health. My team and I are big advocates of treating the animal as a βwholeβ rather than just the diagnosis or diseases they are dealing with. I place a heavy emphasis on diet and lifestyle as well as emotional well-being as these are the foundation and building blocks of health and happiness.
So in 2018, I began seeing patients independently via house call, offering holistic services such as:
- Acupuncture
- Integrative Consults
- Nutrition Consults
- Herbal Medicine (based on eastern philosophy)
All the while, I continued working in-hospital. But in the fall of 2020, I reached a fork in the road.
More and more people were reaching out to me for my mobile, holistic services. Seeing there was a great need for the integrative approach in pet care, I decided to make the leap, leave my clinic, and go all-in with a brand new venture.
The new iteration comes in the form of Integrative Pet Wellness Center. A storefront clinic where my team and I will be living out our ‘unicorn-ness’ as we seek to grow and change the vet med profession a little bit, thinking outside the box and doing something exciting and different.
It’s going to be a veterinary practiceβrather, a veterinary experienceβunlike anything you’ve seen. What does that mean exactly?
- An integrative practice
- Making pet care less stressful and more joyful
- Combining conventional medicine with holistic medicine to tailor treatment to each individual patient
- Preventive care, to promote holistic living rather than simply treating symptoms
- Serving those who are seeking veterinary services that are more personalized, with a holistic emphasis
- Having a true connection and building trust with my clients
- Listening, honoring, and supporting pet parents in their journey β offering options and guidance but never dictate tests or treatments

Itβs not just about curing diseases. Itβs about finding ways to prevent sickness and suffering while strengthening the bond between people and their pets. My house call background gave me a great perspective on providing care with the pet parent present and involved in the whole process.
Construction is ongoing in my new, heart-centered little space, but the way it will be set up is symbolic of my philosophy. Itβll be an open-space floor plan, welcoming, intimate, and fear-free, where pet parents can stay with their pets as much as possible. Weβll stay out in the open and have the pet parent involved, educated, and empowered. There is no βback areaβ where we take the pets. It will be a space of comfort for them and you. Iβll even be performing most of my care on a mat, on the petsβ level. It wonβt feel like a hospital but like a home.
On the back-end, that means practicing radical self-care amongst myself and my team. Our field often calls for us to give and give and give, leading to burnout. One of my βnorth starsβ is to challenge that status quo, to βheal the healers,β to enable us to better care for pets, and to bring more compassion and positivity into the veterinary medicine space.

Itβs been a busy few months! Iβve recently been onboarding a team of unicorns, including Gabriela, Ashley, and Maria. We are deep-diving into our core values and how that will look practically as we serve pets.
Integrative Pet Wellness Center is accepting new clients on-site as of now. Please donβt hesitate to reach out to me anytime if youβre a pet parent interested in being fully involved in your petβs care in a calming, open space.
Iβm so grateful for the position Iβm in and so excited for the limitless possibilities ahead. Furthermore, Iβm thankful for every one of you!
Thinking of you, sending love to all of you, and so excited to have you on this journey with me,
Dr. Lily Chen

Itβs been a busy few months! Iβve recently been onboarding a team of unicorns, including Gabriela, Ashley, and Maria. We are deep-diving into our core values and how that will look practically as we serve pets.
Integrative Pet Wellness Center is accepting new clients on-site as of now. Please donβt hesitate to reach out to me anytime if youβre a pet parent interested in being fully involved in your petβs care in a calming, open space.
Iβm so grateful for the position Iβm in and so excited for the limitless possibilities ahead. Furthermore, Iβm thankful for every one of you!
Thinking of you, sending love to all of you, and so excited to have you on this journey with me,
Dr. Lily Chen

