Episode Overview

Title: For the Love of Dogs: Cleveland Veterinary Rehabilitation
Date: March 10, 2026
Podcast: The Unshakeables (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: Ben Walter (CEO of Chase for Business), Kathleen Griffith
Guests: Dr. Laura Cerrovi (Veterinarian, Co-founder), Michael Sivo (Co-founder)

This episode highlights the journey of Laura Cerrovi and Michael Sivo, the married founders of Cleveland Veterinary Rehabilitation, a groundbreaking rehab facility for pets in Cleveland, Ohio. The episode traces their inspiration—rooted in saving an injured rescue pit bull named Chauncey—through their transition from a mobile rehab service to a $2 million state-of-the-art clinic. The discussion delves into inflection points, small business risks, the growing importance of pet care, scaling challenges, and the realities of offering meaningful employment benefits.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal Inspiration: How Chauncey the Pit Bull Changed Their Lives

• Opening Story: Laura and Michael recount rescuing Chauncey, a severely injured pit bull who became the catalyst for their business and personally changed their lives.

  "He wasn't in the greatest of shape. He smelled terrible. He had a uti and he was dragging himself around all over the place, and his feet were bleeding and everything else." — Michael Sivo [00:20]
  "That dog changed our life, both of our lives." — Michael Sivo [00:56]

• Emotional Connection:
  Laura recalls her emotional response when Chauncey dragged himself through a fundraiser crowd to sit in front of her:

  "So I always say that, you know, I've had this dog for almost 10 years and it's like I can never tell that part of the story without crying... It was truly the moment that changed everything." — Laura Cerrovi [07:27]

2. Career and Business Beginnings

• Laura’s Path: Laura’s childhood love for animals led her to veterinary school (graduated 2000), but eventually, her career began to feel “stale” in general practice [02:35].
• Embracing New Skills: Attended a conference about acupuncture and Chinese medicine for animals, piquing her interest in animal rehabilitation [03:08].
• Crucial Support:

  "This is a way to recreate myself, learn a new skill, offer something beyond the prescription pad." — Laura Cerrovi [03:41]
  Michael, coming from a real estate background, encouraged the $40,000+ investment in her new specialization:
  "Just do it." — Michael Sivo [04:12]

3. From Rescue to Rehab: Founding the Business

• Chauncey’s Care: Laura and Michael adopt Chauncey, and Laura deploys her new acupuncture and rehabilitation skills. However, advanced care required long drives to the only specialized clinic in the area [08:09-09:00].
• Lightbulb Moment:

  "That was my light bulb moment where I said, why is there nothing in our own neighborhood like this?" — Laura Cerrovi [09:11]

• First Attempts: Laura proposes a mobile practice, treating pets in clients’ homes, launching in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic [09:23-10:26].
• Unexpected Timing:

  "In the end, it was actually a perfect time to start a new business...people didn't want to go out anyway." — Laura Cerrovi [10:45]

4. Validating the Model and Scaling Up

• Surge in Demand: With people home during the pandemic, demand for Laura’s in-home services soared, revealing a strong market need [10:57-11:13].

• Converting to a Physical Clinic:
  Michael urges moving to a brick-and-mortar facility for scalability, scoping out a nearby vacant lot—formerly a putt-putt course [11:37-13:12].

  "We should have bricks and mortar." — Michael Sivo [12:25]

• High Stakes Decision:

  "I thought, this seems really big and out of my realm. It seems like a huge risk, like we're going to bet everything we have..." — Laura Cerrovi [14:00]

• Facility Design:
  The pair design a welcoming, “ski lodge”-inspired clinic with timber trusses, stonework, fireplaces, and dog-friendly rubberized flooring [15:06-16:11].

  "We didn't want a clinical environment. We wanted something that was going to be very comfortable for pets and for pet owners." — Laura Cerrovi [15:06]

• Financial Leap:
  Facility opened April 2022; $2 million invested for 6,000 sq. ft. [16:39-17:02].

5. Industry Trends: The Business of Pet Humanization

• Booming Pet Market:

  "There are more dogs than there are kids in this country right now." — Kathleen [18:21]
  The hosts note "humanization of pets" as a key trend enabling premium services like pet rehabilitation to flourish [18:28-19:16].

• Thoughtful Expansion:
  The founders’ move from a mobile, solopreneur model to physical facility is praised as a smart, data-driven approach, proving product-market fit before scaling up [20:05-21:36].

6. Growth and Operations

• Recent Expansion:
  Now adding extra 2,000 sq. ft., five more exam rooms, and a room for gait analysis [22:01-22:18].

• Hiring & Training:
  Staff includes another veterinarian (who once treated Chauncey!), and eclectic staff trained and educated in-house [22:24-22:59].

• Benefits and Challenges:
  PTO, vacation, and a 401k are offered, but health insurance remains out of reach due to high costs—a recurring issue for small businesses [23:18-24:08].

  "As a small business owner, the rates have become astronomical and just so difficult." — Laura Cerrovi [23:50]

• Technology Investments:
  Recently acquired a $45,000 ultrasound machine to expand diagnostic offerings [24:40-24:41].

7. Business Model and Pricing

• Pricing Strategy:
  Laura modeled her pricing after a successful Georgia mentor, charges a la carte by service, and reviews annually for rate changes [24:57-25:29].
• Franchise Potential:
  Ben floats the idea; Michael says they'd consider it, noting they have a “blueprint” but admit the business is still highly dependent on their direct involvement [25:29-31:42].

8. Employee Benefits and Broader Economic Context

• The inability to offer health insurance is discussed as symptomatic of a wider issue—a key barrier for small businesses nationally [26:25-28:17].
• Ben notes that housing, higher education, and healthcare have outpaced income growth, hitting small businesses and their employees especially hard [27:58-28:17].

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the Business’s Emotional Origin:

  "I think it's emotional because that dog changed our life, both of our lives." — Michael Sivo [07:48]

• On Betting Big:

  "We're gonna spend millions of dollars on a building, and we don't have any people to come to us yet. I knew there was gonna be success." — Michael Sivo [14:14]

• On Building for Animals, Not People:

  "Whether these dogs are senior dogs or they're recovering from surgery or they're injured, slick flooring is just very difficult for them. So rubber flooring was what we needed to do." — Laura Cerrovi [16:11]

• On Proving Demand Before Scaling:

  "She could have not tested with the mobile thing first and just opened a place. She didn't. She proved that she had product market fit." — Ben Walter [21:19]

• Advice to New Entrepreneurs:

  "Have faith in yourself...If you believe in yourself and have a lot of faith in yourself, you will persevere." — Laura Cerrovi [32:13]
  "Build a good, solid base for your business and a good business plan...the best plans, if they're left on the piece of paper, are never realized." — Michael Sivo [32:22]

• On Chauncey’s New Role:

  “He’s hard at work...as the branch manager...recently promoted to quality control manager for all the toys on site.” — Ben Walter [32:50]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Origin Story – [00:04–08:12]
• Starting the Mobile Practice – [09:00–10:26]
• Pandemic’s Positive Impact – [10:26–11:13]
• Deciding to Build a Facility – [12:25–14:55]
• Clinic Design & Opening – [15:06–17:02]
• Pet Care Industry Trends – [18:18–19:22]
• Scaling, Expansion & Team – [22:01–22:59]
• Benefits & Challenges – [23:15–24:46]
• Business Model & Franchise Discussion – [24:46–31:59]
• Employee Benefits Discourse – [26:25–28:17]
• Final Reflections & Advice – [32:06–32:40]
• Chauncey’s Promotion & Episode Close – [32:47–32:50]

Conclusion

The episode is a heartfelt, practical look at how a personal mission to save one dog’s life inspired the creation of a thriving small business, pioneering animal rehab in Cleveland. Laura and Michael’s story encapsulates the grit, risk-taking, and adaptability required in small business ownership, particularly in a rapidly evolving industry. Grounded in love for animals and each other, their journey is as much about business fundamentals—like proving product-market fit and thoughtful risk—as it is about compassion and community impact.