Coûtant Private Veterinarian specialises in veterinary practice for feline and canine pets in elite households, offering an unrivalled service
“Coûtant was my grandmother’s surname,” says Dr Elise Robertson, a private veterinary consultant to select clients in various destinations worldwide. “The company’s focus on timeless values are ones she would have been proud of.”
As a five-year-old, Dr Robertson expressed a desire to be a “cat vet”. Far from dismissing this as infant whimsy, her grandmother encouraged her to follow her dreams. “She cultivated my imagination and taught me the value of being adventurous with unique and unconventional ideas,” says Dr Robertson, who went on to work at all levels of veterinary medicine and surgery, from GP practice to specialising in feline medicine and medical and interventional endoscopy, including endoscopic laser surgery. Today, her practice focuses on treating cats and dogs.
She founded Coûtant Private Veterinarian after her experiences with clients and veterinary surgeons from both GP practice and tertiary referral hospitals. They expressed frustration about the lack of vet continuity, with vets trying to relay messages through multilayered staff structures, sometimes in multi-jurisdictional households. This, she felt, jeopardised the health of pets in getting them the right treatment.
Dr Robertson acts as a “private household vet”, a personalised specialist able to orchestrate care for sick animals wherever they are, in any jurisdiction. “I’ve developed an app that allows me to project manage each household, so clients have me in their pocket 24/7,” she says.
To maintain high levels of care, Dr Robertson works with just a handful of families, keeping a waiting list for new clients. However, she also contributes her services and skills, and a percentage of her company’s proceeds, to the charity StreetVet. “I teach the vets who go out on the streets in cities such as London, Bristol and Brighton taking care of the dogs of people experiencing homelessness,” she says. “Those animals are vulnerable to illness, requiring specialist treatment. I teach vets hands-on endoscopy skills so they can provide minimally invasive interventions. Endoscopy shouldn’t be an unachievable ‘gold standard’ for only those who can afford it. It should be a basic standard made available to all animals.”
After all, “What’s common to everyone is the bond between human and pet, and the emotion it brings – the vulnerability, sadness and joy.”
www.coutantprivatevet.com