Ep. 3: In Loving Memory of Dr. Steve Weinberg, Musician & House call Vet Legend of Los Angeles

In loving memory of Dr. Steve Weinberg 1959-2022 This special episode is meant to be a memorial in loving memory of  Dr. Steve Weinberg. Steve was one of the original house call vets in Los Angeles. I did this interview with Steve in March of 2021. I'd been referring cases to his practice (911Vets, which then became PriVet Pet Care) for years and we'd become friends on Facebook, knowing that we were both musician vets. 

At the time, I was preparing content for the House Call Vet Academy, my online course. I decided to start a series of interviews for the course that turned out to be the pre-cursor to this podcast, and the inspiration. I interviewed many house call vets in different niches, to demonstrate for course participants all of the ways that we can do this work, and to show just how brilliant, innovative, and awesome the members of our community really are.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to connect with Steve face to face for the first time because of this interview and to have a live conversation. During that conversation (off the record, once the recording was finished) he told me that he had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer a few months prior, and that he did not know how much time he had left. 

Shortly after this conversation, we started to collaborate musically. I recorded on flute in a song he wrote called "Legacy" that was to come out on his next album. We had an awesome time recording and playing music together with the help of Steve's son, Zak, who is an incredibly talented professional music producer. 

After we had so much fun and realized we could create a lot more beautiful music together, we decided that we would collaborate again in creating the music for this podcast. The acoustic guitar music at the beginning and end of this podcast was composed, performed, and recorded by Steve while he was in and out of the hospital in the last few months of his life. I'm beyond grateful that he sent over the parts of the music he'd finished recording, and that his "musical DNA" will always be a part of this project.

He called the song "Just Trying to Help," as the veterinarian's theme song for the House Call Vet Cafe podcast, in light of the suicide crisis in veterinary medicine. 

The plan was that he would layer on mandolin, hammered dulcimer, my playing on flute, house call veterinarian Jessica Fragola playing fiddle, and house call veterinarian Brandy Nunez on synthesizer … to weave recorded tracks of each of us into the music, one instrument at a time in each episode that we released until the music was complete.

Steve was incredibly excited about this project, and we'd been talking about it every few days for months. He was super excited about being interviewed on the podcast as a regular guest, and he was planning to have his house call practice PriVet sponsor the project.  He even named our nascent musical ensemble the "House Call Vet All Star Band." 

Steve wrote out a flute part for me to record just a few weeks before he passed away. He was in the hospital when he wrote it. It hasn't been recorded yet. 

I plan to honor his memory by having him as a guest on the podcast through this interview we recorded almost a year ago. 

I will continue to celebrate his life by completing this musical project we started together, no matter how long it takes.

I feel very blessed and honored to have been able to capture this interview, some of Steve's wisdom, and his story. I'm so grateful to have had the chance to get to know him in the last year of his life, as not only a colleague but as a friend. He was a manifestation of vision, talent, humor, and true kindness. 

May his memory & his music be a blessing for all of us in our veterinary community & beyond. 

Subjects discussed in this episode: Memorial to Dr. Steve

• The "Rescue Archetype"
• Balancing being a vet with being a father & a musician
• The vet on rollerblades
• Corporate house call practices
• Emergency medicine in house call practice
• Concierge veterinary practice (& different models for it)

Links:

• Find Dr. Steve Weinberg's music here:
• Anaconda Limousine on Spotify
• Anaconda Limousine on Apple Music
• Anaconda Limousine on SoundCloud

Resources:

• Download Dr. Eve's FREE House Call & Mobile Vet Biz Plan! 
• Find out about The House Call Vet Academy online CE course  
• Learn more about Dr. Eve Harrison  
• Learn more about the Concierge Vet Mastermind!
• FREE Concierge Vet Starter Kit mini course
• Learn more about SoulShine Space For Vets. Use discount code SHINE15 for 15% OFF SoulShine Space For Vets!
• Learn more about 1-to-1 coaching for current & prospective house call & mobile vets. 
• Find out about the next House Call & Mobile Vet Virtual Conference 
• Don't forget to sign up here for the House Call & Mobile Vet Virtual Conference, February 19-20th, 2022!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Music

Intro & outro guitar music written, performed, & recorded by house call veterinarian Dr. Steve Weinberg.

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Rockin' Pets, Rollin' Vets
• PriVet Pet Care