07/20/2026
It's National Ice Cream Day!🍦
Here's the pup that started it all. My soul dog, Potato. I've never shared our story before, but this national day brings us a memory that lends itself to share how Bark and Beam began.
A few years ago Potato had a small growth on her hock. When it started to bother her some, her vet and I decided to remove it while she was under anesthesia for another procedure.
Long story short, after a slew of sedation and pain medications, a shattered e-collar, a revision surgery with special sutures, and a chewed up splint while being in an inflatable donut, she pulled all her sutures out twice and had a large open wound. I was afraid she was going to get a major infection that would lead to her euthanasia. That's how open this wound was 😔
Then one day at work (I'm a vet assistant and receptionist), I saw a pharmaceutical ad for a new product called Phovia. So I researched and found local vet Dr. Sovey at Davison Veterinary Integrated Care.
I started taking Potato to laser sessions 2-3x a week for the first few weeks. Then once a week for a few months. I NEVER thought her skin was going to heal, but here was this pain and drug free tool healing her skin faster than my eyes could believe. I took pictures at every session and I could not believe how wonderful she was progressing.
Seeing how quickly this treatment helped Potato made me want to help other pets in the community too. I researched many laser brands. I researched class iii vs class IV lasers. I got a veterinary lawyer to help draw up paperwork. I registered as a business in Michigan. I got insurance. I made a 'brand', a logo, business cards, an email, a phone number. So many moving parts just to be able to help animals in such a way that was nothing short of amazing to me. And it was important to me to do it in the pets comfortable space because comfort has a lot to do with healing.
It is very scary and vulnerable to buy a several thousand dollar machine and put yourself out there as a new business. Being afraid of failure is real for many small business owners, but it is worth it everytime I get to help heal an animal.
Thank you for reading my story. I don't believe in using AI to write my posts so this is all from the heart (and I tried to make it short! 😅). And if you've made it this far, drop a picture of your pet enjoying some ice cream 🥰
-Courtney, owner of Bark and Beam 🐕
