Practicing What We Preach: A Behavioral Economics Experiment in Veterinary Marketing
The hidden economics of online reviews - why we're redirecting marketing dollars from Tech Giants to local charities
We're Always Asking Questions
Ruff Day Vet clients are curious people. They ask questions. They notice patterns. They wonder "why?" and "what if?" That curiosity is what leads to the kind of changes we see in our rehab patients—dogs learning to walk normally again, building strength and coordination through small, deliberate adjustments.
We enable pet owners to become resourceful and resilient by giving them the coaching, instruction, and guidance they need. Not just from a veterinarian, but from an integrative health coach who helps them see the bigger picture.
So here's the question we asked ourselves: What if we applied that same approach to how we run our business?
The Inspiration: Behavioral Economics Meets Veterinary Practice
One of my biggest inspirations over the years has been the work of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner—the Freakonomics authors who ask unconventional questions about incentives and human behavior. As a behavioral economist would, I started wondering:
What incentives could we design that would:
Create pro-social behavior (generosity, community support)
Help families find the specialized care they need (authentic reviews)
Redirect our necessary marketing spending away from corporations with no stake in our local economy
Model the exact behavior we teach our clients (trial and error, resourcefulness, iteration)
Could we solve multiple problems at once? Could we make our marketing budget work harder for everyone?
We didn't have it all figured out. But we were willing to experiment.
The Experiment: Partners in Purpose
In early December 2025, we launched what we're calling an "active experiment." Here's what we asked in our last Ruff Writer blog post:
Write a detailed, honest review about your experience at Ruff Day Vet on Google or Facebook. In return, we'll donate $15 to a local charity of your choice:
Old Dog Haven – Providing compassionate care and second chances for dogs in need
Forgotten Dogs Rescue – Finding forever homes for senior and special needs dogs
GHP FISH Food Bank – Supporting local families who need food assistance
Simple concept. Uncertain outcome. We launched it and observed what would happen.
What Happened: You Showed Up
Nine families wrote reviews. Not generic "great service" reviews, but detailed transformation stories. Here are glimpses of what you shared:
"Within a couple weeks she could perform kitty yoga and had normal mobility again."
"People keep saying she looks 'young' again!"
"What I thought was a physically very limited dog for the rest of her years is now thriving."
"She moves with a grace she didn't have before. Her personality blossomed and she became much more affectionate."
"Dr. Heather identified where she was painful immediately and was able to relieve it immediately."
"I know without a doubt our time with her has dramatically improved Duchess's pain and enjoyment of life."
[Read all the reviews: Google Reviews | Facebook Reviews | Our Testimonials Page]
Five of you took the extra step to vote for specific charities and submit the donation form. Three votes for Old Dog Haven. Two for Forgotten Dogs Rescue. Zero for GHP FISH Food Bank (though we knew their work feeding families in need was just as vital).
And here's what we learned immediately: Two new clients told us in recent weeks that they came to us specifically because of the detailed reviews they read on our Google page. The influx of reviews fed the algorithm that helped raise our visibility online, thanks to you!
The experiment was working. Your stories were becoming breadcrumbs for other families searching for the kind of care they desperately needed.
The Last-Minute Decision: Amplifying Impact
One of our practices at the end of each year is to express gratitude to our community. We don't have a large philanthropic budget—we're a small practice focused on sustainable operations. But we believe in finding creative ways to participate, lowering the barriers to entry for giving back.
This parallels what we ask of our clients every day: be resilient, be resourceful, make in-the-moment adjustments based on what you observe.
A lot of caretaking and rehabilitation work is about paying attention to whether small adjustments are helping, not helping, or potentially even hurting. You observe. You adjust. You iterate toward better outcomes.
That's exactly what we did here.
We saw that our limited budget for review-based donations ($75 from five votes) was doing some good. But we were inspired by your participation—by the quality of the stories you shared, by the effort you put in, by the fact that these reviews were already bringing new families to us who needed help.
We made a last-minute decision to amplify the impact.
Here's how the final numbers broke down:
From Client Votes (based on campaign participation):
Old Dog Haven: $45 (3 votes)
Forgotten Dogs Rescue: $30 (2 votes)
GHP FISH Food Bank $0 (0 votes)
Our Year-End Addition (inspired by your participation):
Old Dog Haven: $175 additional
Forgotten Dogs Rescue: $175 additional
GHP FISH Food Bank: $175 additional
2025 Total Community Support:
Old Dog Haven: $220
Forgotten Dogs Rescue: $205
GHP FISH Food Bank: $175
Grand Total: $600
Your stories generated $75 in directed donations. Your participation inspired us to contribute an additional $525 in mostly symbolic but meaningful donations to organizations helping our community in this time of need.
What We Learned: Active Experimentation in Real Time
This is one facet of our constant experimentation. We're always asking: how can we do things better? Examples of experiments we're running include how we communicate with clients before they even walk through the door, how can we best select, adapt and apply promising human integrative health practices to pets, how we practice science communication to bridge the gap between complex veterinary concepts and practical home care.
This is the scientific process we ask you to engage with when you come here: observation, asking questions about challenges, exploring what solutions exist, iterating toward a smart course of action, making small adjustments to aim for the highest quality of life possible.
Here's what we learned from this specific experiment:
1. Your Stories Matter More Than Our Claims
Every detailed review becomes a beacon for another family in crisis. When someone is searching at 2 a.m., worried and scared, they don't need another ad telling them we're good at what we do.
They need to hear from someone like them—someone who faced the same fear, asked the same questions, and found a path forward.
Your reviews are the breadcrumbs that help people find the trail to where we can do what we do best: help people and their pets through collaborative relationships that tap into the collective power of intelligence, empathy, and partnership.
2. Veterinary Professionals Trust Us With Their Own Patients (and Pets)
We're privileged to work with incredibly supportive collaborating veterinarians who challenge us, provide vital intel, help us navigate complex cases, and sometimes reach out with questions when they don't know the answer themselves.
A fair number of veterinary professionals have visited us with their own pets. We don't call out individuals (we respect their privacy), but we're deeply grateful for these partnerships.
These collaborations are part of what makes us better. They provide the detailed notes, the second opinions, the shared learning that allows us to deliver the highest quality care possible. We're surrounded by people who help us help others in the community, and that matters immensely.
3. This Model Can Grow Sustainably—Because Reviews Generate Clients, Not Just Donations
Here's where the behavioral economics gets interesting.
The reason this model can grow sustainably isn't because reviews generate donation money. It's because reviews generate clients who support our locally owned small business (keeping money in our small community).
More people who are like our current clientele are finding us because of the stories you've written. They're finding us when they need specialized rehabilitation, pain management, integrative care—the exact services we're built to provide.
That's why we can redirect marketing funds back to the community instead of to large corporations building ads for us. The reviews do the marketing work. They bring us ideal clients. Which means we have resources to continue supporting local helpers directly.
The cycle is self-reinforcing: great care → detailed stories → more families find us → sustainable operations → continued community support.
4. Transparency Builds Trust (Even When We Don't Have All The Answers)
Does this mean we'll never run Facebook or Google ads again? Probably not. We may still need traditional marketing at some point.
But this experiment helps us divert at least some of those funds toward doing good—not just paying platforms that have no investment in our local economy.
When we're honest about what we're trying to do, what we're still figuring out, and where the experiment might lead, you respond. This isn't polished corporate marketing. It's us treating our business the way we treat a rehabilitation patient: observe, question, iterate, improve.
5. We're Not The Low-Cost Leader—We're The Best-In-Field (And You Recognize The Value)
We were surprised that multiple reviews mentioned "affordable" or "reasonable price." We can’t and don't strive to be the cheapest option. We strive to be the best at what we do.
The value comes from understanding root-cause thinking. It comes from clients who are willing to invest long-term in their pet's health rather than seeking short-term “bandaid” fixes.
When families shift from reactive medicine (solving emergencies downstream) to the upstream focus that Ruff Day Vet embodies, they buy into something bigger: building strength and mobility, ensuring enrichment, optimizing social engagement, creating conditions for long-term success.
What we've seen is this: improving the quality of life for pets improves the quality of life for their families. And as more families in our community experience this, the collective quality of life increases incrementally.
Everyone is doing their part. This is where we want to focus our efforts.
What's Next: Partners in Purpose 2026
We're continuing this experiment with some adjustments based on what we learned:
The core offer remains:
Write a detailed review on Google or Facebook
Choose your charity (Old Dog Haven, Forgotten Dogs Rescue, Fish Food Bank)
We donate $15 to your chosen organization
Your story helps families, your effort funds community care
What's changing for sustainability:
Semi-annual campaigns (active periodically, not always-on) - this will enable the ability to continue experimentation, and we need to make this sustainable for our operations
$15 per review remains the anchor point - we're not making promises about additional matching or year-end bonuses; that will depend on business performance
Rotating charity partners at the half-year mark - we want to support even more local helpers over time
Your input matters:
If you have local charities you'd like to see us supporting, we'd love recommendations from our long-term clients
If this experiment inspires ideas or you want to share feedback, contact us at hello@ruffday.vet
In 2026: Tapping Into Collective Intelligence
We'll be using this same experimental approach to ask for your help in other ways. We want to tap into the collective intelligence of our community to guide what we build:
What services do you actually need?
What would make the biggest difference for you and your pet?
What are you looking for that doesn't exist yet?
We'll be asking these questions directly through surveys and conversations. Because the best way to serve you is to listen to what you're telling us—both what you say you want, and what you demonstrate you need through the choices you make.
This is how we optimize. Observation. Questions. Iteration. Small adjustments. Aiming for the highest functioning we can possibly achieve—for our patients, for our practice, for our community.
Thank You
To everyone who wrote one of those nine reviews, voted for a charity, referred a friend, or simply showed up every single week for your pet's appointments—thank you.
You're not just supporting your own pet. You're creating breadcrumbs for other families to follow. You're funding organizations that help the helpers. You're participating in an active experiment in building something better.
We're grateful you're willing to try new approaches with us. We're grateful for your curiosity, your commitment, and your partnership.
Here's to 2026.
—Heather, Adam, and The Ruff Day Vet Team
Join the Experiment
Partners in Purpose continues in 2026. If you haven't written a review yet:
Step 1: Share your experience on Google or Facebook
Step 2: Submit the donation form
Step 3: Choose which charity receives your $15 donation
Your story matters. Your effort creates impact. Let's keep building this together.
Questions? Ideas? Inspired to share feedback? Email us: hello@ruffday.vet
