About Dr. Q

About

Doctor Sami Qureshi

For over 30 years, Dr. Sami Qureshi has been a visionary in the business of pet care.

He obtained his DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) degree from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1991, and joined a budding veterinary practice shortly thereafter. In 1995, he became a partner, and continuously sought out ways to better serve his clientele. He would oversee numerous expansions and innovations over the years, becoming a sole business owner of a veterinary practice in 2002.

The year 2002 also saw Dr. Qureshi obtain his Executive MBA and develop a sharper focus on the veterinary medicine business. The pet hospital grew to include boarding, retail, and grooming facilities. A single location grew to five, covering a rapidly growing Southern Ontario clientele. Dr. Qureshi sought out - and achieved - the esteemed AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accreditation for his practices.

As he approached three decades of dedicated veterinary business effort, Dr. Qureshi was ready to start a new chapter. In October 2021, he began the transition to a consulting role in the pet care business. He was elected as a councillor on CVO (College of Veterinarians of Ontario) for a 3-year term. Dr. Qureshi continues to actively participate in legislative reforms work at the CVO.

Dr. Qureshi is a tireless entrepreneur! In addition to the veterinary practice, he and his wife have built a real estate investment and development business in Ontario, and have entered into a partnership for a manufacturing business in Florida. They have numerous real estate investments in both locales. He is an avid traveller and has seen many parts of the world to gain historical, culinary and cultural experiences.

Dr. Qureshi is a Member of:

Dr. Qureshi's Story

The late Dr. R.A. Beattie founded Beattie Animal Hospital in 1952 in a 750-square-feet veterinary clinic out of his house in Brantford, Ontario. Dr. Beattie practiced in what was then a mixed animal hospital while his family lived in the basement of the house. In 1972, Dr. John Heigenbos joined this hospital as an associate, then a partner, and later as the owner. In the 1980s he shifted his focus from the mixed animal practice to strictly dogs, cats, and minor exotic pets.

Beattie’s began practicing forward-thinking veterinary medicine in the early 90s after hiring associate veterinarian Dr. Sami Qureshi. Shortly after obtaining his DVM degree from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in 1991, Dr. Qureshi demonstrated that he had the vision to push the hospital to new heights. In 1995, Dr. Qureshi became a partner and further grew the clientele at the practice by focusing on robust medical workups for his pet patients and tailored service for their owners. Two small expansions were completed between 1993 and 2000, which resulted in increasing the footprint to approximately 5,310 square feet by adding a spacious pet food retail product area, cat boarding, grooming, and office spaces. Clients began bringing their pets from areas far outside Brantford.

Dr. Qureshi continued to see greater potential in the business of veterinary medicine. He obtained his Executive MBA in 2002 while working at Beattie Animal Hospital in order to deepen his impact within the practice. Armed with new perspectives, business capabilities, and over a decade of experience, he became sole owner of Beattie's in December of 2002. Within two years, Dr. Qureshi purchased the hospital building and began to make a series of improvements to optimize client service and hospital operations. At this point, the hospital now had four veterinarians and nine support team members to manage the growing number of incoming pet patients. Through expanding operations during this period, client services excelled, and Beattie’s flourished from 2002 forward under Dr. Qureshi’s ownership. Brand awareness increasingly grew further outside of the Brantford area and clients were attracted to the improvements in customer service created from structural management changes under the new leadership.

Upon purchasing Beattie Animal Hospital and with the further development of the team, Dr. Qureshi continued to focus his efforts towards improving patient care, client experience, employee growth, and support for the pet community and beyond. Developing operational efficiencies was key to improving workflow through the whole experience, from appointment check-ins to check-outs. Creating these efficiencies resulted from leveraging the abilities of veterinary support team members alongside experienced veterinarians. This resulted in better veterinarian productivity per client and natural word-of-mouth growth of the hospital. A key technology investment was made by implementing a completely paperless electronic medical records system. At the time, Beattie’s was one of the only practices in the area to have such digital capabilities and the upfront investment triggered the creation of an operationally efficient management structure in which the delivery of pet care could grow rapidly.

By 2008, the hospital operations and its building reached its capacity, and the building was showing signs of becoming outdated. In 2009, a major demolition of the oldest part of the building was done and new construction additions brought the hospital building to its current size of 10,904 square feet. Dr. Qureshi designed the new state-of-the-art facility which included two fully capable surgery suites, a spacious treatment area, eight examination rooms (almost triple the size of surrounding practices), and a larger retail area. Alongside these additions, ancillary services were further developed to improve the experience for pet families visiting the location. The hospital created two large luxury boarding areas, a full-service grooming facility, an ICU ward. and patient hospital wards. At this point, Beattie Animal Hospital expanded its services to 24 hours, 7 days a week and, as a result, experienced accelerated client growth.

By 2012, the hospital was organized into four main areas:

a) Full-service pet hospital
b) Full-service pet boarding
c) Retail pet food and supplies, including online pet store with delivery options
d) Tailored grooming service

Seeking to further Beattie’s presence and the hospital’s capabilities, Dr. Qureshi sought out the esteemed AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accreditation. Through a rigorous evaluation process of the facility and services, Beattie Animal Hospital received a nearly perfect score and became a member of an association which includes only about 20-25% of the most successfully operating practices in North America. With the AAHA standard of excellence, Beattie’s has continued to maintain a greater obligation to excellent pet care services and facility standards.

By 2012, Beattie Animal Hospital had been serving Brantford and surrounding areas for almost 60 years. By then, generations of clients were bringing their pets to receive their veterinary services at Beattie’s, and, in many cases, the third generation of patients and clients chose the hospital as their primary pet care provider. As Beattie’s grew through the generations, its clients grew with it. Considering the hospital was only the third 24-hour pet hospital facility in Ontario, this attracted pet owners from outside a 50-km radius of the hospital. In fact, approximately 50% of the clients visiting Beattie’s in Brantford were from outside the city, many of whom were coming from the Greater Hamilton and Stoney Creek areas. In May of 2012, under Dr. Qureshi’s leadership, Beattie Pet Hospital of Stoney Creek was opened with a facility spanning 4,000 square feet. This facility was strategically opened as a 24-hour state-of-the-art facility, taking its design and operational model from the original Brantford location. The decision to open the practice in this area has significantly accelerated Beattie’s growth. A great portion of Hamilton and Stoney Creek pet owners are now dedicated clients to this practice since its opening. The facility continues to operate on a 24-hour schedule and, within two years of operations, the location was attracting clients from well outside the greater Hamilton area. The practice was rapidly reaching a maximum client operational capacity.

By December 2013, Beattie Pet Hospital Ancaster was opened in a 3,750-square-foot facility to address the growing demand at the Stoney Creek location. The three practices at this point faced simultaneous growth, with a considerable number of clients now coming from Burlington, Oakville, Milton, and as far away as the Mississauga area. To further serve the demand for pet clients in in this area, Beattie Pet Hospital Burlington was opened in July 2014 as a 5,381-square-foot stand-alone new build and has been seeing significant growth in the Halton region and beyond. It is important to recognize that the steady growth occurring at the three locations above has been driven by serving client demand. Alongside this, the brand’s growth can be credited solely to word-of-mouth growth as opposed to any extensive marketing campaigns or reduction of service options.

In order to sustain the growth of all four practices, the most recent addition to the Beattie group of pet hospitals came in October 2020. Beattie Pet Hospital of East Hamilton opened its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic to a large base of clients in the core Hamilton Mountain area. The accessibility of this location and demand from clients resulted in a successful opening and level of operations. With this being the fifth Beattie location and its success still mounting, the strategic opening of new hospitals has always come from listening to the needs of its trusted pet owner clients. The East Hamilton location has demonstrated significant month-to-month client growth since its opening. Strategic selection in serving pet families within the Greater Hamilton Area has proven that the Beattie brand can continue to stand the test of time going forward in markets outside of the GHA.

Organic growth stemming from word of mouth has come from the dedication to a positive client experience, state-of-the-art services and facilities, and most importantly from its experienced teams of veterinarians and support staff. This combination of operations has resulted in strong revenue growth, high levels of profitability, employee expansion, increased technological investments, and further AAHA accreditations. Beattie’s can continue to expand without negatively impacting client satisfaction levels and brand penetration within new markets. Dr. Qureshi has successfully promoted a team-centered approach to providing pet care services to clients in contrast with a veterinarian- or owner-veterinarian-centered approach. Continuing forward with a comprehensive management structure and operational pattern lays the foundation for pet healthcare that avoids any reliance on external emergency hospital referrals. This allows for the in-house management of extensive medical cases and surgical procedures at turn-key-ready facilities, that have a tried and tested model for success in pet care delivery.

In the span of eight years, the Beattie group of pet hospitals has continued its path of forward-thinking pet healthcare under its current ownership. With approximately 110 team members among five locations, the Beattie group of pet hospitals has established itself as the primary pet care provider of choice in all operating regions. Going forward, there is untapped potential for the Beattie group from this solid foundation formed across the five current locations. A strong and enduring presence across the Brantford area, Greater Hamilton Area including Niagara, and Halton Region, sets up the Beattie group of pet hospitals for strong future growth potential. As of 2019, the Beattie brand is now a registered trademark. With emerging pet markets growing across Ontario, there is untapped demand for Beattie’s services in the Waterloo-Kitchener areas, Niagara-Weiland region, the Greater Toronto Area, and beyond.

In 2021, Dr. Qureshi began to shift his focus toward consulting for the business of pet care. He was elected as a councillor on CVO (College of Veterinarians of Ontario) for a 3-year term. He currently serves on the council, their accreditation and disciple committees. He is an active part of legislative reforms work at CVO.

Over last 30 years Dr. Qureshi and his wife have built a substantial real estate investment and development business in Ontario. Together they have commercial and residential real estate investments in Florida and have recently acquired a partnership in a manufacturing business in that location.

Dr. Qureshi is a dedicated entrepreneur. He has gained experience in all aspects of business and financial management. This experience is not only in pet care field but can be extended to any business’s success. He is an avid traveller and has seen many parts of the world to gain historical, culinary and cultural experiences.

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