![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-FireflyVeterinarians1022.jpg\")
The doctors and staff of the Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care, 11 Ingot Drive, Maidencreek Township. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)\nTurning an idea into a reality<\/p>\n
The owners of Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care in Maidencreek Township, Berks County were coworkers and friends before becoming business partners \u2014 an idea that originated one night when the three of them had gathered at one of their homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI literally had them over for a board game and said, \u2018What if we open our own clinic?\u2019\u201d recalled Dr. Casey Dignan, who owns the business with Dr. Victoria Orlando and Dr. Gina Watzka.<\/p>\n
Introduced on a whim, the idea resonated with the women, who found themselves discussing it frequently and with increasing intensity.<\/p>\n
While they enjoyed their jobs as emergency veterinarians with a local clinic, the hours, which often involved working overnight, were not ideal.<\/p>\n
Dignan, 37, Orlando, 32, and Watzka, 42 \u2014 all mothers, were feeling a degree of burnout from balancing work with family responsibilities. They had served as essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought increased demand from pet owners and additional stress for providers.<\/p>\n
They also were frustrated with the high cost of emergency veterinary medicine, which is prohibitive to some pet owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all seen what it\u2019s like when you have to turn someone away because they can\u2019t afford to pay for care for their pet,\u201d Watzka said. \u201cIt\u2019s really, really difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opening an urgent care center, as opposed to one providing emergency services that normally is open 24 hours a day, would enable them to treat sick or injured animals at a lower cost, they reasoned, filling a gap in services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw a chance to fill a need and decided it was the right thing to do,\u201d Orlando said.<\/p>\n
The doctors and staff of the Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care, 11 Ingot Drive, Maidencreek Township. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)
\nTurning an idea into a reality<\/p>\n
Turning their dream into a functioning veterinary clinic, however, was no easy task.<\/p>\n
Balancing their ongoing work schedules with family commitments, financial considerations and overseas military deployments for Orlando \u2014 who is a veterinary officer with the U.S. Army Reserve \u2014 they planned and plotted and planned some more.<\/p>\n
It took time to locate a desirable location, work out non-compete agreements with employers, identify funding sources and look for employees, all while figuring out childcare and handling other family obligations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had to juggle a lot of responsibilities and be sure we remain flexible,\u201d Watzka said. \u201cBut we\u2019re used to doing that and we work really well at supporting each other. We\u2019re a good team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several years after Dignan raised the idea of opening their own clinic, they did just that.<\/p>\n
Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care, 11 Ingot Drive in Maidencreek Township, opened in spring of 2025 and recently celebrated its first anniversary.<\/p>\n
Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m., the clinic does not compete with primary veterinarians, instead offering only urgent care for pets, including small mammals such as rabbits, ferrets and guinea pigs.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-FireflyVeterinarians1023.jpg\")
The Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care, 11 Ingot Drive, Maidencreek Township. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)<\/p>\n
Many of the animals they see have ingested a foreign object that may require surgical removal, or suffer from an infection, bloat, digestive problems or other condition. Some have been struck by vehicles and require immediate care.<\/p>\n
Recently, they treated a chicken that had been attacked by a fox, stabilizing and caring for it before sending it back home with its owner.<\/p>\n
Most of their clients are referred by their primary veterinarians or learn of the clinic through word of mouth. Walk-ins are welcome, although the doctors prefer that pet owners call ahead so they can be prepared to treat the animal.<\/p>\n
Offering a range of services with greater affordability<\/p>\n
Supported by veterinary technicians and a front desk staff, one of the doctors is always present to see patients during clinic hours, with the others prepared to serve as backup, if needed.<\/p>\n
Firefly Veterinary is not open overnight, meaning that animals are either sent home with their owners or, in the most serious cases, referred to an emergency 24\/7 veterinary clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tell our clients that we\u2019re the starting point,\u201d Dignan said. \u201cIf it\u2019s something we can treat, we will. And if you need the ER, we\u2019ll recommend that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Firefly is equipped with everything necessary for x-rays, ultrasounds and other procedures, in addition to surgeries.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can come in on any day and see any one of us and get access to a highly trained veterinary surgeon,\u201d Orlando said.<\/p>\n
Always aware of the costs of veterinary medicine, the doctors work hard to offer a range of services to meet the financial needs of clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with everyone to provide care for their pets that\u2019s within their means,\u201d noted Watzka.<\/p>\n
Firefly partners with various lenders to help clients procure financing, when necessary, and is affiliated with Firefly Fund, a nonprofit that can in some cases help pet owners cover the cost of care.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf none of those things work, we may offer a pay-us-over-time plan for some customers,\u201d Orlando said.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Dignan, Orlando and Watzka hope to continue growing their clientele while raising their families and expanding community outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to balance our quality of life with providing a needed veterinary service for the community,\u201d Orlando said.<\/p>\n
![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/REG-L-FireflyVeterinarians1021.jpg\")
From left, Dr. Casey Dignan, Dr. Victoria Orlando and Dr. Gina Watzka operate the Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care, 11 Ingot Drive, Maidencreek Township. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The owners of Firefly Veterinary Urgent Care in Maidencreek Township, Berks County were coworkers and friends before becoming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,60,182,21027,28,3138,128,130,129,289,706],"class_list":["post-258354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-business","tag-local-news","tag-maidencreek-township","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pets-and-animals","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-things-to-do","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}