Karen Atlas

For Karen Atlas, business ownership started with Teddy — a 5-year-old dog with a limp, that she adopted. At the time, Karen was a physical therapist for humans, and decided to make the switch to dogs when veterinary clinics kept prescribing that she should just “crate rest and administer drugs” to Teddy. That motivated Karen to earn her certification as a canine rehab therapist and shift her career to working at a veterinary hospital for 8 years. Eventually, Karen realized that she needed to work for herself, “…it became clear that in order to take control of my life and career, opening my own business would be a necessity. Atlas Rehabilitation for Canines, the clinic, was born in June of 2017 and I would have it no other way,” said Karen.

Karen became part of the WEV community through her win of the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (SOE) Award in the Health and Wellness category in 2020, saying, “I was honored to accept this award and WEV provided a platform for me to share my vision and passion of improving the lives of more animals in need. WEV has been instrumental in elevating my confidence. They helped me to overcome some of the doubts and fears that tend to creep in during the journey of entrepreneurship. WEV is a unique community that serves to inspire and encourage women in business. I am grateful for the support and resources they provide for women entrepreneurs like me.” 

Despite the barriers and challenges, Karen remains hopeful, “I am so grateful to serve my community of animal lovers and provide them with unique treatment options to help their pets lead full, pain-free and healthy lives.”  She is working to remove obstacles to canine physical therapy and is excited about legislation like the Animal Physical Therapy Act of 2024 (AB 814) which will “break the animal healthcare monopoly by eliminating those barriers to entrepreneurship and business ownership. In turn, more pet parents will have access to more professionals so their pets can get the essential physical therapy they need to live a better life.” She is also the founder and president of the Animal Physical Therapy Coalition (www.caapt.org) which is sponsoring AB 814. Karen said, “I have been working on this issue for over a decade, and it has been my life’s work and passion to create more opportunities for animals to benefit from what skilled physical therapists have to offer.”