As Spartans Ruby and Sadoc Paredes work to renovate veterinary care, they continue to feel support from their alma mater.
In less than three years, Vetr Health has gone from an in-home, membership-based veterinary care start-up to a catalyst modernizing how medical professionals manage the well-being of pets and animals.
It’s a reality that likely wouldn’t be possible without more than two decades of support from Michigan State.
In 2022, Ruby Paredes, a 2008 graduate, founded Vetr with her younger brother, Sadoc, who attended Michigan State from 2008-12, and Rachel Berkal. The company’s accelerated growth has been facilitated by The Bridge, MSU Research Foundation’s medical incubator for high-tech, high-growth startups.
In May 2025, Vetr graduated from the incubator, opening up its storefront on the southeast side of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“Growing up, these are programs that I never even knew existed, or that we would ever have access to,” Ruby said. “It’s just really amazing to see all the different sides of MSU. You don’t just attend the university and you're out. They have so many opportunities. It's a good feeling to know that you went to a school that continues to care.”
That extra care began while the Paredes siblings were students on campus. Both were members of the College Assistance Migrant Program Scholars Initiative (CAMP) and participated in the International Engagement in Mexico program (IEM).
In addition to providing financial assistance, MSU CAMP and IEM offered support and a community of people from similar backgrounds to help them adapt to college life.
“We were first-gen students from migrant families,” Ruby said. “We had no idea what was going on. Our parents had never gone to college. We couldn't really ask them. So, the program guided us through the first year.”
Ruby graduated with a bachelor’s degree in natural science, specializing in biomedical laboratory diagnostics and clinical laboratory science. In her studies, she worked in labs running medical tests on humans.
Upon graduation, she got a job in a veterinary laboratory, a job her education prepared her exceedingly well to work with other mammals, using the same instruments and processes.
“The only big difference,” Ruby said, “is how the cells look under a microscope.”
In 2015, Sadoc and Ruby started their first venture together, RS Veterinary Diagnostics.
After six years, the duo had developed a full lab and had a greater picture of how inflated veterinary lab processing costs had become, an expense often passed on to pet parents like Rachel and Sadoc. The couple had recently adopted a goldendoodle named Penny Lane.
So, the trio decided to offer the same services to pets in a stress-free environment—their home. And Vetr was born.
In the fall of 2022, the company won a $20,000 grant at Start Garden’s 2022 Demo Day competition. Shortly thereafter, The Bridge offered Vetr space in its medical incubator, while also providing other resources, such as legal assistance, financial guidance and more.
“Directly and indirectly,” Sadoc said, “MSU has affected our business positively.”
Now, with a Grand Rapids storefront, Vetr is looking to expand beyond West Michigan. Google recently selected the company as one of 17 to join this year’s Google Startups AI Academy: American Infrastructure cohort.
The move grants Vetr access to additional resources, including Google engineers who can help the company commercialize some of the AI products that it's building.
“We're starting to create a platform for any vet who wants to practice mobile medicine,” Sadoc said.
Even as Vetr grows and partners with others, the company still participates in The Bridge’s Entrepreneur in Residence programming.
Regardless of what happens next, Ruby and Sadoc will continue to take pride in MSU and remain grateful for more than 20 years of support.
“We bleed green,” Sadoc said. “I think MSU is leaning into the startup, incubation and creation in a way that a lot of universities aren't. I think they're thought leaders in that space. They’re innovating, just like we are.”