"I don't know if it's a trend. They've always been there. But now there's a recognition of the market -- pet owners who don't want to wait for an appointment and are willing to pay for someone to come to them."
The demand is likely to increase, as schedules become tighter, baby boomers become senior citizens and people become ever closer to their pets.
"Pets have become as important to some people as child X, especially when child X has moved away from home," Slaughter said.
He gave King a heartworm pill, a flea-and-tick treatment, treated an ear infection and cautioned his owner to stop giving him treats.
A sound, a shot
Seconds after Slaughter shot and killed an intruder in his Ridgely's Delight rowhouse in 1993, his phone rang. It was a client, seeking advice on her portfolio.
"I can't speak now, I just killed a man," he told her.
As described in his book, Brother in the Bush, published in 2005, Slaughter -- whose house had been burglarized about a month earlier -- was working in his study on the third floor when he heard a knock on his door. He ignored it.
Then he heard glass shatter. He ran down a flight of stairs, grabbing his shotgun. He had purchased it for hunting, but, living downtown, he kept it loaded and handy. He waited at the top of the stairs. When a man appeared, holding something shiny in his hand, Slaughter fired.
After the shooting, Slaughter began getting knocks on his door. Some wanted to congratulate him. He was "slapped on the back as if I'd just hit a home run," he wrote. There were threatening phone calls, as well: "Bang, bang, you're dead," one said. There were suggestions he run for office or serve as a sort of anti-crime mascot.
"I didn't want to be the `vigilante stockbroker,' " he said. "I found myself really learning about what was important. Once you see that life can change that quickly, in 30 seconds, you stop taking things for granted."
For years after the shooting, Slaughter had trouble sleeping. He sought therapy. His income dropped by half. He packed a pistol everywhere he went.
Police, after investigating, decided no charges would be filed, but Slaughter wonders whether the outcome would have been different had the black burglar's white partner been the one he shot.
Building a business
Slaughter weighed 230.2 with Tippy, 187.4 without her, making the beagle-mix 42.8 pounds.
