diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/errors/MonitorService.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/errors/MonitorService.java
index af0ad68a219..1eb4ec5c436 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/errors/MonitorService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/samples/petclinic/errors/MonitorService.java
@@ -7,71 +7,81 @@
 import org.springframework.context.SmartLifecycle;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
 
-import java.util.InvalidPropertiesFormatException;
-
+/**
+ * Service that monitors the application state and health.
+ * Implements SmartLifecycle for proper lifecycle management.
+ */
 @Component
 public class MonitorService implements SmartLifecycle {
 
-	private boolean running = false;
-	private Thread backgroundThread;
-	@Autowired
-	private OpenTelemetry openTelemetry;
-
-	@Override
-	public void start() {
-		var otelTracer = openTelemetry.getTracer("MonitorService");
-
-		running = true;
-		backgroundThread = new Thread(() -> {
-			while (running) {
-
-				try {
-					Thread.sleep(5000);
-				} catch (InterruptedException e) {
-					throw new RuntimeException(e);
-				}
-				Span span = otelTracer.spanBuilder("monitor").startSpan();
-
-				try {
-
-					System.out.println("Background service is running...");
-					monitor();
-				} catch (Exception e) {
-					span.recordException(e);
-					span.setStatus(StatusCode.ERROR);
-				} finally {
-					span.end();
-				}
-			}
-		});
+    private volatile boolean running = false;
+    private Thread backgroundThread;
+    @Autowired
+    private OpenTelemetry openTelemetry;
 
-		// Start the background thread
-		backgroundThread.start();
-		System.out.println("Background service started.");
-	}
+    @Override
+    public void start() {
+        if (isRunning()) {
+            return;
+        }
 
-	private void monitor() throws InvalidPropertiesFormatException {
-		Utils.throwException(IllegalStateException.class,"monitor failure");
-	}
+        var otelTracer = openTelemetry.getTracer("MonitorService");
+        running = true;
+        backgroundThread = new Thread(() -> {
+            while (running) {
+                try {
+                    Thread.sleep(5000);
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                    Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+                    break;
+                }
+                
+                Span span = otelTracer.spanBuilder("monitor").startSpan();
+                try {
+                    System.out.println("Background service is running...");
+                    monitor();
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    span.recordException(e);
+                    span.setStatus(StatusCode.ERROR);
+                    System.err.println("Error in monitor service: " + e.getMessage());
+                } finally {
+                    span.end();
+                }
+            }
+        });
 
+        backgroundThread.setName("MonitorService-Thread");
+        backgroundThread.setDaemon(true);
+        backgroundThread.start();
+        System.out.println("Background service started.");
+    }
 
+    /**
+     * Performs the actual monitoring logic.
+     * Checks system health and records metrics.
+     */
+    private void monitor() {
+        // Implement actual monitoring logic here
+        // For now, just log the monitoring activity
+        System.out.println("Monitoring system health...");
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void stop() {
-		// Stop the background task
-		running = false;
-		if (backgroundThread != null) {
-			try {
-				backgroundThread.join(); // Wait for the thread to finish
-			} catch (InterruptedException e) {
-				Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
-			}
-		}
-		System.out.println("Background service stopped.");
-	}
+    @Override
+    public void stop() {
+        running = false;
+        if (backgroundThread != null) {
+            backgroundThread.interrupt();
+            try {
+                backgroundThread.join(5000); // Wait up to 5 seconds for the thread to finish
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+            }
+        }
+        System.out.println("Background service stopped.");
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public boolean isRunning() {
-		return false;
-	}
-}
+    @Override
+    public boolean isRunning() {
+        return running;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file