I love being a veterinarian.  With a combined 23 years experience as both a technician and doctor, I've had the pleasure of working with animal shelters, private practices, research projects, and wildlife rehabilitation facilities.  My main focus is canine and feline medicine and surgery.  Birds also hold a special place in my heart.

After growing up in Chicago, I attended Southern Illinois University, where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology.  After my undergraduate studies, I moved home, and started working as a veterinary technician.  I later moved to Oregon and led a "double life": graduate studies (wildlife ecology (avian focus), and continued veterinary work.  I served a year with AmeriCorps as a volunteer coordinator for urban habitat restoration projects.  I also volunteered with wildlife rehabilitation, habitat restoration, feral cat, and low income/homeless person veterinary care organizations. 

I loved veterinary work enough to become a Certified Veterinary Technician, and eventually began working with emergency and specialty practices.  Ultimately I decided to study veterinary medicine, and earned my Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University in 2008.  Becoming a veterinarian is the best decision I've ever made.  What could be a better fit for a science nerd with a deep-rooted passion for animal care?

Since graduation, I have worked with both small animal private and shelter practices in Oregon, and North and South Carolina.  I love teaching and the day to day interaction with pet owners who really want to help their pets.   Every time I see a sick animal, I'm challenged to advance my knowledge and learn new techniques, which benefits my clients and patients.  Treating shelter pets who have no one is unique and emotionally challenging work.  High quality high volume spay/neuter and public education are two ways I've contributed to ending pet overpopulation and its resulting homelessness.  

Home veterinary care

I began offering end of life home care in Oregon in 2009.  With my own cat "Rhen" of 17 years, I had the horrible experience of an emergency clinic euthanasia.  That inspired me to start offering home care.  I've found it to be bittersweet work, though it's such a wonderful final gift for a loved one.  I just recently expanded my services to include palliative and hospice care, to help people avoid making the final weeks or days full of stressful trips to the vet.  There is so much basic veterinary care that can be performed in the comfort of home.

Memberships

• International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care (IAAHPC)
• American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
• North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association (NCVMA)
• Veterinary Information Network (VIN)

What else do I do?

I'm a big fan of work-life balance.  Outside of veterinary practice, I spend a lot of time in the mountains, sampling the region's great cuisine, indulging my addiction to thrift shopping, taking road trips, and just plain relaxing.  My energetic "mountain Papillon" Page Turner hikes with me, and seems to wonder why we stop after 10 miles.  I'm having fun learning the native plants and wild foods of the Southern Appalachians.  I'm a foodie, and the area has a lot to offer. I enjoy anything from the roadside BBQ in South Carolina near Jones Gap State Park, to the highly addictive Umi Sushi here in Hendersonville.  No, I am not an advertisement, I'm just sayin'.  At home, I enjoy my raised beds, restoring antiques, and dabbling in ethnic cuisines.