My Veterinary Life

Welcome to another special episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast. We are so excited to bring your part two of our mini-series focused on Women Leaders in the Pet Health Industry. Today’s guest is Dr. Carolyn Henry. Dr. Henry is currently the Dean at University of Missouri College of Veterinary medicine. We had an incredible conversation with her and gained so many tips and tricks about navigating...

“So, I think from a very young age, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian. There was this weird year where I decided I wanted to be a taxi drive and I don’t know where that came from, but there was that off year where I put my veterinary dreams on hold to pursue being a taxi drive.” Our guest today is Dr. Jeff Olivarez. Dr. Olivarez is currently a first-year resident in the Vet Diagnostic and Pr...

“There was an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 associated with people eating tiger meat sandwiches or cannibal sandwiches. It’s not actually tiger, it’s not tiger meat but that’s what we heard, so when we are at the health department, we saw some lab report coming in of the same strain of O157:H7 and that triggers us to initiate some kind of investigation” Our guest today is Dr. Abbey Canon. Dr. Canon...

This is a special episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast. We are embarking on a three-part series focused on Women Leaders in the Pet Health Industry. Today’s guests are two truly inspiring women. We are so excited to share the stories of Dr. Jennifer Welser and Kamie Eckert. Dr. Welser is currently the Chief Medical Officer at Mars Veterinary Health and Kamie is the President and General Manager o...

“You just develop a sense of confidence, that you’ve handled a lot of really big complicated problems in the past and you develop a sense of confidence that no matter what you run into, you’ve got a good network of people you rely on, to call on for advice, and you kind of trust yourself, you’re going to be able to figure it out.” Our guest today is Dr. Robert Trimble. Dr. Trimble is a 2013 gradua...

“I said I’m a veterinarian. And so then I asked ‘Does everyone know what that is?’ And then I looked at the girl and said, ‘If I brought my dog to you would you play with him?’ And that frown turned upside down and she smiled. And when I tell you the lightbulb turned on for me. I immediately left and went over to the director and I was like ‘Do you guys do career day here what do you do? I need to...

“That night we all had headlamps on as we’re going around trying to do the things we were doing with the patients… and we came together” Our guest today is Dr. Erick Mears. Dr. Mears shares with us insights and wisdom he has gained throughout his very fulfilling career in veterinary medicine. We cover everything from internships, mentors, relationships with veterinary colleagues and even hurricane...

“Then I work up on a Sunday Morning, about five weeks ago and something that I was doing outside of my job that was giving me that sense of purpose and that unparalleled sense of happiness was the road trip that I had been taking with my now 89 year old grandmother around the United States. That story, much to my surprise much to my grandma joy’s surprise, that story went viral.” Our guest today i...

“When I realized that I couldn’t be an alligator my Dad had sort of introduced me to the idea of veterinary medicine through my great uncle” Our guest today is Dr. Mike Robbins. Dr. Robbins’ current role is as Scientific Communication Specialist with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. We had a blast getting to know Mike and how he arrived at this particular job. We learn about his residency in nutrition and wh...

“I loved horses and I wanted to ride and my parents convinced me that if I became a veterinarian I would have time to ride, which was so not true” Our guest today is Dr. Jennifer MacLeay. Dr. MacLeay is the Medical Director for Hill’s Pet Nutrition. She has a fascinating career filled with a lot of research and a lot of credentials and get this, she isn’t done yet! At the time of the recording she...

“I had a lot of farm animal experience, so I wanted to be a pig vet. That didn’t last very long” Our guest today is Dr. Forrester. We were so excited to catch up with her on our visit to Hill’s headquarters where she is the Director of Global Scientific Affairs. We had a great time hearing about her role and what her career has been like to date. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of learning! W...

“I’m sure I’ve done some things to get myself where I am today, but it does feel like a lot of it just sort of happened” Our guest today is Dr. Karen Shenoy. Dr. Shenoy is the Associate Director of Veterinary Affairs with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. She’s held several roles throughout her career, including one as a full-time wildlife veterinarian. Karen is so much fun to chat with and has some pretty in...

“Veterinary medicine is about curiosity” Our guest today is Dr. Dave Granstrom. Dr. Granstrom is one of our colleagues at the AVMA. His current role is the Assistant Executive Vice President and Chief Accreditation and Certification Officer. If you think that is a lot, wait until you hear about all his other accomplishments. We had the best time chatting with him and cannot wait to share this jour...

"I got a telephone call that changed my life" Our guest today is Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz. Dr. Natterson-Horowitz was the keynote speaker at the 2019 AVMA Convention. We were so fortunate to record this episode with her the day before her presentation. She was incredibly generous with her time and sharing her story. She is an MD and was focused on cardiology and cardiovascular disease in the...

“Life has a way of turning you on your head.” Our guest today is Dr. Jen Stevens. Dr. Stevens has faced more than her share of obstacles but has come out on the other side with an incredible career. One which she admits is not what she expected all. We had the best time chatting with her and cannot wait to share this journey with you! Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure to subscribe...

“Keep an open mind and an open heart and don’t listen to the negative people around you.” On this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast, we chat with Dr. Farrah Monibi. Dr. Monibi currently works at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC which is a human orthopedic hospital. This is definitely not what she thought she would be doing when she decided to attend veterinary school. There have been a...

“There’s definitely a lot of Trello Boards, planners and to do lists” On this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast, we chat with Dr. Kristina Baltutis. Dr. Baltutis is a 2017 graduate from North Carolina State University. During this episode, we only scratch the surface of all the different hats she wears, which coincidentally includes owning a hat company. She’s had an amazing adventure so far i...

“I’m really a story gal. I could sit and listen to my clients all day long” On this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast, we chat with Dr. Kathy Cooney. Dr. Cooney is a 2004 from Colorado State University. Since then, she has been fearless in pursuing her passions within the veterinary profession. She was so much fun to talk to and we can’t wait to share her journey with you! Remember we want to...

“I think in vet school that was what I learned…to be a professional learner.” Thanks for joining us on a special episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast. Today we are joined by Dr. Bonnie Bragdon. Dr. Bragdon is a self-proclaimed conference junky, loves talking business management and has a keen business sense. She is currently the Vice President of Marketing and Veterinary Affairs at Zomedica. Her...

“In the office of a legislator, it’s kind of an all hands-on deck sort of exercise” On this episode of My Veterinary Life podcast, our guest is Dr. Lauren Stump. Dr. Stump is the Assistant Director of Government Relations with the AVMA. Since graduating from veterinary school in 2015, her career has taken her from Louisiana to D.C. which is NOT where she thought she would end up. She’s been open t...

"Her name is Cashew. She’s a golden retriever and the best dog ever.” On this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast, we chat with Dr. Sharon Pindar. Dr. Pindar is a 2014 graduate and currently serves as a veterinarian for Southeastern Guide Dogs. She shares some truly inspiring stories from her role and we can’t wait to share her journey with you! Remember we want to hear from you! Please be sure...

“When you see change coming, don’t try to stop it” In this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast we chat with Dr. Aaron Smiley and Howard Zeigler. Dr. Smiley is a 2007 graduate from the University of Illinois and Howard is a 3rd year veterinary student at University of Georgia. This summer Howard is completing an internship with Dr. Smiley through the Veterinary Entrepreneurship Academy. They were...

“I desperately wanted to be a dalmatian” Our guest on this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast is Dr. Taylor DeWitt. We were so excited to catch up with her just one day after she completed her clinical rotations. She has an awesome story that includes time volunteering, presenting and advocating for the veterinary profession. We can’t wait to share her journey with you! Remember we want to hear...

“The veterinary field is the Swiss Army knife of medicine” Thanks for joining us on a special episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast. Today we are joined by Elizabeth Dorwart. At the time of the recording, Elizabeth was completing a summer externship with the AVMA. We learn how she learned of this opportunity and what it has been like so far. We also talk about her 2 + 2 Veterinary school program a...

“I didn’t want to be ‘just’ a vet student.” On this episode of My Veterinary Life Podcast, we chat with Dr. Matt Holland. Dr. Holland’s path towards veterinary school was almost as different as his path after veterinary school. He has so many amazing stories including what it was like to be president of the Student AVMA and work and we cannot wait to share this journey with you! Remember we want t...