My Story
We all have a story. The reason behind our drive to get into veterinary medicine. As a young child, I witnessed our family cat’s fractured limbs and exposed intestines after a horrific car incident. I watched that cat not only survive but thrive after that, and I knew. I knew veterinary medicine was for me.
As soon as I had my driver’s license, I drove to local veterinary clinics, hoping to get my foot in the door. After hearing multiple “nos,” I went to a clinic where I heard “no” again. But then that veterinarian’s wife, who was working at the reception desk, encouraged her husband to give me a chance.
My vet school journey began similarly. After several years of applying and hearing “no,” I was finally accepted to Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. It was there that I met and fell in love with a classmate who would become my future wife. I was elected student body president. The faculty voted for me as the top medicine student in the class of 1989.
After earning my DVM, I headed back to that first “yes” clinic to begin working as an associate veterinarian.
In addition to earning my DVM in 1989, I also married my vet school sweetheart, Diane. Two years later, I became part-owner of that “yes” clinic. Two years after that, Diane and I had our first child. By 1996, we had added another child and a startup feline practice called Island Cats to the mix.
I began to realize that practice should be different in a feline-specific environment. I became passionate about making veterinary visits better for cats and their people. After selling my half of that first clinic, I focused entirely on becoming the best feline practitioner possible.
Over the next 15 years, several staff members expressed interest in becoming veterinarians. I wanted to help them achieve their goals, and before I knew it, a new passion had emerged: mentorship. My connections with pre-vet and vet students began to grow. Students completed clinical rotations at Island Cats. I bonded with them. Helped them through their vet school and early career days when they needed it. Celebrated their wins with them.
As my own children were heading off to college, helping aspiring veterinarians began to fulfill me more.
As an adjunct professor for Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, several students began to spend a month of their clinical year at Island Cats. In March 2020, COVID was forcing the world to shut down, and a student was scheduled to spend her last clinical rotation at my clinic. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to graduate on time if she couldn’t complete the rotation (there was so much we didn't know at that time), so I worked with her remotely for an hour each day to provide the clinical feline content she wouldn’t get otherwise.
The idea took off. The college asked if I would be willing to work with other students online as well, and I offered the same to students I knew on Instagram. Within two weeks, more than 200 students from six continents were logging in for “Cat Class.” I recruited over 20 guest lecturers, and we built a community together. Many of these relationships are still going strong today.
When I began my veterinary career, I never imagined that I’d one day serve in leadership roles within the profession. That changed in 2016 when classmate Dr. Rena Carlson invited me to apply for the AVMF Board of Directors. Since then, I’ve served in various leadership capacities. I love meeting and working with so many different people and helping our profession grow and evolve. You can learn more about my leadership roles here.
Today, my wife and I are empty nesters. When I’m not working in practice or mentoring students and early career veterinarians across multiple mentoring platforms, I spend my time enjoying landscape photography, curling, skiing, playing pickle-ball, camping and hiking.
It's now been 45 years since that first "yes" opportunity in veterinary medicine. I'm not ready for this journey to be over. I’m eager to take the experience I've gained to a new venue as the next AVMA vice president.
