Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice & In-Home Euthanasia

I was born and raised in Palm Beach County, Florida and had a close bond with animals from the time I was a small child. I had a very special cat named Barney who was so sweet and docile that I could dress him up and push him around in my toy baby stroller. Around the time I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian and would shadow our family veterinarian learning how to look at samples under the microscope which fueled my love of science. I also grew up singing and performing and my family always said I would one day be “the singing veterinarian” – and I did! 

I received a full scholarship to study music at the University of Florida. After graduation, I started a career in banking and human resources while I considered furthering my music studies; however, I felt a nagging regret over not pursuing my childhood dream of veterinary medicine. So, I left the banking industry and began working as a veterinary assistant while completing science pre-requisite courses at the University of South Florida, eventually working my way up to veterinary technician. I returned to the University of Florida for veterinary school in 2010. I still sing and perform in community theatre musicals and as a chorister with the Palm Beach Opera.

After graduating in 2014, I worked in many areas of veterinary medicine including: private practice, shelter medicine, and non-profit community medicine and high volume spay/neuter. I felt drawn to the veterinary hospice specialty in part due to a personal experience I had with the first dog my ex-husband and I shared together when we were in undergrad at UF. Apollo was the sweetest black lab/pitbull puppy with a white chest and toes. Tragically, he fell very ill at only one year old and at the time, being college kids, we did not have the financial resources to hospitalize him for treatment and we were given a very poor prognosis even with aggressive treatment. Knowing in my heart that the ultimate act of love was to end his suffering, I went to our local animal shelter for euthanasia. Unfortunately, Apollo and I had a very traumatic experience, and I vowed that day that if I ever became a veterinarian, I would never allow a person or their pet to feel how we felt that day. I feel honored to join Lap of Love so that I may honor Apollo’s memory every day by gently and lovingly ending beloved pets’ suffering and helping their families with the grief process.