Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice & In-Home Euthanasia

My interest in veterinary medicine began my junior year of high school, when I was fortunate enough to shadow a local veterinarian as part of a school requirement. Veterinary medicine has been a large part of my life ever since that first experience. Over the years, I have come to realize being a veterinarian is as much about supporting people as it is about helping animals. I truly enjoy that I am able to do both in my career.

Born in central New York, I grew up near Lynchburg, Virginia. I stayed in Virginia for both college and veterinary school. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, I moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, where I attended the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech and earned both a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degree and a master of public health (MPH) degree.

In 2017, I moved to South Central Pennsylvania to join Lap of Love. It is an area I visited frequently in my childhood to spend holidays with extended family. Although my extended family has since moved out of the region, I love being here with my partner, two cats, and a clingy poodle mix pup. We're surrounded by such a wonderful sense of community and gorgeous landscape. When I am not working with clients and their furry loved ones, I spend time exploring area hikes and otherwise finding ways to be outside or to explore the gems Pennsylvania has to offer in terms of food and points of interest.

Prior to me moving to Pennsylvania, I had a kitty named Tigger, whom I affectionately called my “forever foster.” She only lived with me for the second half of her life and experienced chronic kidney disease for much of that time. In August of 2015, when Tigger’s quality of life was no longer what I wanted for her, I decided to drive an hour with her to have a very close friend and veterinarian perform the compassionate act of euthanasia for her. The whole process of saying goodbye to Tigger ended up being more difficult for me than I anticipated, and I found it especially valuable to have someone I trusted perform the euthanasia and be there to support and comfort me afterward.

While I may be meeting you for the first time, I strive to act in ways that allow every family to feel the same level of trust, support, and comfort that I experienced at Tigger’s passing. I have also felt the pain of saying goodbye to two more kitties, Chewie and Frankie. It seems saying goodbye to your own fur babies gets more difficult each time. I hold these experiences close when I am helping families and their beloved pets. If I can make a difficult time for you and your fur baby the slightest bit easier, I will have done the job I set out to do.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers