IAAHPC  Webinar Schedule 2012

*** Registration for the live webinar CLOSES at 12 noon EDT (11 am CDT, 10 am MDT, 9 am PDT, 4 pm GMT) the day of the webinar.
Registrations made after that time will receive a link to the recording within 48 hours  ***

Pet Parent Based

(Open to everyone) – Second Sunday of the month at 8pm EST (7pm CDT, 6pm MDT, 5pm PDT, 12 midnight GMT)

February 12 – $25

Daily Enrichment Activities (Robyn Kesnow)

Life enrichment is about finding what our pets are passionate for and finding ways to continue to incorporate those things as they change and age. This is about honoring our pets with the same respect they offer us as we share our lives and homes with them. The benefits of daily life enrichment for pets go beyond having fun or stimulating the mind. Benefits of intentional life enrichment include strengthening the human animal- bond, improved symptom awareness, improved behavior and temperament, and improved pain management. This webinar will help pet parents understand how to 'live in the moment' and make every day count..

March 11 – $25

Support for the Caregiver (Mary Gardner)

Families facing end-of-life care with their pets go through a myriad of emotions and difficulties. Having family, friends and pet-professionals support them through this phase is extremely important. This presentation will go through some of the ways you can help support families – whether it is from the point of educating them on their pet's disease – to offering support with caring for their loved ones. Supporting pet parents will enable them to focus on the time left they have with their pet and making the most out of that time.

April 8 – $25

Memorializing your Pet (Coleen Ellis)  (Postponed due to holiday - now set for April 29)

Whether it be a ritual or memori­alization pieces, pet parents are looking for ways that they can celebrate the life they shared with their precious pet.  Pet parents are looking for the opportunity to do everything they can to honor their pet and the life that was shared. This webinar will not only guide you in various creative avenues that families have done to honor their pet but it will also give you ideas on how you can assist a family in creating an experience through memori­alization.

May 13 – $25

Identifying Pain in Cats and Dogs (Katherine Goldberg)

Identifying pain in dogs & cats: This presentation, which is geared towards animal caregivers, will present a brief history of pain management in animals and discuss ways you can identify pain in your pet. The importance of identifying pain, managing pain, and the contribution of pain to healing & general wellness will also be discussed.

June 10 – $25

Administering Medications and Maintaining Nutrition(Page Yaxley)

This one hour webinar is designed for pet parents and veterinary professionals to examine potential ways of delivering medications and food to hospice patients. We will explore routes of medication administration including orally, transdermally, areas under the skin, via rectum, and muscles. We will learn about the reasons for maintaining balanced nutrition, different feeding tube systems, how they are placed, used and maintained, the pros and cons of each, and what is required for your pet to have one.  Lastly, we will also consider when feeding a hospice patient is no longer needed nor recommended.

July 8 – $25

General Care for the Hospice Patient (Kerry Malak)

In this webinar, you will learn about the key components to ensuring that your pet's final days are filled with comfort and happiness and discover the important role that pet guardians play in providing hospice care. We will discuss comfort care, nourishment, hygiene, creating a positive environment, and planning for death.

August 12 – $25

When to Reach Out for Help (Karen Randall)

This webinar will help animal guardians understand when it might be appropriate to start hospice care for their pet. It will explore the pet hospice patient, the pet hospice client, the reasons people are choosing hospice for their animals and the potential benefits for the family.

September 9 – $25

Making Preparations for Death (Kate Moore)

There are 3 defining moments in the relationship between pet parent and pet: the day you bring them home, they day you realize they are getting old, and the day you say good-bye.  Preparing for the death, whether natural or assisted, is a difficult time and no one should have to go through it alone.  Having the shoulder of a professional to lean on makes the decisions that are made easier. This webinar will guide you through the questions to ask your veterinarian regarding death and offer suggestions for assisting a friend or family member when they have questions.  We will also discuss body disposition and help you understand your options concerning burial or cremation.

October 14 – $25

Similarities and Differences Between Human and Pet Hospice Models (Amir Shanan)

November 11 – $25

Understanding Euthanasia (Annie Forslund)

Why the gift of euthanasia? Differences between hospital euthanasia and home euthanasia, how to make the correct choice.  How a euthanasia visit will progress and what to do in order to make it as easy as possible for you, your family and your pet. What question you and your family should ask prior to the visit and how to choose the right in-home euthanasia provider for your family.  Getting familiar with the "technicalities" of the procedure.  A brief overview of aftercare options.  Understanding the death process and life after the loss.

December 9 – $25

Pet Loss Support (Claire Gillenson)

Professional Based

(Open to Everyone) – Third Sunday of the month at 8pm EST (7pm CDT, 6pm MDT, 5pm PDT, 12 midnight GMT)

January 17 – $25

Companion Animal Euthanasia Techniques (Kathleen Cooney)

This webinar will describe the most common techniques practitioners will consider using, especially when families and loved ones are present. Dr. Cooney will focus most of the time on dog and cat euthanasia, with some time left for exotics, horses, and companion livestock. The goal is of this webinar is to increase proficiency and comfort during euthanasia and make the overall experience more positive from beginning to end.

February 19 – $25

Natural Death (Heather Merrill and Jaime Glasser)

Hospice-Assisted Natural Death will cover the philosophies and practicalities behind choosing a hospice-assisted natural death, from what it means, to why one would choose it, to how to accomplish a peaceful death at home.

March 18 – $25

Build your Palliative Care and Animal Hospice Team (Michelle Nichols)

In this webinar, we will explore similarities and differences between human and animal hospice. This background will enable you to determine if application of the human hospice model to your work with animals is appropriate. We will review functions of various providers from veterinary and animal service fields to determine where each one can contribute to the success of the team. Lastly, we will explore three models of palliative care-hospice team utilization to include those led by primary care veterinarians, hospice-focused veterinarians, and non-veterinary hospice case managers. You can contribute your experience to help us examine the pros and cons of each model and suitability of these as standard of care for our growing field.

April 15 – $25

Pain Management for the Life-limited Pet – Palliative Care Principles & Practices
(Robin Downing)

The sad reality is that most humans die in pain, in spite of advances in pain management and palliative care. Veterinary patients with life-limiting disease have an opportunity to avoid that human experience with the implementation of comprehensive multi-modal pain management strategies. This webinar will focus on the concept of "building the pain-management pyramid", providing template ideas for personalizing pain management and for responding to a patient's increasing need for pain relief as death approaches.

May 20 – $25

Marketing Your Pet Hospice Service (Coleen Ellis) (Moved to Monday May 21st - 8:30 EST******)

You know what you want to do; you have a name, a logo, and a business card.  You've opened your door for serving pet parents with your hospice offerings.  You've "built it" but how do you get them to come?  The marketing of your pet hospice services is about getting your story to your community so that families can find you when that time comes.  This webinar will guide you through 50 creative (and many times FREE!) marketing ideas that will truly rock the success of your organization!  A true "must attend!"

June 17 – $25

Advanced Hospice Business Management (Anthony Smith)

The Advanced Hospice Business Management Webinar will go beyond the basics to help you take your End of Life Care practice to the next level of financial success. You will learn how to maximize your revenue, decrease expenses, and manage the day-to-day activities of your practice. You will also learn to strategize for the future, evaluate your options, and grow your business to the level that feels most comfortable for you. You're already committed to this rewarding niche of care, now start working smarter, rather than harder!

July 15 – $25

Quality of Life Assessment for the Small Animal Patient (Tam Mengine)

The term "quality of life" is widely used amongst veterinarians, pet owners, and the veterinary medical literature, however until very recently, no effort had been made to assist clinicians in objectively assessing patient quality of life.  This webinar provides an overview of recent, evidence-based efforts to assess quality of life in small animals, as well as lessons we can learn from the larger field of quality of life assessment in human hospice care.  The webinar will conclude with specific tools to help you and your clients monitor patient quality of life during hospice care.

August 19 – $25

The Role of Volunteers in Hospice Care (Gail Bishop)

September 16 – $25

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TBD)

October 21 – $25

Complementary Therapies (Dr. Sue Furman via Sharon Olson)

November 18 – $25

Nutritional Support / Supplements (Katherine Goldberg)

This presentation, geared towards veterinary professionals, will discuss nutritional support & supplements as a means of providing integrative wellness support. Geriatric issues, neoplasia, and other states of disease & health will be addressed. 

December 16 – $25

Adding Home Care to Your Practice (TBD)

Speaker Biographies

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Gail Bishop – The Role of Volunteers in Hospice Care
Gail Bishop, BS, is the Clinical Coordinator for the Argus Institute at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Gail's clinic role within the medical team is to assist and support clients with aspects of treatment and decision making they face during their pet's illness. She also provides short term emotional and grief support to pet caregivers who are referred to the Argus Institute Support Service. Gail is also Co-founder and faculty advisor for CSU's Pet Hospice program, the first and only University VTH Pet Hospice program in the country
Developed in 2003, Pet Hospice is a student-run volunteer program whose mission is to provide compassionate end-of-life care for pets and emotional support and education for their families. Gail's vast experience in working with and training volunteers comes from 27 years in positions as the Bereavement Services Director for Hospice of Larimer County, Grief Counselor for Allnutt Funeral Service and Co-founder for the Suicide Resource Center of Larimer County.

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Kerry Malak – General Care for the Hospice Patient
Kerry Malak is the founder of Georgia's Legacy, an online advocacy, information and support resource for families whose dogs have been diagnosed with cancer. The goal of Georgia's Legacy is to provide unbiased information, resource referral and informal counseling to pet parents facing difficult choices regarding cancer treatment and end-of-life care for their pets. Kerry is also a certified pet loss counselor through the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement and serves as an assistant host in the APLB's weekly online pet loss chats. Her interest in animal hospice and holistic end-of-life care grew out of working with many families who could not afford cancer treatments for their animals, and those who had animals for whom conventional treatments were not an option, and needed to know how to provide comfort care for their pets during the end stages of their disease. Kerry has more than ten years of experience providing community education on a variety of healthcare topics and is also a Reiki Master Teacher based in Milwaukee, WI.

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Karen Randall, D.V.M. – When to Reach Out For Help
Karen M Randall DVM is the owner of Solace Veterinary Hospice. Solace Veterinary Hospice is a veterinary practice that provides in-home hospice and euthanasia services for companion animals in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. She is a 1992 graduate of Colorado State University and has been a small animal practitioner and practice owner for over 18 years.

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Page Yaxley D.V.M. – Administering Medications
Dr. Page Yaxley, DACVECC, is the founder and director of the Michigan State University Veterinary Hospice Care Service. This service was established in 2011 and is the second hospice in the country run out of a teaching institution. The service provides in home care for patients and their families facing end of life decisions. This service is aided by a large group of highly trained veterinary technician volunteers, and a social worker.  Page has also been a co facilitator of the Companion Animal Loss Support group for the last five years at Michigan State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, alongside Linda Lawrence MSW LMSW.  This service provides ongoing aid to those grieving after pet loss experience. She is the founder of a annual memorial service held at MSU VTH. Page completed vet school at The Ohio State University in 2003, and a rotating small animal internship at Michigan Veterinary Specialists, before completing a specialty internship and residency in emergency and critical care medicine at Michigan State University. Her clinical responsibilities outside of the hospice include teaching veterinary students, veterinary technician students, interns and residents. She is an active volunteer at her local human hospice, Sparrow Hospice House.

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Mary Gardner D.V.M. – Support for the Caregiver
After the unexpected death of her own Samoyed in 2000, Dr. Mary Gardner was left in a deep state of grief and self-reflection. That event completely changed her life. Dr. Gardner left her career in Software Development/Training and applied for vet school as she knew she wanted to help others in the same predicament. She received her DVM degree from the University of Florida, Gainesville and spent 2 years in general practice before becoming co-owner of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice which focuses on in-home end-of-life veterinary care. Lap of Love is quickly growing and has already contracted 18 new veterinarians in the eastern US to offer this wonderful service to hundreds of families. While attending the University of Florida, Dr. Gardner was bestowed with the Angel Award which recognized her profound understanding and appreciation of the Human-Animal bond. Dr. Gardner has been invited to speak to many professional and public groups on end-of-life veterinary care and will be presenting at NAVC 2012. She hopes that participants gain a higher understanding and respect for this important and much needed service. Dr. Gardner and Lap of Love has been featured in numerous media outlets including print, TV and radio. Some of her recent interviews have included Examiner.com, New Sky Radio, Fox 7 Miami, University of Florida Alumni Magazine, DVM News magazine to name a few.

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Annie Forslund D.V.M. – Understanding Euthanasia
Dr. Annie Forslund was born in Quebec, Canada.  She attended University of Montreal and graduated the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1990.  The first few years of her career were spent in Labrador City, Newfoundland where she owned her veterinary practice.  She moved to Southern California in 1996 and practiced in Long Beach and Newport Beach.  In early 2009, she founded Home Pet Euthanasia of Southern California.  Now, she dedicates her practice entirely to in-home euthanasias, pet hospice care and quality of life assessments.  She has 14 years of training and experience in grief counseling.  In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, riding her horse, music, jewelry making, growing roses and honing her grief counseling skills.

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Tamara Mengine D.V.M. – Quality of Life
Tamara Mengine, DVM, is a small animal practitioner in the Philadelphia suburbs.  Dr. Mengine began her veterinary career as an emergency/critical care clinician, and it was in this role that she began encountering a common dilemma: pet owners were typically offered only two choices when presented with a life-limiting diagnosis - either invest thousands of dollars in aggressive treatment, or euthanize their beloved pet.  Dr. Mengine grew increasingly interested in creating a third option for pets and their families, one that would seek to provide comfort and quality time for the terminally-ill pet, at home with their families.  Dr. Mengine has been creating hospice plans for her patients for several years, each one customized to meet the needs of the inidividual animal and its family.  She has also volunteered in the human hospice field for over 15 years, by providing pet therapy visits with her own pets.  Dr. Mengine graduate summa cum laude from the North Carolina College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003, and then completed a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Texas A&M.

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Heather Merrill, CT – Natural Death
Heather Merrill is a Social Thanatologist and life long animal lover.  She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1991, cum laude with High Honors in Sociology and has completed over 100 hours of advanced training in the field of Thanatology (the study of death, dying and bereavement), human and animal hospice and complimentary therapies, including TTouch and Reiki I training, primarily through the National Center for Death Education at Mount Ida College, the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and Spirits in Transition.  Heather is a Founding Member and serves on the Education Committee of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting knowledge about and developing guidelines for comfort-oriented care to companion animals as they approach the end of life.  She is also a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement and an associate member of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians.

Heather's hospice work began when she cared for two family members at home as they progressed through illness and dying.  After that profoundly moving experience, she became a human hospice volunteer with Wayside Hospice, a program of Parmenter Community Healthcare, volunteering more than 200 hours at their hospice residence and learning first hand the impact quality hospice care can have not only on the patient but the entire family.  Through many hours of working with skilled hospice professionals, Heather identified the key principals that would form the foundation of her animal hospice program: an integrated interdisciplinary approach to caring for the whole family unit, aggressive management of physical pain, appreciation of the value of life, viewing dying as a natural and normal part of living, and respect for the wishes of the animal patient.  Since beginning her hospice work, Heather has been at the side of more than 150 individuals in the dying process.  

After two years of development and planning, in 2010 Heather founded New England Pet Hospice, Inc., an inter-disciplinary animal hospice service that supports animals and those who love them with hospice care in their own homes. New England Pet Hospice is based on Heather's commitment to the human hospice model, study of its core principles and experience watching it work successfully for many families. In addition to Heather, the New England Pet Hospice team consists of skilled professionals including Certified Veterinary Technicians, an Interfaith Spiritual Advisor, and Animal Care Specialists, working with the animal's own veterinarian to bring a compassionate, peaceful end of life experience to the animal and his or her family.

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Dr. Amir Shanan, D.V.M. - Similarities and Differences Between Human and Pet Hospice Models
Dr. Shanan has been in companion animal private practice in Chicago since completing his DVM training at Michigan State University in 1985. He is the owner of Compassionate Veterinary Care, which has been offering in-home medical and consultation services for geriatric and terminally ill companion animals since 1995. He has been speaking to veterinarians and grief counselors nationally and internationally since 1996. Dr. Shanan completed Northwestern University's School of Medicine Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care Curriculum in 2008 and completed the Center for Loss and transitions Pet Loss Companioning certification program in 2011. He is the President of the IAAHPC, which he founded in 2009. Dr. Shanan has authored and co-authored numerous works related to pet hospice care, including the Veterinary Clinics of North America book dedicated to veterinary hospice and palliative medicine published this year. Dr. Amir Shanan, described as a mix of philosopher, ethicist, counselor and veterinarian, has been dedicated to pioneering veterinary hospice and end of life services since 1993.

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Coleen Ellis, CT – Memorializing Your Pet, Marketing Your Pet Hospice Service
In 1998, a chance encounter with a pet parent facing the death of her pet was a defining moment for Coleen.  It was the beginning of her vision of how to best meet the needs of pet parents in their desire to mourn, memorialize and pay tribute to their beloved pets when they die.  In 2004, the experience of the death of her dog, Mico, guided her in starting Pet Angel Memorial Center, Inc.®, the nation's first stand-alone pet's-only funeral home. Soon, publications such as Kates-Boylston's Pet Loss Insider deemed her the "most well known pet funeral director" and a true "pet loss pioneer."  In 2009, Coleen founded Two Hearts Pet Loss Center, to guide people who wish to provide meaningful pet death care services in their communities, as well to be an educational resource in the pet grief discipline.  Most recently, she received the first Death and Grief Studies Certification specializing in Pet Loss Companioning by Dr. Alan Wolfelt.  She is also certified in Thanatology. Coleen is a native of Kansas where she graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. She shares her home in Indianapolis, IN, with her husband and business partner, Chris Burke, their two two-legged children, Brian and Amy, and their three four-legged children, Ellie Mae, Crisco, and Rudy.

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Claire Gillenson M.A. – Pet Loss Support
Claire Gillenson, M.A., Life Transition Coach/Grief Recovery Specialist. Claire's heart always belonged to the animal world, but it was the loss of her beloved companion Sophie that inspired Claire Gillenson to leave a six-figure design career to follow her bliss. She re-directed her career to grief and loss coaching, helping individuals overcome life challenges by teaching them life long techniques to thrive.  Claire earned a Masters Degree in Psychology, certification in Grief Recovery, Grief Bereavement Facilitation and Animal Reiki. Author of 28 Days of Grief and Healing, Transforming the Loss of a Beloved Pet, Claire's heart-led approach is an inspirational resource in one's journey of integrating and healing from challenging pet conflicts.

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Robyn Kesnow, RVT – Daily Enrichment Activities
Robyn Kesnow is a California State Registered Veterinary Technician and founder of Animal RN.  After years in working nights in a fast paced emergency clinic, Robyn was looking for another way to serve discerning pet parents while utelizing her experience and joy for animal nursing.  Robyn has developed a passion for helping people and their pets experience their lives together with extreme joy and comfort.  Animal RN provides service on a level formerly unavailable via traditional pet and veterinary care.  Animal RN has grown into a valued asset to the communities served in Northern California.  Robyn is a founding member of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Pallitive Care.  When not serving others, Robyn enjoys life in Sonoma County California with her significant other, Grant and two Australian Cattle Dogs.

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Michelle Nichols, MS – Building the Hospice Team
Michelle Nichols is founder of Seattle's Partners to the Bridge, coordinating services and supporting animal-caregiving families during the challenging, yet precious time that comes with end of life. In 2010, she and six like-minded animal service providers formed the emerging non-profit organization called the Animal Hospice, End of Life, and Palliative Care Project. These pursuits complement each other, but have a similar vision: to expand perceptions of comfort care and promote quality of life for families and the beloved animals under their care. In just a little over one year, she and the "AHELP Project" have developed a model that could be applied to any community in the US or abroad. Their mission is to build community through their educational and social events, and with teamwork from their local Professional and Veterinary Network who maximize quality of life for animals with special needs due to illness, injury or age. Michelle comes from 10 years of healthcare experience in case coordination and emotional support, volunteers with a hospital-based local hospice program and is a founding member of IAAHPC with service on their Education Committee.

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Dr. Robin Downing, D.V.M. – Pain Management for the Life-limited Pet – Palliative Care Principles & Practices
Dr. Downing is Hospital Director of The Downing Center for Animal Pain Management, LLC, the first comprehensive pain prevention and management practice for pets in Northern Colorado.

She was the 1995 Colorado VMA’s Up and Coming Veterinarian of the Year, the 1996 Association for Women Veterinarians’ Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year, and in 1999 she received a regional Entrepreneurial Excellence Award® from Working Woman® Magazine. In 2000 she was named the Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award winner, and 2001 the World Small Animal Association presented Dr. Downing the Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare Award (Small Animal Veterinarian of the Year). Dr. Downing was named the Woman of Influence in Healthcare by the Northern Colorado Business Report in 2009. She was also named the Veterinary Contributor of the Year by ImproMed Inc. in 2008 and 2009.

Dr. Downing is a founder of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner, a certified veterinary acupuncturist, a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner (University of Tennessee), a certified Tui Na practitioner (Chi Institute), is certified in canine medical massage (CSU), and is certified in animal chiropractic (IVCA). She is one of a handful of veterinarians to hold the Diplomate credential in the American Academy of Pain Management, the US’s largest interdisciplinary human pain management organization. In 2009 Dr. Downing became the first veterinarian to earn the designation Certified Pain Educator from the American Society of Pain Educators, a second human pain management credential. Dr. Downing has been sharing her passion for facilitating, enhancing, lengthening, and strengthening the Family-Pet-Veterinary Bond with audiences around the world since 1996.

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Dr. Kathleen Cooney, D.V.M – Companion Animal Euthanasia Techniques
Dr. Kathleen Cooney is founder and president of Home to Heaven, P.C., a mobile pet hospice and euthanasia service based in northern Colorado. Her company employs 7 doctors and 2 receptionists to help families 24/7. On average, Home to Heaven helps between 40-50 families per week. Along with her mobile work, Dr. Cooney operates the nation's first pet euthanasia center on her farm in Loveland Colorado. She is currently a member of the AVMA's 2011 euthanasia guideline panel and in May of this year competed writing her first eBook for veterinarians regarding the many facets of in-home euthanasia.  As of last month, Dr. Cooney completed a second book on euthanasia technique training along with four other authors.  This book has the potential to become the world's first euthanasia textbook for use in veterinary colleges.  In April 2011, she became the Education Chairperson for the IAAHPC.  Over the next few years, Dr. Cooney will work closely with members of the education committee to offer hospice certification training, develop a veterinary hospice conference, and publish articles online regarding all areas of end-of-life care. She is a strong advocate for education and teaches in-home euthanasia techniques, along with client communication, to junior veterinary students in Colorado State University's veterinary medical program. Due to all of her accomplishments and dedication to education, client support, and the advancement of animal hospice care, she has been awarded the 2011 Rising Star Veterinarian Award by the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association.

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Kate Moore, CFSP – Making Preparations for Death
Kate Moore has been a licensed funeral director for 20 years; owning and operating 3 funeral homes in Fort Worth and Dallas. She and her husband, Terry Branson are pet parents and pet lovers who believe that our companion animals deserve the same dignity and respect in death as do their human caregivers. In 2009, they began Beyond the Rainbow Pet Hospice & Memorial Center, the first-of-its-kind, total end-of-life care provider for pets. In their first 2 years, they provided care to over 500 pet parents and their babies. She is an active member of their church in Fort Worth, TX; 4PAWS, an animal adoption organization in Benbrook, Texas; member of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice; the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care; the Tarrant County Veterinary Medical Assn. and the Pet Loss Professional's Alliance, where she is co-chair for Education. Kate is Mom to Mindy, an 11-year-old miniature dachshund and Peeve (because everyone needs a pet peeve), a 14-year-old tabby.

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Dr. Anthony Smith, D.V.M. – Advanced Hospice Business Management
In 1984, Dr. Anthony J. Smith earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Stanford University followed by his DVM from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1988. Following graduation, he completed an internship in Zoo Medicine at the National Zoo in Washington, DC and another in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery in Santa Ana, California. For the next ten years, Dr. Smith worked as the veterinarian at a variety of zoos including the Santa Barbara, El Paso, and Oakland Zoos and as the director of the Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose, California. Following that, he worked in clinical small animal practice for several years while earning his Masters in Business Administration at California State University, East Bay. During this time, he founded Rainbow Bridge Veterinary Services, one of the only veterinary practices in the world devoted exclusively to providing end of life care (hospice and euthanasia) to pets in their own homes.  In the year 2000, Dr. Smith began teaching in the Veterinary Technician training program at Western Career College, where he eventually became the Program Director. While there, Dr. Smith developed a complete curriculum and comprehensive two-year program for educating registered veterinary technicians. He led this program to its first ever accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association and twice earned the college's Educator of the Year title.

For the past six years, Dr. Smith has focused on building and enhancing the end of life care provided by Rainbow Bridge Veterinary Services. In that time, he has helped thousands of animals pass peacefully over the Rainbow Bridge and helped ease the difficult process for their human companions. In addition to his work with Rainbow Bridge, Dr. Smith is a founding member of the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative and currently serves as the organization's vice-president. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Nikki Hospice Foundation for Pets, as well as President of the Board for Wildlife Associates, an organization dedicated to helping students and adults reconnect to the living world. Dr. Smith is a renowned author with over 20 professional journal and textbook publications and has lectured at dozens of conferences and symposia on topics ranging from animal hospice to hedgehog medicine. His outside interests include volunteering, rock-climbing, camping, and hiking with his best friend, a black lab named Rio