Excited to be part of this fantastic resource

Hi everyone!   I can't tell you how excited I am to be part of MedHelp.org.   I first found this site back in December of 2008 and thought it was an amazing resource for anyone wanting to know about almost any medical condition.

Imagine my surprise when the "powers that be" here at MedHelp asked the veteinarians and reporters of the Veterinary News Network to be part of this powerful site!

I thought it might be appropriate for me to share with you a little bit of my background:  First, like SO many youngsters, I had my heart set on being a veterinarian from a very young age.   The books of James Herriot inspired me and I can remember being 13-14 years old and trudging from one local veterinarian to another begging them to allow me to help.

Fast forward to college:  Here I am at Purdue University!   I can't believe that there are more people in my communications lecture than there were in my entire high school!!  College is a great experience, but it can be overwhelming.   I vividly recall my sense of loss when the pre-vet students were told to make sure we had our "10,000 hours of animal experience and 10,000 hours of veterinary experience" documented before we started the application process.   Having precious little of each, I shifted my focus and ended up with a degree in Genetic Biology and a minor in Chemistry.

I spent the first 6 years out of college working and managing retail pet stores and actually focused on breeding Shaded Silver Persians and, at a later time, Siamese cats.  But there was always something missing.   Eventually, my luck would change and I would get my chance at working with veterinarians when I was hired by a local veterinarian to oversee his seven local hospitals.   I was quickly trained as a veterinary technician ("on the job" trained, not certfied) and I spent the next 14 years learning everything I could about wellness care, nutrition, surgery, and all aspects of veterinary medicine.  I eventually oversaw all the training of all non-doctor employees and even developed my own program for insuring their continued education.  I also spent about 2 years during this time frame working part time at a rural Indiana animal shelter.

Now, I help Dr. Jim Humphries with the Veterinary News Network and PetDocsOnCall.com.   I intereact routinely with more than 350 DVMs across the United States and Canada and I still find that every day is a learning process.

I believe that I have a lot to add to this site and I am looking forward to helping the DVMs and other experts.  I try to always follow one rule when dispensing information to pet owners:  The four legged animal may be the one who is hurting and sick, but the two legged animal also suffers emotionally and the two legged animal has to be the one to make the decisions about care.

I am looking forward to your questions and please feel free to message me if I can help explain terminology or provide a little different insight.