Veterinarian Overview
I always knew I wanted to be a veterinarian. In first grade, I would bring home dogs and cats that I believed to be homeless. Fortunately, my older sister would later return them to their appropriate homes. As a teenager, I spent my summers following a large animal veterinarian on his farm rounds in Petoskey, Michigan. In the winters, I would volunteer at a local animal shelter and give baths to pets waiting for their forever home. In high school, I was a veterinarian's assistant at a local veterinary clinic in Southfield, Michigan. Luckily, during my third year of undergraduate education I was accepted to Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. After a grueling four years of schooling, I graduated in 1986 and have loved practicing veterinary medicine every day ever since. My first job as a veterinarian was in Huntington, New York where I practiced for one year in a small animal hospital. I loved New York, but I knew that I would never be able to afford to open my own veterinary clinic. So I moved to Chicago, which is a more affordable, but equally exciting city. After practicing a few years in a fast paced high quality clinic, I finally realized my dream and opened my own practice in May 1990 the Animal Medical Center of Chicago. I renovated a beautiful Victorian house in the pleasant Lakeview neighborhood and turned it into a state of the art veterinary clinic. It's been almost twenty-eight years since I graduated from veterinary school, and I still love talking to clients, the challenge of the diagnosis, designing a treatment plan, and watching my patients improve. My practice caters to those pet owners that treat their pets like family members. What makes my practice special is that we treat our clients like we would want to be treated with respect, understanding, and empathy. If you ask my clients what makes me special as a veterinarian, I believe that they would say I have great intuition and diagnostic skills. My practice has a strong emphasis on pain management, dental care, preventative and internal medicine. Client education is a top focus of mine, which does not end in the examination room. I make myself available to my clients for telephone updates and consultations. In addition, I write a reoccurring blog for The Huffington Post on timely pet care issues. It is an opportunity for me to share my veterinary knowledge and experience with many pet lovers across the country. Educating my audience, as well as my clients, is an issue that I am passionate about. I believe an educated pet client is the best pet owner. I am married to Brad Ginn, an Ombuds at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. We are the proud parents of two sons, Jacob and Sam. Jacob is a film student at the University of Michigan, and Sam is a junior at Oak Park River Forest High School. We share our home with two cats, Lemon and Oreo, and a golden retriever, named Zack. I have been exceedingly fortunate that my childhood dream came true and I can practice as a veterinarian in the Chicago area. I have a wonderful clientele who have entrusted me in the care of their pets and have an amazingly talented staff that is a pleasure to work with. I am proud to be a Chicago veterinarian and love caring for dogs and cats every day.
