🌿 About Me

A Life Shaped by Purpose, Compassion, and Faith

My Early Journey

Since childhood, I believed my future was in baseball. At eight years old, I dreamed of becoming a major‑league star. School came naturally — not because I was brilliant, but because my parents taught me to never quit and always give my best. That competitive fire pushed me to succeed in everything I did.

But life has a way of changing our direction. Injuries, my father’s illness, and stepping in to help with our family business all shifted my path. Those challenges didn’t break me — they shaped me.

The Moment Everything Changed

If you knew me as a kid, you’d never guess I’d end up in medicine. I hated needles, passed out during blood draws, and hospitals made me uneasy. But everything changed when I brought home my first puppy — a Dalmatian named Dottie.

Anyone familiar with Dalmatians knows they’re escape artists. One morning, I found her outside, shot with what I believed was buckshot. I rushed her to the local vet, who showed me the X‑rays and confirmed the worst. There was nothing he could do. As she looked into my eyes — still alive, still trusting — we let Dottie go to heaven.

That moment broke me. It also opened my eyes to the importance of compassion, communication, and giving your all when someone depends on you. I made a vow that day: I would never be the kind of person who didn’t care enough or try hard enough.

A New Beginning

Five years later, while working at the Walmart distribution center, I realized I wasn’t living up to that promise. With no support and nothing but determination, I enrolled in college at 25. I started at Pasco-Hernando Community College, then transferred to the University of South Florida. After three years of undergrad, I received multiple veterinary school offers — but chose my first pick, the University of Missouri.

My four years there were spent immersed in internal medicine, emergency medicine, local medicine, and radiology — the very fields I once feared.

Building My Career

In 2002, I returned to Dade City Animal Clinic, where my foundation in veterinary medicine truly began. Later, I opened and operated my own clinic in Orlando for eight years.

Life shifted again when my baby sister was diagnosed with brain cancer. For the next ten years, I stepped away from ownership to help care for her. That season taught me more about compassion and resilience than any classroom ever could.

Over the next twelve years, I worked in clinics across Florida, learning different philosophies in medicine and hospital operations:

• Banfield South John Young Parkway

• Banfield Bruce B. Downs

• Dade City Animal Clinic

• Zephyrhills Veterinary Clinic

• Animal Care Center of Weeki Wachee

• Brooksville Animal Hospital

• Animal Vet Clinic

• Trenton Animal Hospital

• Pet Vet Chiefland

• VCA Bayonet Point

• Acupet of Hudson

Every clinic taught me something valuable — but I knew my journey wasn’t complete.

Finding My People

It wasn’t until I met a group of like‑minded individuals — people who shared the same fire and passion for veterinary medicine — that everything clicked. These were people who believed what I believed: that our profession isn’t defined by the average charge per transaction or the mistrust created by corporate veterinary entities. It’s defined by heart.

My Core Values

Everything I do goes back to Dottie — the dog who changed everything. She taught me the values I still live by:

• Be kind to everyone

• See people as individuals

• Remember I can change someone’s day

• It’s not how much you know — it’s how much you care

• Give my absolute best to every patient

Every patient is deeply loved by someone who trusts me. That trust is sacred.

Why I Practice Veterinary Medicine

My journey hasn’t been straight or easy, but it has been meaningful. Every twist, every hardship, every lesson has led me to the veterinarian — and the person — I am today.

I show up every day with one goal: To honor the promise I made to a Dalmatian named Dottie — to care deeply, communicate clearly, and give my absolute best to every animal and every family I serve at Bushnell Animal Clinic.!