Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice & In-Home Euthanasia

I spent most of my childhood moving every three to four years between cities in Europe and what was then the Soviet Union because of my father’s job. Like many veterinarians, my love for animals was apparent at a young age. However, due to pet allergies that I thankfully outgrew, I got my fix by playing with and feeding street cats in the cities where we resided. I am proud to say I only contracted ringworm once, and it was totally worth it. I couldn’t resist a litter of kittens performing acrobatics on a moped in Rome!

My first and only family pet growing up was a cat rescued from an abandoned building in Moscow. Her one visit to a Soviet veterinarian is a memory I will never forget. Located on the first floor of a large city building, the exam room window was open to the street, where the clinic cat perched, observing the exam. By some miracle, my cat did not bolt out the window! As interesting as this experience was, it wasn’t until after graduating from Bryn Mawr College with a degree in political science that I decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.

While living in the Bay Area after college, I had the unique opportunity to volunteer as an animal care assistant at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. This experience, along with inspiration from the late, renowned Dr. James Harris of Oakland, CA—who gently and compassionately cared for my small menagerie—nudged me closer to pursuing veterinary medicine. I confirmed my desired career path after working as a vet assistant at a Brooklyn, NY animal hospital for one year before moving to North Carolina, where I delved into pre-vet classes at NC State. I was accepted as one of the handful of older students into NC State College of Veterinary Medicine’s graduating class of 2005.

Following graduation, I joined a small animal general practice in Durham, where I worked for nearly 20 years. While I enjoyed the medicine, I recognized it was the human-animal bond that gave practicing medicine meaning. I found my greatest joy working alongside individuals and families as we navigated care plans for their beloved pets, from the first kitten and puppy visits to the most difficult decision of saying goodbye. Due to the schedule constraints of general practice, in-home euthanasia was rarely a service I could offer, but it became increasingly important for me to honor the human-animal bond by guiding owners through the last chapter of their pet’s life and providing a peaceful passing in the comfort of their home.

Outside of veterinary medicine, I’m a busy mom of three teenage daughters, three dogs, and three cats. Whenever possible, I seek out the solitude of hiking and sometimes invite my husband along!