I was 14 when I took my first job at a local animal hospital. I worked weekends, holidays, and summers through high school, college, and veterinary school. I mastered various responsibilities and became a lead technician.

After completing my pre-veterinary studies at West Virginia University, my wife, Genny, and I packed up a U-Haul and drove to Tuskegee Institute’s Veterinary School in Alabama. At the start of my second year, we brought home our first baby, a black and white English Springer Spaniel puppy named Molly. At school, I studied small and large animal medicine and honed my surgical skills under the direction of the best of the best professors. At home, Molly was the ultimate instructor, allowing me to perform practice examinations, including cleaning her floppy ears and probing her teeth.

Our pup taught me the gentle bedside manner that benefited my myriad of patients throughout my 30-plus years of owning and operating All Pets Animal Clinic. She also prepared us for parenthood. She greeted each of our three newborns at the door with a welcoming howl and head-nuzzle. From that moment forward, they were her kids, too. When Molly’s health failed, I counseled my children on the reasons why the time had come to relieve her suffering and how I would gently help her along. A few days later, we said goodbye in the quiet comfort of the home she knew. Many cherished pets have come in and out of my life, but Molly taught me the value of in-home end-of-life care, which I provide for my patients.

After I sold my small animal practice in West Virginia, I didn’t abandon veterinary medicine. Rather, I added teaching anatomy and physiology, psychology, physical science, and Bible at a Christian Academy in South Carolina to my resume. My decades in veterinary medicine, paired with an MA in Theological Studies and experience in Christian ministry, have gone a long way in helping me prepare and reassure pet owners.

West Virginia is the place I called home for most of my life, but we relocated to the Charleston area to be near our children and grandchildren. Outside veterinary medicine, I am active in my church. I also enjoy reading, working out, and spending time with my grand-dogs, Stella, Lola, Coco, and Shiloh, and grand-cats, Hops and Annie.

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