How does a vet specialist help with pet care?
Thanks for stopping by and reading my new blog! Welcome. I’m glad you are here.
Explore the field of Veterinary Internal Medicine more deeply:
- Many pet owners hear the term, and it sounds confusing and expensive. I’m here to clarify what we do and explain how I’m changing how your pet can get specialty care.
- My path to veterinary internal medicine was unique. Like many family veterinarians, I started my journey in vet school. However, my educational journey took a detour. I began at a Caribbean school and later transferred to an out-of-state school. This decision extended my educational loan debt to five years, influencing my choice to specialize. The need for a solid plan to repay my loans led me to the world of veterinary internal medicine.
- Unlike human medicine, aspiring veterinarians can take a national exam after completing veterinary school and begin practicing immediately. While many choose this path to become family veterinarians, others opt to pursue specializations similar to the options available in human medicine. There are veterinary dentists, veterinary cardiologists, veterinary oncologists, and many different kinds of veterinary surgeons, just to name a few. I had a great experience as a student at the University of Tennessee, and my instructors inspired me to pursue additional training.
What kinds of diseases do vet internists treat?
- Veterinary internal medicine is a broad category in which most complex or chronic cases are managed, including dogs and cats with urinary or kidney disease, certain kinds of intestinal disease, and respiratory disease, among many others. Often, internal medicine involves lots of discussion with the pet owner and helping them understand this unusual or chronic disease and how to best provide care for their dog or cat so they are comfortable. We can often resolve a particular chronic illness or work together to make the pet feel better. Often, internal medicine specialists manage pets in the hospital, receiving particular kinds of specialized care over a long period.
- We can do additional advanced diagnostics such as abdominal ultrasound and certain kinds of endoscopy, a camera procedure for viewing certain organs. We can also place feeding tubes and take bone marrow samples for better analysis – we can do all kinds of things. So a family veterinarian may call on someone like me when a pet has had annual lab work, let’s say, and now there is an increase in liver numbers or kidney numbers or a change in red blood cell count or white blood cell count.
Hybrid Internal Medicine Consultation:
- In a more traditional setting, the pet would be referred to another facility, such as a specialty hospital. I lived in that world for many years, and there are many important and incredible advances in pet healthcare.
- In my new model, I’m offering a hybrid consultation in which the family veterinarian, the pet owner, and myself can have a conversation together so that we’re all on the same page, we all hear the same thing, and we all arrive at an agreed upon next step. In many cases, that would mean meeting me at another hospital to move on and do some of these additional diagnostics, such as ultrasound and endoscopy.
- In this manner, I can expedite the case while fostering a close collaboration between myself, the family veterinarian, and the pet owner. By supporting the strong bond between the pet owner and their family veterinarian, I can help the pet recover more effectively. That is my ultimate goal with my service. I’m working to improve the lives and health of your pet.

Make an appointment
If your pet requires specialized care and you live near the Franklin and Murfreesboro, TN, area, it’s time to take action. Don’t hesitate to ask your veterinarian to reach out to me. I am committed to collaborating with your vet to ensure your pet receives the necessary treatment and will work with their schedule to provide the best possible care.
Take the first step towards improving your pet’s well-being by having your veterinarian contact me or booking an appointment directly through my website at https://musiccitypetim.com/. Together, we can assess your pet’s needs and develop a tailored plan to help them thrive.
Click here to book an appointment today!
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