Dr. Dawn Filos

Dr. Dawn Filos has always had a passion for animals, and with a lot of hard work and perseverance, she’s turned that passion into a career. Here, with emotional honesty, Dr. Dawn shares her colorful, memorable journey, from nervous novice to seasoned, self-assured doctor. This modern-day James Herriot, ultimately finds her niche as a house-call vet, where she creates a way to practice on her own terms with the privilege of unique, intimate. Access into the homes and lives of her beloved patients and their human families. Sometimes heartwarming, sometimes sad, and often hilarious, Tales of a Pet Vet will resonate deeply with pet lovers everywhere.

​What made you decide to start a house call practice, and in particular, do in home euthanasias?
I had been practicing for 20 years, in clinics, and did relief work for most of that second decade. I missed having long term relationships with patients and clients. Relief work was limited in that capacity.

Also, at that time, I performed my first in home euthanasia. It was a professional game changer for me. I decided I needed to do more of them, having seen first hand what a beautiful, loving gift it was to provide an animal with a dignified goodbye within the comfort of their own home.

That, combined with my need to connect more, not less, with clients, was the impetus to start my practice. I like to say that I found my professional “home” in the homes of my patients and their families.

For those about to read the book, describe how and why it was structured the way it is.
I consider my book similar to 3 books readers might be familiar with.
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It is one part, modern-day James Herriot of All Creatures Great and Small. It is also one part a behind the scenes expose of life as a veterinarian, in the vein of Anthony Bourdain books. Lastly, it has a lot of humor, as well as the humility and sometimes chaos, seen in Marley and Me.

I have hosted a blog for nearly 20 years, and many of the topics I discussed, such as the benefits of the human-animal bond, pet trusts, and humorous, personal, or heart-warming stories, generated the most feedback. These topics became the heading of chapters, with many stories to explore those topics. The book is story driven, with enough veterinary information to support the stories as needed.

What is your favorite chapter, or part of the book and why?
I have read every veterinary memoir there is, and each is different. Other than what I said in the last question, I have found that my career puts me in the position of experiencing a lot of very funny, outrageous, and crazy situations, and my book has far more of these stories than other memoirs I have read. It is intended to be a book that pet lovers will read and resonate with, over and over again, seeing themselves in the antics, joys, and sometimes sorrows that all of us who have loved and lived with pets have experienced. That includes me, as not just a veterinarian, but a pet parent as well, and at times, an unhinged, emotional one at that.

My favorite chapter is the exotics one. It talks about many of the pets I saw and treated that were not dogs and cats… and all the learning I often did on the job, sometimes bluffing my way through. I hope readers will enjoy it as much as I did living it.

Are there main messages you want to impress to readers in the book?
My passion is focusing on the many benefits of the human animal bond: psychological, emotional, physical, companionship. I have been amazed, humbled, and entertained to watch the pet-parent relationship evolve into what it is today, which at times is one of pets having lives as good, if not better, than their human children counterparts. I point out in a humorous, yet revealing way, how we have evolved as pet guardians, in my lifetime and the span of my career. People will read it and see that they are not alone in seeing their pets a family.

Also, I think it is important for pet parents to see that veterinarians like me love their careers and patients. And yet, we have unique obstacles to overcome in this modern day and age of extreme pet parenting, rising veterinary pricing and corporate ownership, and technology, as we set boundaries with clients to protect our emotional and psychological health so that we can continue to do our best.

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Visit Dr. Dawn on her website: 
https://drdawnthepetvet.com/
Join Dr. Dawn on Faceboook: 
https://www.facebook.com/drdawnthepetvet/
Follow Dr. Dawn on Instagram: 
https://www.instagram.com/dr.dawn_petvet/​
Subscribe to Dr. Dawn's YouTube channel: 
https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.Dawn_petvetFilos
Explore Dr. Dawn's boards on Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/drdawnthepetvet/

LINK for BOOK:
https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Pet-Vet-Stories-Clinic/dp/1647427584