Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald ties kindness to community and conservation

AVMA’s My Veterinary Life podcast has brought back Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald for an update centered on three themes he says have defined his career: kindness, community involvement, and conservation. In the January 8 episode, Fitzgerald — a longtime Denver small animal veterinarian, former Emergency Vets personality, author, and conservation advocate — reflects on a 43-year veterinary career and shares an update on his memoir, It Started With a Turtle, which was published in December 2024. Additional background helps explain why he remains a recognizable voice in the profession: Fitzgerald has spent decades in companion animal practice, lectures widely on emergency medicine, toxicology, and exotic species, and has participated in multiple conservation expeditions tied to endangered species work. (podcasts.apple.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this isn’t a regulatory or clinical update so much as a values signal. Fitzgerald’s message connects everyday small animal practice with broader professional identity: being visible in the community, supporting conservation, and keeping public trust through empathy and education. That framing also aligns with a wider One Health conversation in veterinary medicine, where leaders continue to emphasize the interdependence of wildlife, domestic animal, human, and environmental health. Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, one of the institutions linked to Fitzgerald’s conservation work, says it invests more than $2 million annually in conservation programs and has maintained field efforts across Colorado and internationally for decades. (podcasts.apple.com)

What to watch: Expect continued interest in how veterinarians like Fitzgerald use media, memoir, and public-facing conservation work to shape recruitment, morale, and the profession’s public role. (podcasts.apple.com)