Dr. DeRespino has wanted to be an animal doctor since she was wrapping toilet-paper bandages around her very patient pets at the age of 5.
She grew up in a big family with lots of pets in Bradenton on the Florida gulf coast. She attended the University of Florida where she earned a Bachelors in Zoology as well as a Masters of Agriculture studying dairy cattle. She worked in various aspects of veterinary medicine - from a kennel attendant at a shelter to a cardiology technician at a specialty hospital - throughout her time studying and was able to develop a strong sense of the important role everyone has to play in helping sick and injured animals. She attended veterinary school, also at the University of Florida, and then decided to change coasts and for a year-long rotating internship in Los Angeles, California at Animal Specialty and Emergency Center (ASEC). ASEC was a large, specialty hospital in the heart of West LA with a busy ER as well as well-developed surgery, internal medicine, radiology, cardiology, oncology and critical care practices. This rigorous training provided exposure to a large variety of cases as well as support and feedback from boarded specialists. It was here that she truly developed a respect for how much collaborative teamwork can improve the outcome of a case and benefit everyone involved - patients, owners and doctors alike. Since that time, she has worked at busy emergency hospitals in Greenville, SC and, for the last 5 years, here in Charleston. She loves the variety and pace of emergency medicine and continues to be impressed day after day at our pets abilities to not just heal and recover, but enhance our lives as well. In her free time she is passionate about travel and can feel her passport is woefully overdue for some stamps. She has also appreciated that all the recent time at home has allowed her to enjoy her two older dogs, Mochi and Nugget, in their golden years.
Education:
- University of Florida
- Bachelors in Zoology
- Masters of Agriculture (MS)
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
- Animal Specialty and Emergency Center, Los Angeles CA
- Small Animal Rotating Internship
