Northern New England Veterinary Alpine Symposium

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Dr. Jeanne Budgin is the founder and owner of Hudson Valley

Veterinary Dermatology, with office locations on the Upper West

Side of Manhattan and Thornwood, NY.

She trained at Iowa State University and was awarded a Doctor of

Veterinary Medicine degree in 1999. After two years in private

practice, she went on to complete her internship in small animal

medicine and surgery, post doctorate fellowship in

immunodermatology, and residency training in dermatology at the

University of Pennsylvania. She achieved diplomate status with the

American College of Veterinary Dermatology in 2005.

As a self-proclaimed “cat lady,” Dr. Budgin has a keen interest in

feline dermatology, however she is also a true dog lover at heart.

Her additional areas of interest include diet and nutrition in the

management of allergic skin disease, treatment of drug resistant

infections, and immune-mediated skin diseases. Dr. Budgin has

published articles pertaining to veterinary dermatology in various

journals and has presented at conferences throughout the world.

Dr. Budgin is the former treasurer, vice president, and president of

the American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology (AAVD). She is

also one of the founding members and served on the organizing

committee of the North American Veterinary Dermatology Forum

for ten years. Dr. Budgin currently serves as the AAVD

representative to the World Association of Veterinary Dermatology

(WAVD) and contributes to the education committee of both the

WAVD and the World Small Animal Veterinary Association

(WSAVA). She is also a former director-at-large of the American

College of Veterinary Dermatology and avid reviewer for their

journal, Veterinary Dermatology.

Finally, and very passionately, Dr. Budgin is co-coordinator of the

Global Veterinary Dermatology Education Group, an independent

international organization that supports, educates, and empowers

veterinarians in underserved areas of the world with an interest in

dermatology to lead local ongoing efforts in training and

advancement.

Dr. Budgin lives in northern Manhattan with her orange tabby,

Pema. Her hobbies include cooking, yoga, photography, and

spending time outdoors.

After graduating from the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island in her native Canada,  Dr. Willis completed a small animal internship at Michigan State University,  residency training in Comparative Veterinary Ophthalmology at the University of Georgia,  and was board certified by the ACVO in 1998.   She then spent almost 4 years as an instructor in Comparative Veterinary Ophthalmology at The Ohio State University.   She has been in private practice for almost 3 decades, and for the past 12 years, has practiced ophthalmology exclusively with cats in the Metro West area of Boston.

The cat has been a personal and professional passion for Dr. Willis, from their unique set of ocular conditions, unique behaviors, and special relationship with their owners.  She currently oversees an ophthalmology service within a feline-only practice, providing the cat owner with the option to pursue specialty eye care for their pet in as calm and stress-free an environment as possible.  She also provides multiple local feline rescue groups with ophthalmology care.  While she enjoys all aspects of feline ophthalmology, ocular surface disease, uveitis and corneal and eyelid surgery are of special interest.   Dr. Willis is a long-term member of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association (formerly the American Association of Feline Practitioners), is a certified Cat-Friendly Veterinarian, and promotes the Fear-free philosophy in her daily practice.   She welcomes veterinary students to shadow her in clinics and is frequently invited to speak on topics in Feline Ophthalmology and Cat Friendly Practice.

Dr Willis lives in Arlington, MA with her veterinary pathologist husband, an energetic Border Collie and two one-eyed cats, and enjoys random visits from their son who attends the University of New Hampshire in Manchester.