Pets today enjoy ever-improving veterinary care, and live longer, healthier lives as a result. The quality of this care is greatly enhanced through specialization. It enables a team-based approach which maximizes and takes advantage of each care-giver’s unique skills. Just as when you or your children need a major surgical procedure performed, you see a specialist, so too can your pet. Many areas of veterinary medicine have become specialized. The opportunity to specialize in surgery is rare, such that surgical residencies are one of the most competitively sought positions in veterinary medicine. If you consult with a board-certified veterinary surgeon, you have the assurance that your surgeon has completed a rigorous, highly regulated and standardized training program, has proven dedication to both the art and skill of surgery, and to the care of patients.