Leslie A.P., DVM CVA

I have had a love of animals since childhood. My first love was horses and I started riding when I was 7 years old. My father was active military and movement all over the world kept the family from owning horses or dogs of our own until my father's retirement. My sister and I took riding lessons wherever we were stationed and lived.
My parents retired in Colorado where I finished high school, college, and veterinary school at Colorado State University. I graduated veterinary school in 1980. After veterinary school, I moved to Knoxville, TN, where I did and Equine concentration Large Animal Internship at the University of TN, Knoxville.
Following TN, I moved with my 2 cats, 1 Labrador Retriever, and 2 horses to East Lansing, MI, where I did an Equine Surgery residency at Michigan State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital for two years.
I moved to NY when I finished my residency to join a mixed animal, primarily equine, practice in Western New York where I practiced for two years. I then started my own 100% equine practice in Western NY called Great Lakes Equine Practice. I had the practice for 18 years during which I had three associate veterinarians working for me and the practice grew into the largest non track equine practice in Western NY. In 1996, I became Certified in Veterinary Acupuncture.
After 18 years of Equine practice, I found I needed a break from the stresses of the practice and was employed by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) as a Federal Field Veterinary Medical Officer for the eastern half of NY. I worked for USDA for 10 years and found that I missed the practice of veterinary medicine and the contact with clients and patients.
I became a small animal veterinarian after working for the USDA and worked for a practice in Oneonta, NY. That is where I met Dr. Wittner. We shared an office and, behind closed doors, discovered that our practice philosophies were identical. From those discussions, we decided to start a practice of our own in the Binghamton, NY, area where Dr. Wittner was already living and had practiced. That was the birth of Fur and Feathers Veterinary Care.
I no longer have horses of my own and hope to ride again someday. I own Waifin Labradors and have raised and shown Labrador Retrievers for over 35 years. I was blessed to have several champions of my own and produce many more including offspring from my lines in The Netherlands, Sweden, France, Italy, Canada, Taiwan, and Australia. I only have two Labradors at this time but hope to get back into breeding and showing when I retire from Veterinary Medicine.