Dr. Monica Shepherd, Veterinarian
I’m Dr. Monica Shepherd, a 2006 University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine graduate. Dr. Simms (Bideawee’s Chief of Veterinary Medicine and Vice President of Rescue and Welfare) and I worked together at the San Francisco SPCA from 2008-2012 and were office mates for the majority of that time. Having spent 4+ years bonding over oysters, Barry Manilow, and working through some tough cases, I jumped at the chance to work with her again. The original idea was that I would join her at Bideawee part time and as needed to “take some surgery off her plate”. We had no idea how long this might last but here I am, almost 6 years later! I see my role as primarily supportive and will do whatever is asked of me to the best of my ability. I consider that I am there to help the greatest number of animals possible progress toward their best outcomes as quickly as possible. I have a passion for shelter medicine and healthy respect for the particular challenges of this kind of work. Having worked at several shelters by now, I can confirm that we have one of the brightest, most committed teams there is. I am grateful to work with Dr. Simms and everyone at Bideawee – coming to work is a joy I look forward to. Being able to cradle kittens and puppies is a bonus!
When I’m not at Bideawee, I am in Sleepy Hollow with my 4 cats (all from Bideawee), husband, and 3 kids. Life is busy, no doubt about it! If I don’t answer a text or email right away it’s probably because I’m carpooling a bunch of kids somewhere, making snacks (for the kids and cats!), taking a break to send Instagram reels to Leticia, or plotting out summer camp schedules on an excel spreadsheet. I also make sure to watch Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon so I can keep up with the banter at work! As anyone who works with me can attest, I am pretty task-loaded and as such my memory is the absolute worst so please always feel free to gently remind me about that thing I said I would do before I got distracted and forgot!