About Me

I have wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as I can remember. I have always loved animals and I have been blessed with a nurturing personality. It wasn’t until I entered veterinary school that I realized it wasn’t just the animals I cared about. I deeply enjoyed helping people. I began to realize this even more once I entered general practice. Over time I began to notice that more and more people were casually mentioning behavior problems with their pets during their appointments. I began helping these people and their pets and soon realized that this had become my favorite thing about being a veterinarian.

My special interest in animal behavior has always been a part of my love for animals. This interest got a big push when I decided that three cats wasn’t enough and that I should get a dog. Tallula was a 12 week old pit bull puppy that had found herself at the animal shelter. I fell in love with her immediately, and I set out to read and watch every puppy book and video that was out there to make sure that this dog would be the best dog possible. I immersed myself in dog behavior to assure that my new puppy would be safe and under control at all times.

This small push snowballed into a passion for animal behavior. I enrolled in elective classes on small animal behavior medicine and assisted in several cases at the Cornell Behavior Clinic. I presented a lecture to underclassmen in veterinary school entitled “How to raise a good patient: Advice for puppy owners that will strengthen the human animal bond and the veterinary-client-patient relationship”. I attended several veterinary conferences and attended numerous lectures about dog and cat behavior. I completed the Obedience Instructor Training Program at the Animal Behavior College. This program required mentoring by an experienced dog trainer with hands-on time training various dogs. I also began volunteering for the Peninsula Humane Society in their behavior department. I am a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers as well as the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior. With all of this knowledge and experience performing behavior counseling in private practice I decided to start a private behavior counseling business now known as Dr. Ericka’s Best Pets.