Mella Welcomes Hope, VEA Fellow, To The Team

Hi! I’m Hope Dunbar. I’m a third year veterinary student from Cornell University and I’m excited to be starting my journey with Mella Pet Care this summer. I grew up on Long Island, NY where I spent my time riding horses and collecting any and all types of pets my parents would allow. I went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in animal science at the University of Vermont, which was where I had my first veterinary experience working on a student-run dairy farm for a year.

After that, I continued to gain experience by working as a veterinary technician at various small animal hospitals in Vermont and New York, as well as an equine surgical center in Montana. The two experiences that shaped my career the most though was when I worked at a mobile vet clinic that provided low cost veterinary care to communities in need and when I travelled to La Paz, Bolivia to set up a free spay/neuter clinic for a week to help them with population control.

It was during these instances that I was truly amazed and inspired by how much people were willing to sacrifice for the wellbeing of their pets, so I decided that I wanted to try and make a difference other than just being a vet. That’s when I started exploring the business side of veterinary medicine and eventually found my way to Mella. As a future veterinarian, my goal is to make this industry as beneficial to the owners as it is to their pets and I’m confident Mella will do just that, so I’m happy to be a part of it!