Host: John Rossi DVM MA

Dr. Rossi, nationally known author of the popular series, “What’s Wrong with My Pet,” knows just about everything you ever wanted to know about pets and maybe a few things you don’t want to know! Whether it’s skunks, ferrets, foxes, snakes, lizards, turtles or alligators, or just your beloved cat or dog, Dr. Rossi is on the case. From bad breath to a bad diagnosis, choosing a new pet, going to vet school, or avoiding raccoons, he’s your vet. His guests are often nationally known authorities from the world of animals — veterinarians, zookeepers and some just down-to-earth animal lovers. You’ll love their stories as well as their expertise. Of course there also will always be plenty of good old-fashioned answers to “what’s wrong with my pet”?

What’s Wrong with My Pet? with John Rossi, DVM, MA

The oldest of seven children, Dr. Rossi learned sharing, hard work, and responsibility at an early age. At the age of nine, living in Key West, Florida, he witnessed hundreds of Cubans escaping from communism and began to wonder why. This experience helped to galvanize his beliefs in the value of hard work and freedom.

Active in high school, he played football, was the President of Future Scientists of America, and a member of the Chess club. He also organized a group to preserve an ecologically valuable piece of land. While attending SUNY at Albany, his research helped to preserve parts of the Pine Bush area of New York. After receiving his Bachelors Degree in Biology in 1977, he moved to Florida and continued biological research until he received his Masters Degree in Zoology from the University of South Florida in 1981.

A victim of the recession, he was forced to work as a migrant worker in order to support his young family. But by 1982, he had been accepted into veterinary school at the University of Florida, where he graduated in 1986 with a Doctorate.

While working as a veterinarian, he continued his biological research in the area of herpetology, travelling widely in the western deserts. This research resulted in scores of publications, including several books on the snakes of the United States and Canada. He lectured many times throughout the nineties at veterinary conferences and herpetological meetings. During this time he became an Adjunct Professor and taught vertebrate biology at Jacksonville University. He also began writing and publishing a series of books in the “What’s Wrong With My Pet” line, which include books on snakes, iguanas, ferrets, dogs, cats, and soon, turtles.

By 1995, he started his own practice in Jacksonville, Florida, which he still owns and runs today. He is an also avid gardener, with a special interest in Palms and succulents. His experience as a business owner, veterinarian, biologist and father came together in a dream when his daughter asked him to explain what was going on in our country today… and he wrote The Freedom Fairy Tale, which was read on national radio in 2008 and published in 2011.

Presently, Dr. Rossi is still writing, and is preparing to release a book entitled, All Things Cold and Slimy, which is a heartwarming story of what it is like to become a veterinarian, and the trials and tribulations that followed. He is also beginning a radio career, with the “What’s Wrong with My Pet?” show.