150 Years of American
Veterinary Care
........
..Dr. John de Jong ............................
........................................
Visions of the bucolic James Herriot and doctors caring for cats and dogs is what typically comes to mind when people think of veterinarians, but there is so much more to this profession. Dr. John de Jong of Weston, Mass, and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s leadership is my guest today. We will discuss how vet med in USA has evolved in the past 150 years and the exciting advances that are taking place every day.
Questions or comments? Email Dr.Cruz at: thepetdoctor@petliferadio.com.
Dr. John H. de Jong of Weston, Mass., is a companion animal veterinarian and experienced veterinary surgeon. The 1985 graduate of Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine owns the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and Newton Animal Hospital; is the former CEO and Director of the Boston Animal Hospital; and is the founder and former chief surgeon of the low-cost spay/neuter clinic at the Merwin Memorial Clinic.
Elected to the Executive Board in 2010 to represent District 1, Dr. de Jong previously served in the AVMA's House of Delegates from 1999 to 2010, where he chaired the AVMA's House Advisory Committee, the Governance Performance Review Committee and the Political Action Committee Policy Board. In addition, he has served as the AVMA-CAN State Legislative Coordinator and on the Long Range Planning Committee.
Dr. de Jong has been recognized and honored many times by the communities he serves. The Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in 2006. Both Boston Magazine and the Improper Bostonian have called him Boston's Best Veterinarian. In 1993, he was recognized as one of Boston's Outstanding Young Leaders. He has served as president of the Massachusetts and New England veterinary medical associations as well as the American Association of Housecall Veterinarians.
Early in his career, Dr. de Jong worked as a state veterinarian for the Massachusetts Racing Commission and was a track veterinarian at Foxboro Raceway. Today Dr. de Jong is a noted Boston small animal veterinary surgeon who has completed well over 25,000 surgeries over the past two decades. In addition, he writes aweekly column that appears in the Boston Herald and is heard monthly as a guest on WRKO's syndicated Howie Carr Show.
Dr. de Jong has been a candidate for the Massachusetts state legislature on two occasions—in 1990 for the state Senate and 1988 for the state house—currently sits on the Weston Republican Town Committee, and is a member and past president (2006-2008) of the Middlesex Club, America's oldest Republican club. Dr. de Jong also served as president (1995-1997) and first vice president (1992-1995) of the Boston Republican City Committee. In addition, Dr. de Jong received gubernatorial appointments as chair of the Boston Finance Commission, where he oversaw the budget for the city of Boston for six years, and to the board of directors of Zoo New England.
Dr. de Jong is active in his church and is an alumni leader at the schools he has attended. He is class agent at Choate, a Trustee of Tufts University, and a member of the Board of Advisors of Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. He’s also active in many sports, including rugby, lacrosse, golf, and fishing. He lives with his wife Carole and two sons, Jack and Sam, in Weston, MA.
AVMA: 150 years of education, science, and service
