Dr. Tierra Price, DVM
Licensed Veterinarian & Founder of the BlackDVM Network
Dr. Tierra Price is a recent graduate of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, where she served as Vice President of her class and President of the Women’s Veterinary Development Leadership Initiative. She founded BlackDVM Network opens in a new tabto connect Black veterinarians, technicians, students, and clients — a place for people to create a community and find mentorship. Dr. Price hopes to inspire others with her drive, authenticity, and confidence to boldly take on challenges in veterinary medicine. In her free time, she loves dancing, yoga, reading, and soaking up the sun.
What inspired you to work with animals?
I always wanted a pet growing up, but my mom is terrified of most animals, so I really only had fish growing up. Her way of pacifying me for not being able to have a hamster, cat, or dog was to take me to volunteer at the local animal shelter in Louisville, Kentucky. Caring for those animals inspired me to pursue veterinary medicine. I knew from a really young age that I wanted to work with animals, but that really solidified it.
What inspired you to start Black DVM Network and what is its mission?
I started Black DVM Network as a second year veterinary student and I was really just looking for community in Black veterinary professionals because I hadn’t met many up until that point. The mission of Black DVM Network right now is to empower Black veterinary professionals to be their best selves, so we work to form a community and help connect Black veterinary professionals with Black pet parents — or with any pet parents, really.
What keeps you motivated to help pets and their parents?
I love helping people with their pets; I can see that people really love their animals and they want to do what’s best for them. I’m always motivated by the love and the bond that I see between people and their animals to continue to answer their questions and keep their pets healthy, because I know that their pets are just like family.
What is your best piece of advice to pet parents?
Honestly, there’s a lot of advice I can give to pet parents, but I think what I really want people to realize is that their pets are really not much different than them. So anything that you’re wondering about your pet, you can put yourself in that same situation and ask yourself, “How would I feel if such and such was happening to me?” Most of the time, if you think it’d be a painful condition or you think you’d be lonely or sad or hurt, it’s probably the same for your pet.