Dr. Bonnie Smith, DVM

Dr. Bonnie Smith has been practicing veterinary medicine since 1993. She is a graduate of Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Dr. Smith has been involved in the respiratory and neonatal program at Tufts since 1988, serving as a consultant and instructor in respiratory care and ventilator management.  

She is a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Veterinary Medical Association, Veterinary Comparative Respiratory Society, and the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA). She has served on the Education and Ethics and Grievance Committees, was the Large Animal Committee Chair and served on the Board of Directors for 4 years.

Early in her medical career, Dr. Smith was a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) and Certified Pulmonary Function Technician (CPFT).  She earned an Associate of Applied Science in Respiratory Therapy, a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and has been involved in medicine and critical care since 1979.  She managed The Asthma and Allergy Center in N.J. and worked at a Level 1 trauma center in MA.

Some of Dr. Smith's achievements include being the first veterinarian to diagnose EEE in central Massachusetts, serving as a nutrition expert panelist for an international food company, lecturing on disaster preparation, and hosting a radio show about veterinary medical care.  Dr. Smith joined a panel of experts to work with the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI). The institute received a USDA grant to provide guidelines for groundwater conservation and good grazing practices for farm owners.

Dr. Smith has been involved in disaster training and planning for years. Veterinarians are considered Non-Traditional Emergency Responders. Traditional Responders would include Fire Departments, Police, Hazmat Specialists, Ambulance, and E.M.T.s, etc. In March 2011, she trained at the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Aniston, Al. in Chemical, Biological, Radiologic, Nuclear, and Explosive response for the Department of Homeland Security. With these qualifications, she was deployed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Emergency Support Function-17, when tornados swept through half of her practice area on June 1, 2011. In Brimfield, MA, she helped the Emergency Management Director take care of the animals (and our clients) for the town. For more information on Emergency Response visit http://cdp.dhs.gov  or  http://www.smartma.org/