Ann E. Hohenhaus, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology, SAIM), has dedicated her career to advancing veterinary medicine as a compassionate clinician, accomplished educator, and influential communicator. As the director of pet health information at Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York City, she not only provides expert care but also ensures that the public has access to reliable veterinary health information through her writings and podcast.

A third-generation veterinarian, Hohenhaus followed in the footsteps of her father, a mixed-animal solo practitioner, who inspired her commitment to community service. "The profession has given a lot to me and my family, [so] I could give back through my volunteer opportunities," she reflected, attributing her ethos to his example. Her service has included active roles with the American Veterinary Medical Association, the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, and the Veterinary Medical Association of New York City.

Hohenhaus’s career journey began at the Bender School of Veterinary Medicine, after which she spent a year in private practice before joining AMC as an intern. She remained to complete a residency and never left, captivated by the institution and its role in the city. Her clinical focus lies in oncology and small animal internal medicine, stemming from a longstanding fascination with cancer research. “In college, I took a seminar where my research topic was about genes related to the development of cancer. I found it fascinating and have focused on it ever since,” she explained.

Beyond her clinical expertise, Hohenhaus is a celebrated communicator. When AMC’s marketing team asked her to start a blog, she initially hesitated, unsure of what a blog entailed. However, the blog soon became a passion project, featuring stories about challenging cases, innovative treatments, and developments in veterinary medicine. Writing helped her develop a broader appreciation for the profession: “One day I might write about the latest virus, and another day about a puppy with heartworms. It’s helped me to appreciate what goes on in our field.”

Her dedication to sharing veterinary stories has earned her significant accolades, including the DeBakey Journalism Award in 2014 for her article "Dogs Go to Bat Against Lou Gehrig's Disease." She also hosts AMC’s monthly 

 podcast, continuing to connect with audiences far beyond the exam room.

When asked what she finds most rewarding in her career, Hohenhaus emphasized the human connection. “Veterinarians love animals, but the people are the most interesting thing about veterinary medicine. I’ve met taxi drivers who shared stories of their passengers and world travelers recounting their adventures. It’s the people, alongside their pets, that make this work truly meaningful.”

As a recipient of the prestigious Internal Medicine Veterinary Hero Award, Hohenhaus views the recognition as a tribute not only to her but to everyone she has encountered throughout her career. "It's a validation of what I love to do every single day."

For aspiring veterinarians, her advice is simple but profound: “Be passionate about science—it’s the foundation of our profession—but remember, you’ll deal with people every day. The ability to connect and communicate with clients is just as important as your medical knowledge.”

Hohenhaus’ lifelong dedication to veterinary medicine, education, and communication continues to make a lasting impact, inspiring her colleagues and the next generation of veterinarians alike.

In honor of Hohenhaus and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 

2024 Fetch dvm360 conference in Long Beach

, California, where the winners will be recognized for their unwavering commitment and extraordinary efforts within the veterinary profession. The ceremony will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 11:30 AM PST. All Fetch Long Beach registrants are invited to attend the award ceremony for no additional fee. 

The 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by corporate sponsor Schwarzman Animal Medical Center.

Articles

A trailblazer in small animal internal medicine, Ann E. Hohenhaus, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology, SAIM), has spent decades advancing the profession through clinical expertise, mentorship, and impactful communication.

Veterinary Heroes: Ann E. Hohenhaus, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology, SAIM)

Camia Tonge, MS, LVT, VTS (SAIM), is the director of dentistry, exotics, interventional radiology, neurology, and ophthalmology at Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (AMC) in New York, New York. She is also an honoree in the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program supported by corporate sponsor Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, as the award winner in the credentialed veterinary technician category sponsored by Banfield Pet Hospital.

Photos courtesy of Camia Tonge, MS, LVT, VTS (SAIM)

Tonge is a valued member of the veterinary care team at AMC and has 17 years of veterinary career experience. She is currently responsible for clinical and operational management, as well as the supervision, mentoring, and training of the clinical nursing staff at AMC.

Tonge’s journey into veterinary medicine is one of fate. A first-generation immigrant from Antigua, she was the recipient of a full-ride scholarship to veterinary school. When life threw a wrench into her plan, she began researching alternatives and found a veterinary technology program. She knew immediately it was what she was meant to do.

“I was like, ‘What is this?’ You know? [I realized that] I didn’t want to be a vet, I wanted to be [a veterinary technician],” Tonge said in an interview with dvm360. “Fate, or life path, or whatever it is, it really steered me in the direction, inspired me, and made me realize that this is actually what I wanted to do.”

Her role as a clinical educator for the nursing staff is also fate, as her backup plan. Had she not gone into veterinary medicine, she was planning to teach English to elementary school children. The ability to help animals and their owners makes her career rewarding, and she encourages all technicians to pay it forward.

According to her award nominator, Tonge is more than her leadership and professional achievements. “Camia is a veterinary hero because of her warmth, energy, and passion,” the nominator wrote. “Camia truly cares about her colleagues and always exudes a positive attitude. She is inspiring to all those who work with her for her strong work ethic and ability to navigate any situation. Camia is an amazingly kind person, a strong leader, and so very deserving of this award.”

Outside the clinic, Tonge spends her free time listening to music; traveling; reading. She also enjoys spending time with her family in Antigua and relaxing with her beloved bluecoat chihuahua mix, Mr Pupcake.

Tonge plans to receive her award alongside 11 other distinguished inductees of dvm360’s Veterinary Heroes program during a luncheon celebration at the Long Beach Convention Center. The special event will take place during the 

 on December 8, 2024, at 11:30 AM PST. All conference attendees are invited to attend.

The credentialed veterinary technician category for the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by Banfield Pet Hospital.

The 2024 honoree in the credentialed veterinary technician category holds leadership positions at Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York.

Veterinary Heroes: Camia Tonge, MS, LVT, VTS (SAIM)

2024 Veterinary Hero in surgery Karl Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA, is a member of the medical team at MedVet in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated top of his class from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in Saint Kitts and Nevis, where he earned his doctorate degree. According to his award nominator, Maritato was the first to perform minimally invasive arthroscopic procedures in Cincinnati and has repaired thousands of ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments in dogs. According to Maritato, he averages between 10 and 15 surgeries daily.

, Maritato shared why he likes surgery. “The honest answer is none of the rest of veterinary medicine appeals to me. I like to do surgery. I can’t say that I knew that from the beginning. I just knew I wanted to be a vet… as I was exposed to the veterinary world, I was just drawn to surgery and what that entails.… I like just the concept of things being broken and me fixing them, and I like working with my hands. I’m a very hands-on learner and hands-on doer. It's probably why I like to garden a lot, because I like to just create, and that's why I like orthopedics. It's why I like helping develop implants and new ways to fix things or improve upon the ways that we already have,” he explained.

Without his support team, which includes veterinary professionals, interns, and residents, Maritato would not have the daily success that he has as a veterinary surgeon, he told 

. “I have a great support team,” Maritato emphasized, saying that it would be “literally impossible” to perform the number of surgeries he does in a day without his “amazing team of surgery assistance, surgery techs, anesthesia techs, anesthesia department, anesthesiologist, [and the] entire team of surgery assistants that runs all the discharges.”

“You know, it takes a huge team—residents, interns. I train residents and interns, and they also, in turn, for their learning, they also help me get a lot of things done, which allows me to offer my skills and knowledge to as many patients as I can do in a day,” he continued.

Maritato’s contributions to the profession extend past his clinical work, having authored several veterinary texts. He was instrumental in coauthoring the textbook “Locking Plates in Veterinary Orthopedics,” addressing a gap in veterinary literature and providing a resource for residents-in-training and experienced surgeons learning about locking plates.

His work in veterinary literature is also, in part, the result of his mentorship, guiding residents and interns through the writing process and teaching them how to effectively critique articles. “Your job, when you read medicine and medical articles… [is] to critique it and understand what was done so that you can apply that to your to your field every day and see what makes sense and what doesn't,” Maritato said. “That’s how you advance the profession. It's not just believing everything you're told. It's truly understanding what you're reading. So, I think by having [residents and interns] write these papers and publish, they understand what goes into… writing, in the research and how to better interpret the things [they’re] being given in other articles.”

On winning this award, Maritato shared, “It just means that my hard work and my dedication to my patients and to the profession is being noticed and recognized. I do spend a lot of time treating a lot of patients and a lot of clients and a lot of referral partners, basically just to try to better the Cincinnati community and everybody that's here, as well as the veterinary community. And I think [winning the award] means that that's noticed, and maybe that's having a positive impact.”

In addition to winning the 2024 Veterinary Heroes award in surgery, Maritato has received various other awards during his career, including the Pfizer Parasitology Award and the Novartis Pharmacology Award.

In honor of Maritato and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 

, California, where the winners will be recognized for their unwavering commitment and extraordinary efforts within the veterinary profession. The ceremony will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 11:30 AM PST. All Fetch Long Beach registrants are invited to attend the award ceremony for no additional fee.

The 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by corporate sponsor Schwarzman Animal Medical Center

The paraprofessional category for the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by MedVet

This 2024 Veterinary Hero is celebrated for his pioneering work in surgery and his contributions to veterinary literature and education

Veterinary Heroes: Karl Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA

Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition), 2024 Veterinary Hero in nutrition, understands the intricate relationship between an animal’s nutrition and their wellbeing.

“As an internist, nutrition plays a role in management of every single one of my cases…. So, it meshes so well with the specialty of internal medicine, it's almost just like they were meant to be done together,” Parker told 

in an interview. “I think it’s cliché, but we all say it, that…food and diet and nutrition make such an impact on an animal’s overall health and well-being. And so having that additional ability to influence a patient outcome by providing nutritional support and guidance for the animal and for the owner, it is something that gives me great satisfaction.”

Parker is a clinical professor at The Ohio State University, where she has been a faculty member for 12 years. She obtained her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts. Thereafter, she completed a small animal internship at the Animal Medical Center of New York, New York, followed by a small animal internal medicine residency at Iowa State University in Ames and a nutrition residency at Tufts.

Nutrition has always been a passion for Parker, she explained in an interview. “I've just, I've really always loved nutrition, even in undergrad, taking general nutrition classes for all different species. It always was really interesting to me, and then getting to that school and getting to explore it a little bit more deeply, especially in the realm of small animal nutrition, it always just struck me as a really, I hate to say the word interesting so many times—it really struck me as something so interesting,” Parker said.

For Parker, the key to improving veterinary care goes beyond just treating individual pets: it’s about equipping the next generation of veterinarians with the knowledge to provide nutritional guidance to pet owners. “Providing nutritional guidance is something that every veterinarian should be able to do. It doesn't require special tools. It doesn't require a ton of special training. You're not doing surgery. You know, any veterinarian can provide nutritional guidance,” explained Parker. “And so, my hope is that I can continue to not only provide guidance for specific pets and specific clients and pet parents, but also to help guide future veterinarians of how to provide this guidance for clients and for pets.”

She explained that teaching the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary professionals is what inspires her to get up and go to work every day. “That's a major part of why I come to work every day, and especially in the context of nutrition, it makes me really proud when I go out and talk to veterinarians in practices and they tell me how great it is working with my former students or my former residents who just are so much more confident and competent in nutrition than they might even feel themselves,” she emphasized.

Winning the Veterinary Hero Award in nutrition served as a powerful source motivation for Parker to keep pursuing her work with the same passion and dedication. “It just helps validate that everything I’ve been doing has purpose. I think as veterinarians, in academia especially, we are here because we want to help clients, help pets, to teach the next generations of veterinarians. And so…it’s nice to have somebody tell you every once in a while, ‘You’re doing a good job.’ It helps remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing, and it’s motivation to just keep showing up every day and doing what I’m doing—that it’s making a difference,” she said.

In honor of Parker and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 

The nutrition category for the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program is supported by Blue Buffalo Natural.

Guiding the next generation of veterinary professionals and improving patients’ health through nutrition is the driving force for 2024 Veterinary Hero in nutrition, Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition)

Veterinary Heroes: Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition)

Susan V. Whittred, DVM, the 2024 honoree in feline medicine for the Veterinary HeroesTM program, has been a veterinarian for 21 years, working in private practice for most of her career. She is the executive director of the Patricia H. Ladew Foundation, Inc, a cage-free cat sanctuary in Long Island, New York, which Whittred has run since graduating from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York, in 2003.

“We rescue cats from municipal shelters and provide all the medical [care] that they need and get them into good homes,” Whittred told 

 in an interview. This includes spay and neuter services and other routine services, according to an individual that nominated Whittred for the award.

Whittred also introduced the “Seniors for Seniors” program at the foundation, which allows senior citizens to adopt senior cats. “What [the program] does is senior citizens who are 65 years [of age] and older can adopt a cat 7 years and older from us, and we cover the medical care for the cat for the rest of its life. If something happens to the [owner], they can just bring the cat back to us,” said Whittred.

“Veterinary medicine has gotten really expensive, and I think it's hard for seniors, and they don't want to commit to adopting an older cat, because that's when [cats start having health] problems,” Whittred explained. “But I tell you, with this program, senior [cats] have been getting adopted like I have never seen before. It's fantastic. So, we're always pulling senior [cats] from other municipal shelters, knowing that we can get them homes now, which is really—it's amazing.”

According to Whittred, there are now 55 cats in the program. “It's just changed people's lives,” she added.

asked Whittred why she chose feline medicine. “I have just always loved cats. And even when I was in private practice, I always was…the cat lady vet. You go to vet school, you think you get rid of the cat lady title, it's absolutely not true. No, I'm just a cat lady vet. But I just always, my whole life, I've always loved cats,” Whittred shared.

She explained that the most fulfilling part of her work is the adoptions. “I just love the connection that people make with animals, and I just feel good that I'm in a position where I could, you know, pull them from a shelter where they might not have the same chance. You know, take care of any medical or dental that they need, and then place them into a home, and then have people call us up and say, ‘this is the most amazing cat,’ you know?” said Whittred. “They've given so much to me in my life, it's great to be able to give something back to cats.”

Whittred’s passion for veterinary medicine and cats is evident in her active involvement with numerous organizations. She is a member of numerous organizations, including the Feline Veterinary Medical Association (formerly the American Association of Feline Practitioners)—from which she has received an award—, Association of Shelter Veterinarians, Long Island Veterinary Medical Association, New York State Veterinary Medical Society, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association. She is also an adjunct member of the Animal Law Committee of the NY Bar Association and the New York director of the Paw Project—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to end feline declawing.

what winning the Feline Medicine Veterinary Hero Award means to her. “As a shelter vet, it’s just such an honor to win an award like [Veterinary Heroes]. I already feel privileged being able to take care of cats…but getting nominated and people voting for me...it’s amazing,” she expressed.

Describing what makes Whittred a veterinary hero, one nominator praised her commitment to supporting fellow veterinarians who face challenges with feline care. “Susan is very focused on helping other veterinarians who encounter issues with cats. She is very willing to discuss treatments and provide insight into what makes a successful outcome for cats in shelters,” they wrote.

In honor of Whittred and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 

The love for felines that Susan V. Whittred, DVM, holds has fueled her dedication to rescuing cats and improving their care through shelter medicine and a new program for senior citizens and cats

Veterinary Heroes: Susan V. Whittred, DVM

Adrianne Hiller’s, BS, dedication to the veterinary profession began early in her life. In high school, she walked dogs and cleaned at her local animal clinic—helping where she could, gaining experience, and ultimately training to become a technician by the time she graduated. She began her career in the veterinary profession in 2001.

“My dad was always bringing home animals. [I] loved animals from a very young age. I wanted to go to vet school, so in high school, I just kind of really made it a point that I wanted to be a part of the veterinary industry in some capacity and learn and do as much as I can, so that's how I kind of ended up just kind of helping out at my local vet clinic in high school,” Hiller told 

in an interview. “I ended up ultimately not going to vet school because I went down the management path of things, but always knew that I had a passion for the industry for sure.”

Hiller attended Texas A&M University in College Station, earning a bachelor of science degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences while also taking on weekend overnight shifts in the Small Animal Teaching Hospital at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, working with emergency care providers. She worked her way up in the profession, serving as a kennel technician, technician, and technician lead, and working emergency for some time. Eight years ago, Hiller decided to pursue practice management with CityVet.

As a natural “people person,” Hiller finds fulfillment in her role in practice management, where she can not only support her colleagues, but also to watch them grow and succeed. “I like to just kind of be a part of the discussions and what needs to happen, what works, what doesn't. [A] big thing in management is just being able to…work for everybody else. So, what do we need be the advocate for our coworkers? To figure out what would be best for them to be successful at their jobs and have good work life balances?” Hiller explained. 

When she made the leap into practice management, Hiller had the opportunity to work alongside a doctor she respects, and together, they opened their own practice. The experience has been nothing short of fulfilling, Hiller shared.

"It's just been very fulfilling to get to see the business grow and be successful, and getting to hire and see our individual employees grow, you know, starting kind of at the beginning and working their way up to receptionist or technicians or vet school—different experiences,” she said. Through this journey, Hiller discovered that “being able to be the person that…supports the team” is what she truly enjoys.

Speaking about what winning the Veterinary Heroes award in practice management means to her, Hiller said “it feels good to be recognized.”

“Not just me, [but] many people I work with, we work very hard. We want to…do our best every single day. We want to make sure we’re making a difference. And…so many people get into the industry being so animal focused, but it’s really a people- focused industry [too], and it feels good to know that the hard work is maybe paying off some—that people are recognizing and seeing it,” she said.

In honor of Hiller and 11 other Veterinary Heroes inductees, an award ceremony will be held during the 

A Veterinary Hero in practice management, Adrianne Hiller, BS, demonstrates her dedication to the profession through unwavering support of her team, helping the business and its employees grow