Meet Our Veterinarians

Dr. Laurie Hess is board-certified by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in avian (bird) medicine and served as the President of the Association of Avian Veterinarians from 2009-2010. She is also an active member of the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians and the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians.

After graduating summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University, Dr. Hess received her veterinary medical degree from Tufts. She then completed a one-year internship and a two-year residency in avian and exotic pet medicine and surgery at the world-renowned Animal Medical Center in New York City.

Dr. Hess has lectured both nationally and internationally about exotic pet care and has published numerous articles and book chapters on birds and other exotic species. She is especially interested in exotic pet nutrition. In the late 1990s, she completed groundbreaking nutrition research on the importance of pelleted diets in birds. She presented these findings both in Europe and in the U.S. and later published the research in 2002.

Dr. Hess serves as a media spokesperson on bird and exotic pet care. She has been a guest exotic pet expert on Animal Planet’s exotic pet series “Little Pets 101” and “Peculiar Pets 101.” She has also appeared on Animal Planet in Drs. Foster and Smith’s TV series, “Faithful Friends,” and has been a guest on the “Martha Stewart Show,” discussing the importance of educating yourself about exotic pets before you get one. Dr. Hess has also appeared on numerous TV shows, including the CBS morning show, “The Doctors,” the TV news magazines “Inside Edition” and “48 Hours,” the WPIX Morning News in New York City, the Fox morning show “Good Day NY,” Chicago’s “Windy City Live,” and the KTLA Morning News in Los Angeles. She has made guest appearances on local and syndicated radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada discussing exotic pet issues, and she has recorded her podcast series, “ZuNation,” on

Dr. Hess is the author of her memoir, Unlikely Companions: the Adventures of an Exotic Animal Doctor. She has written hundreds of articles about exotic pets in syndicated columns nationwide and in well-known exotic pet magazines such as Bird Talk, Birds USA, Pet Age, and Critters Magazine. She also blogs regularly about exotic pet topics on well-known pet websites, including www.petMD.com and www.Chewy.com. For many years, she served as associate editor of the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, as well as a guest editor of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, Veterinary Clinics of North America (Exotic Animal Series) and of Exotic DVM Magazine. She also has been published in internationally recognized veterinary journals including the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, The Merck Veterinary Manual, and Veterinary Record. In addition, Dr. Hess has consulted for several well-known companies in the bird and exotic pet industry, including ZuPreem, Lafeber, Harrisons Bird Diets, Oxbow, Zoo Med Laboratories, Marshall Pet Products, Antech Laboratories, Zoetis, Healthy Pet (makers of Carefresh), Furminator, Vitakraft, and Lifelearn.

Dr. Hess founded the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics in 2010 so that birds and other extraordinary exotic pets would have a specialized hospital catering to their unique species. She has dedicated her career to improving the health and well-being of birds and exotic pets in any way she can.