Royal Oak Veterinarian Becomes First Officially Certified Fish Vet in Michigan

ROYAL OAK, MI--(Marketwire -01/04/12)- Dr. Simon is the first veterinarian in Michigan to receive a diploma in Basic Fish Medicine from the University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine. Although the course was developed by the University of Wisconsin, it was sponsored by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. After approximately 20 hours of online training Dr. Simon passed a series of written tests which made him eligible for field training provided by the Michigan Department of Agriculture at the Moose Miller Fish Farm in Kalamazoo Michigan. At the Farm, he was trained both by Mr. Miller and a state veterinarian in the business and medicine of fish farming. He was taught about fish husbandry and was given hands on experience in dissecting fish for laboratory organ testing.

When asked about his experience on the fish farm, Dr. Simon, a veterinarian in Royal Oak, said he found Mr. Miller to be very knowledgeable, gracious, and ready to share his 15 years of fish farming experience unselfishly. Mr. Miller's particular expertise involves raising Koi and Bluegill in his five ponds that housed thousands of fish. According to Dr. Simon, "Mr. Miller's passion for farming these fish made him an excellent teacher on the subject of fish husbandry."

During Dr. Simon's 40 years of practice he has to his credit a number of other firsts in the area of Michigan veterinary medical care. He is Detroit's first holistic veterinary practitioner and was first to be certified in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractics. Dr. Simon was also the first veterinarian in Michigan to perform "in clinic" pet adult stem cell therapy on dogs and cats. He is also one of the original members of the Association of Avian Veterinarians and attended its first national meeting in Kalamazoo Michigan as a bird vet. Besides his interest in fish, Dr. Simon treats a wide variety of small animals including dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, ferrets, iguanas, and turtles at Woodside Animal Hospital.

When asked why he took the fish training course, Dr. Simon stated, "I knew absolutely nothing about fish and fish medicine and it just seemed like the next thing I needed to do to broaden my training in veterinary medicine. I am not exactly sure about how I will use this newly obtained knowledge but I am sure it will somehow allow me to further benefit the health of animals. There are a lot of issues facing the Michigan fish industry that actually affect not only the fish but also humans and it remains to be seen how I can be of help with those problems."

More information about Dr. Simon can be found on the website for his animal hospital in Royal Oak, http://doc4pets.com. The animal vet clinic website also has numerous articles written by Dr. Simon about various pet care topics. Woodside Animal Hospital has a Facebook page for pet owners and enthusiasts who would like to stay in touch with the veterinarian through social media.