About Heart of Vermont and Dr. Erika Bruner

I’m Dr. Erika Bruner. I grew up in the suburbs of Boston where I was lucky enough to have a wonderful cat, Clarkie. He was a big brown tabby with extra toes on his big white feet. He slept in my arms every night all through my childhood and directly inspired my love of animals. After a few twists and turns, a passionate interest in animals of all kinds eventually became a career.

My Education

In college, I majored in the Growth and Structure of Cities and graduated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania in 1992. I initially worked for the City of Cambridge, MA, as the Assistant Director at the Cambridge Historical Commission. After five years in preservation, looking for a career where I could help the world in a more hands-on way, I decided to become a vet. I attended the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, where in my second year I was the student in charge of the Pet Loss Support Hotline. As a senior vet student, I was inducted into Phi Zeta, the veterinary honor society. I also received the Amelia Peabody award for excellence in large animal husbandry, graduating as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2001.

Life as a Vet

I started out in a mixed practice in New Hampshire, working with all domestic species but mostly with dairy cows, dogs, and cats. Driving around to farms and doing house calls for pets, I found I loved that interaction. Being with the animals in their own space was comfortable. I moved to Central Vermont in 2002 to focus on working with dogs and cats. I was at Onion River Animal Hospital for eleven years, and then started my own mobile pet practice in 2013. I was the veterinarian of record at the Central Vermont Humane Society for more than fifteen years. Over those years in practice, I spent a lot of time working with older pets, especially as a housecall practitioner. 

In 2017, I decided to stop being a primary care vet to focus on the two aspects of my work that have become closest to my heart: veterinary acupuncture and end-of-life care. Each service is a way to work within the natural cycles of life to improve comfort, relieve suffering, and to celebrate and affirm the bonds we have with our beloved pets. I am inspired by the beauty and power of the love and connections between people and their pets. My purpose is to help animals and the people who love them have a good quality of life, all the way through to the end. I find honor in giving pets a peaceful end to their lives, at home, with the people they love.