A graduate of the renowned veterinary school, Colorado State University, Dr. Kwane Stewart graduated with his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1997 and has been practicing for 24 years. At the age of 26 he moved to San Diego to begin his career in small animal medicine with an emphasis on emergency and critical care. He honed his skills for five years as an associate before being promoted to Chief Medical Officer for VETCO Hospitals Inc. where he provided oversight and leadership for over 40 vaccination clinics and six hospitals. After five successful years with the company his career took an unexpected turn. While visiting an animal shelter in Northern California in 2007 he learned they had been without a vet for nearly three years. Inspired by the challenge, Dr. Stewart was hired as the County Veterinarian of Stanislaus County, California. There, he gave daily care to over 400 animals at a municipal shelter ranked as one of the worst in the nation, suffering from pet overpopulation and euthanasia. Although he had never practiced shelter medicine, it was under his impressive guidance that a new, state of the art shelter was constructed, the county’s first ever government sponsored spay/neuter clinic began service, and thousands of beloved pets were spared annually as he implemented numerous programs to lower the euthanasia rates and increase adoption. It was during this period that Dr. Stewart says he truly began to shape many of convictions on spay/neuter, proper animal care and the importance of the human animal bond. And although the work was difficult at times, he credits the shelter with opening his eyes and being the best thing that ever happened to his career. Following five rewarding years as County Vet, American Humane came calling in April 2013. After a nation-wide search, Dr. Stewart beat out an impressive applicant pool of more than 100 veterinarians to join AH as Chief Veterinary Officer and National Director of their flagship program No Animals Were Harmed®, protecting approximately 100,000 animals annually in filmed entertainment. Additionally, he served as a national and international spokesperson for AH, the oldest Humanitarian organization in our country. After nearly seven years as Chief Vet, Dr. Stewart moved on to his true calling. Over the past eleven years, during his free time, he would walk the streets of California’s cities finding Homeless people with pets.
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