:strip_icc()/spruce-pets-header-illo-9e753c7d2d5c41c78b01bea00f975fd3.png)
About Us
Who We Are
The Spruce Pets offers practical, real-life tips and training advice to help you care for your pet. We help over 10 million users each month find the information they need to provide the best possible life for their pets. Our 20-year-strong library of over 4,000 in-depth articles covers a variety of topics and pet animals, from cats and dogs, to betta fish and pot bellied pigs. Our team of writers, including trainers, Registered Vet Technicians (RVTs) and Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DVMs), produce and update informative articles full of valuable insights honed from years of hands-on experience. We are also wholly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Veterinary Review Board
We know that finding trustworthy veterinary advice online can be difficult—the internet is full of misinformation or personal opinion masquerading as fact. To make caring for your pet easier, we launched The Spruce Pets Veterinary Review Board, comprised of top board-certified vet professionals. Our goal is to provide you with well-researched, fact-checked information so you can keep your pet happy and healthy.
The Veterinary Review Process
You may notice a badge appearing in some of our content. The badge signifies that a board member has reviewed and edited the article, taking special care to confirm that the information presented is both accurate and up-to-date. Click the link below to learn more about our process.
Our Veterinary Review Board
Meet some of our Veterinary Review Board members below.
Nick Saint-Erne
Nick Saint-Erne is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) with 35 years of experience treating dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, rodents, reptiles, fish, exotic pets, and zoo animals. Nick currently practices at the Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital and is a consulting veterinarian for several zoos and aquariums in Arizona.
In addition to his veterinary work, Nick has owned pet stores and has been involved in the pet industry as a technical writer for the training materials and customer pet care handouts for a major pet store chain. He has worked with the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in drafting programs to improve the care of pets in pet stores and to reduce the risk of spreading zoonotic diseases.
Nelva J. Bryant
Dr. Nelva Bryant is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a retired LCDR in the U.S. Public Health service with 27+ years professional experience. Currently working in the airline industry, her mission is to improve pet travel via promoting animal welfare, education, and veterinary oversight.
Her knowledge of veterinary pathology, infectious and zoonotic diseases, veterinary public health, the CDC’s dog importation regulations, international and national animal transportation regulations, and airline live animal transportation policies has made her an expert in the field of animal transportation.
Monica Tarantino
Monica Tarantino is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) with five years of experience as a general practitioner of small animal medicine. She currently works full time as a Level-2 Fear Free certified doctor at an AAHA accredited small animal hospital. Before The Spruce, Monica was a mentor for first-year Animal Medical Hospital veterinary graduates.
Monica has recently begun contributing veterinary content to a number of digital publications, and is eager to share her knowledge with a broader audience. Her interests include emergency medicine, internal medicine, geriatric pet health, and business leadership. She frequently rescues in-need pets, and owns four rescue dogs and two rescue cats with the occasional foster animal for good measure.
Natasha Diehl
Dr. Natasha Diehl is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) who graduated from Iowa State University in May 2020. She completed an internship in small and exotic animal general practice and emergency medicine in California and is currently in an exotic animal speciality internship in Indianapolis. She continues to work with a team of veterinarians with a wide range of knowledge within the field and exotic and small pet ownership.
Amy Fox
Juliane Evans
Dr. Juliane Evans is a general practitioner of veterinary medicine and certified veterinary acupuncturist who treats companion animals in the Triangle region of North Carolina. She earned her degree from Oklahoma State University and certificate from Chi University, and has had nearly a decade of experience in the field of veterinary medicine. Dr. Evans has worked in small animal medicine hospitals in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Marla Fischl
Dr. Fischl received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, Florida. She has extensive experience in equine medicine, including horse racing, equine sports and performance medicine, pleasure horse, and equine regulatory medicine. She has also provided small animal veterinary care for the racetrack stable companions, dogs, and cats.
Bartley Harrison
Dr. Bartley Harrison is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with over 15 years of experience in emergency medicine. He is currently working at practices across North Carolina with Emergency DVM Relief Services to provide care for pets wherever it is needed.
Due to his career in emergency medicine, he is practiced in communicating the essentials of a wide variety of medical and surgical topics clearly and concisely. He feels that informed pet owners are empowered to make the best decisions for their pet's care.
Alycia Washington
Dr. Alycia Washington is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and has worked as a small animal emergency veterinarian for nearly a decade. She is part of The Spruce Pets' veterinary review board.
Fact Checking
The Spruce Pet's team of experienced fact checkers provides a critical layer of review to ensure content integrity. This group of professionals is selected and vetted for journalistic and subject matter expertise. They are tasked with researching all statements of fact to ensure that news and health information is accurate and comprehensive and statistics are properly sourced and up to date. Articles that have been officially fact checked will display a "fact check" badge, as well as the name of the fact checker at the top of the page near the author.
Our Writers
All of our writers were carefully chosen for their extensive experience in their subject areas.
Meet Some of Our Writers
Amy Fox
Adrienne Kruzer
Adrienne Kruzer is a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT), Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT), and Level 2 Fear Free Certified professional that has been writing for The Spruce since 2017.
Adrienne has worked with a wide range of animals—from cats and dogs to exotics like sugar gliders and degus during her 10+ years as an RVT and LVT. She currently works as the Veterinary Nursing Program Relations Manager for Veterinary Emergency Group.
Adrienne received her Associate of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology ('07) and her Associate of Arts ('06) from Cuyahoga Community College and graduated summa cum laude with her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration ('21) from Baker College.
Liz Waynick
Liz Waynick is a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) who currently works full time at a practice located just outside of Cleveland, OH.
Previously, Liz spent the last 10 years working in several multi-doctor veterinary hospitals utilizing her expertise and skills in anesthesia and dentistry as a surgical assistant as well as a dental technician. She passed the Veterinary Technician National Examination in January 2010 and was awarded her license as an RVT. She completes several hours of continuing education each year to stay up-to-date on care for her patients.
Editorial Guidelines
At The Spruce Pets, we take great pride in the quality of our content. Our writers create original, accurate, engaging content that is free of ethical concerns or conflicts. If you ever come across an article that you think needs to be improved, please reach out by emailing contact@thesprucepets.com.
We aspire to provide the highest quality content produced by humans, for humans. It is against our guidelines to publish automatically generated content using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools such as ChatGPT.
To learn more, please see our full Editorial Policy and Standards page.
Product Reviews
Our product reviews are independent and based on research and product testing — if you visit links within our content, we may receive commissions from your purchases, but we never receive any compensation or consideration for the content of our recommendations. Learn more about our review process below.
Diversity & Inclusion
At The Spruce Pets, our mission is to help everyone make their best home. We cannot stay silent about the injustices, discrimination, hate, and fear that many in our community are facing. We need to do our part to fight systemic racism and oppression; things need to change.
We can do more. We are responsible for using our platform to spread the message of inclusivity, equality, and human rights. We are listening, and we are learning. We will do better. Black lives matter. Read more about our pledge to make our site more inclusive and promote diversity.
Our Team
Our editorial team has extensive category experience and have worked at leading publications and websites in their field.
Mélanie Berliet
Emily Manchester
Allie Giordano
Allie Giordano is the General Manager of Daily Paws and The Spruce Pets at Dotdash Meredith. Previously she was the General Manager for Home Brands at Meredith Corporation, overseeing business operations for Real Simple, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart, and Southern Living. Allie has spent most of her career in advertising, focusing on managing and training sales support teams and building strategic partnerships with agency and brand clients.
She earned a BA in Business from Brown University and an MBA from NYU Stern, specializing in Strategy, Leadership and Change Management.
Amy Sheehan
Maddie Topliff
Contact Us
Thanks for dropping by! Whether you have a comment or suggestion to share, we look forward to hearing from you. For general feedback and PR inquiries, feel free to reach out by emailing TheSprucePetsEditors@dotdashmdp.com.
You may also mail us a letter at: The Spruce Pets, 1716 Locust St, Des Moines IA 50309
Work With Us
Join our crew of top-notch editors, designers, programmers, and others as we continue to make a difference everyday in the lives of our readers.
Advertise With Us
The Spruce Pets offers the highest value to advertisers through a combination of scale, credibility, and intent. Interested in advertising with us?
About Dotdash Meredith
Dotdash Meredith is the largest digital and print publisher in America. From mobile to magazines, nearly 200 million people trust us to help them make decisions, take action, and find inspiration. Dotdash Meredith's over 50 iconic brands include PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Verywell, FOOD & WINE, The Spruce, Allrecipes, Byrdie, REAL SIMPLE, Investopedia, Southern Living and more.
Dotdash Meredith Press
Read about Dotdash Meredith and our family of brands in the news.
Our Senior Management Team
To learn more about our Senior Management Team, visit the Dotdash Meredith corporate site.