Emergency Vets
Encyclopedia
Emergency Vets is a reality television
series that airs on the U.S.
cable network Animal Planet
. First aired in 1998, it depicts the working and outside lives of the veterinarian
s at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital
in Denver, Colorado
, USA, plus the animals that they treat. At its peak of popularity, Emergency Vets alternated with The Crocodile Hunter
as Animal Planet's most popular show.
The show stopped first-run production in 2002 because Alameda East was occupied with building and eventually moving into a new facility in Denver. In 2004, a new documentary called E-Vets: The Cutting Edge aired on Animal Planet, showing the changes in Alameda East Veterinary Hospital since the show's final episode. The documentary scored good ratings and has been rerun several times as part of the Whoa! Sunday umbrella anthology show on Animal Planet, as well as inspiring a follow-up episode first aired in 2005 that took viewers on a tour of the new Alameda East facility while showing cases of animals receiving cutting-edge treatment at the new hospital. Another documentary, Emergency Vets 20 Most Unusual Cases, aired on Whoa! Sunday in 2006, featuring 20 cases from the series including follow-ups with the families and interviews with the doctors involved.
In 2007, Animal Planet announced that the real-life drama at Alameda East would return to prime-time airwaves under a new title, E-Vet Interns
. The new series features six new veterinary interns during their first year of residency practice at the new Alameda East hospital, as well as familiar faces Dr. Robert Taylor, Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald
, Dr. Preston Stubbs, and Dr. Holly Knor. In preparation for the new show's debut on January 22, 2007, Animal Planet aired a new E-Vets special, E-Vets: Things Pets Swallow, featuring memorable cases from the Emergency Vets years dealing with dramatic objects that animals have ingested.
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series that airs on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cable network Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. First aired in 1998, it depicts the working and outside lives of the veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
s at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital
Alameda East Veterinary Hospital
Alameda East Veterinary Hospital is one of the world's leading veterinary hospitals. It is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and is considered one of the best intern places a future vet can study in the United States. It is located in Denver, Colorado, in the United States of...
in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, USA, plus the animals that they treat. At its peak of popularity, Emergency Vets alternated with The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter was a wildlife documentary television series that was hosted by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. The show became a popular franchise due to its unconventional approach and Irwin's approach to wildlife...
as Animal Planet's most popular show.
The show stopped first-run production in 2002 because Alameda East was occupied with building and eventually moving into a new facility in Denver. In 2004, a new documentary called E-Vets: The Cutting Edge aired on Animal Planet, showing the changes in Alameda East Veterinary Hospital since the show's final episode. The documentary scored good ratings and has been rerun several times as part of the Whoa! Sunday umbrella anthology show on Animal Planet, as well as inspiring a follow-up episode first aired in 2005 that took viewers on a tour of the new Alameda East facility while showing cases of animals receiving cutting-edge treatment at the new hospital. Another documentary, Emergency Vets 20 Most Unusual Cases, aired on Whoa! Sunday in 2006, featuring 20 cases from the series including follow-ups with the families and interviews with the doctors involved.
In 2007, Animal Planet announced that the real-life drama at Alameda East would return to prime-time airwaves under a new title, E-Vet Interns
E-Vet Interns
E-Vet Interns is a reality television series about veterinary interns working at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver, Colorado. It is a spinoff of Emergency Vets, a series about the lives of veterinarians at Alameda East that aired from 1998 to 2002 on the U.S. cable network Animal Planet...
. The new series features six new veterinary interns during their first year of residency practice at the new Alameda East hospital, as well as familiar faces Dr. Robert Taylor, Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald
Kevin Fitzgerald
Kevin Terrel Fitzgerald , a board certified veterinarian who works at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in his native Denver, Colorado is best known through his visibility on the Animal Planet reality show Emergency Vets and, more recently, E-Vet Interns. Fitzgerald also does stand-up comedy and a...
, Dr. Preston Stubbs, and Dr. Holly Knor. In preparation for the new show's debut on January 22, 2007, Animal Planet aired a new E-Vets special, E-Vets: Things Pets Swallow, featuring memorable cases from the Emergency Vets years dealing with dramatic objects that animals have ingested.
Veterinarians
Emergency Vets featured a mix of surgeons, general practitioners, specialists, veterinary technicians, and Alameda East's annual class of 4-6 interns per year. Among the staff members featured regularly:Surgeons
- Dr. Robert A. Taylor, founder of Alameda East, who specializes in orthopedic surgery
- Dr. Steve Petersen, surgeon and director of Alameda East's intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Mark Albrecht, surgeon who replaced Petersen in the 2000 season; departed the hospital before the start of the 2001 season
- Dr. Preston Stubbs, surgeon who replaced Albrecht after his departure in the 2001 season
General Practitioners
- Dr. Kevin FitzgeraldKevin FitzgeraldKevin Terrel Fitzgerald , a board certified veterinarian who works at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in his native Denver, Colorado is best known through his visibility on the Animal Planet reality show Emergency Vets and, more recently, E-Vet Interns. Fitzgerald also does stand-up comedy and a...
, general practitioner who specializes in treating exotic animals, especially reptiles - Dr. Holly Knor, general practitioner specializing in animal pregnancies and associated issues
- Dr. Andrea Oncken, general practitioner who left the hospital and the show in 1998
- Dr. Jeff Steen, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who joined the staff as a general practitioner in 2000; specializes in dental issues
Specialists
- Caroline Adamson (now Adrian), head of Alameda East's physical therapy department
- Dr. Dan Steinheimer, chief of radiology; director of Alameda East's intern program after Petersen's departure
- Dr. David Panciera, internal medicine specialist who left the hospital and the show in 1998 to take a professorship at Virginia TechVirginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary MedicineThe Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine is a state-supported college of two states, Virginia and Maryland, filling the need for veterinary medicine education in both states. Students from both states are considered "in-state" students for admissions purposes.VMRCVM is one of...
in Blacksburg, VirginiaBlacksburg, VirginiaBlacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which... - Dr. Doug Santen, internal medicine specialist
- Dr. Lauren Prowse, internal medicine specialist who replaced Panciera in 1998 and left the show in 2000
- Dr. Etta Wertz, chief of anesthesiology who left the show in 2000
- Dr. James Bailey, consulting veterinary anesthesiologist
- Dr. Ric Olsen, human dentist who serves as an associate dentist at Alameda East
Veterinary Technicians
- Rebecca Barwick, vet Tech who adopts an owner-surrendered German Shepherd in the episode "Perfectly Imperfect"
- Dr. John Fiddler, vet tech who returned to Alameda East after graduating from medical school to become an intern veterinarian, leaving the show in 2000
- Ray Parham, Sr. vet tech specializing in radiology procedures
- Jackie Steinheimer (née Lenz), Sr. vet tech who later married Dan Steinheimer and now runs Alameda East's Associate Staff program
- Jean Wilbert, vet tech often featured giving chemotherapy to animals undergoing cancer treatments
The Wild Animals
- Elephant
- Zebra
- Lion
- Tiger
- Giraffe
- Chimpanzee
- Owl
- Wolf
- Frog
- Hippo
- Penguin
- Polar Bear
- Brown Bear
- Red Fox
- Coyote
Interns
- Dr. Rani Pheneger (now Reyter), graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1998
- Dr. Juli White, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1998
- Dr. Karin Cannizzo, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1998
- Dr. Dennis Crow, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1998
- Dr. Craig Webb, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who stayed an extra six months after his internship on a special assignment before leaving the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Milan Hess, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Sandy Wang, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Laura Peycke, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Amy Estrada, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Katie Miller, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 1999
- Dr. Corey Wall, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 2000
- Dr. Jason Wheeler, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 2000; now practices surgery alongside Dr. Steve Petersen at another Denver-area animal hospital
- Dr. Carrie Stephaniak, graduate of the Alameda East intern program who left the hospital and the show in 2000