Dr. Eliza Smith
Animals have been a lifelong fascination for Dr. Smith, even though she did not have pets until later in childhood. As a young child in Alabama, she would catch anole lizards in her front yard, examine them and then release them back into her yard. Her family still tells a story about a 2-inch-long beetle that ended up in her mother’s handbag.
A child of two teachers, community service was a keystone of Dr. Smith’s upbringing. Her family moved to Lincoln when she was 11, and as soon as she was old enough, she began volunteering at the Capital Humane Society. While volunteering there, she fell in love with a mixed breed puppy. After several days of persuading, her father finally agreed to let her adopt the puppy. By that time, the puppy was slated to be euthanized due to a parvo outbreak at the shelter. Dr. Smith was able to adopt the puppy, and with the help of a Lincoln veterinarian, she nursed “Jack” back to health. This experience planted the idea of veterinary medicine as a career. Jack was an amazing dog and an all-around good boy. He passed away a few weeks after Dr. Smith graduated from veterinary school.
Dr. Smith continued volunteering at the Capital Humane Society through her high school and college years. Eventually, she began taking adoptable pets for pet therapy visits to Lincoln area nursing homes and in-patient mental health facilities. This very rewarding experience demonstrated the tremendous power of the human-animal bond and cemented Dr. Smith’s decision to become a veterinarian.
Dr. Smith obtained her B.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and went on to earn her DVM from Kansas State University in 2006. After graduation, she moved to Washington state where she practiced small animal and exotics medicine, emergency medicine and canine reproduction. In Washington, she served on her county’s emergency response team. She also volunteered with an organization providing veterinary care for pets of the homeless as well as an organization working to preserve wild raptors. She also helped establish a rudimentary adoption program/shelter for adoptable pets relinquished to animal control in her county.
Dr. Smith moved back to Nebraska in 2015 after starting her family, and she’s been practicing in the Omaha area since then. Dr. Smith enjoys working with families to help them make the best workable decisions for their pet and for their family. She also enjoys pediatrics, senior pet medicine and internal medicine. Dr. Smith is a member of the AVMA and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and holds an AAFP certificate as a Cat Friendly Veterinarian. Away from the clinic, Dr. Smith enjoys spending time with her children and her menagerie of family pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, a tortoise, and her toddler’s stuffed caticorn, “Bob”.
