Dr. Andrew Abshier was born and raised in Houston, Texas and started his career with animals in a dog boarding and grooming facility as a teenager, and continued as a keeper/trainer at a studio ranch in California. After serving 6 1/2 years in the U.S. Navy where he earned Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification, Dr. Abshier realized his dream of working with dolphins and sea lions, and trained both for three years in Mississippi and Oklahoma. During his time as an animal trainer he became interested in the clinical sciences, and left animal training to return to university, leading to his admission to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oklahoma State University, where he completed his DVM in 1998. 

Dr. Abshier has practiced in Oklahoma, Illinois, and Florida for over twenty years. His special interests are internal medicine, animal behavior, ophthalmology, feline medicine, and gastrointestinal medicine. He places a particular premium on gentle patient handling and restraint in the veterinary clinic setting. 

In his free time, Dr. Abshier teaches Kundalini Yoga, dances Argentine tango, and plays the ukulele. He is also a traveler who has visited all five inhabited continents and he usually undertakes at least one journey a year.

Caroline Wilson; Prior to joining the team in June 2016, I was a client of Dr. Koch’s for over 20 years. One of my fondest memories with Dr. Koch was I got a phone call from him about 10 PM.  He said he had an emergency C-section to do on a bulldog and none of his staff was available.  I was thrilled to assist him with delivering puppies.  This was about 15 years ago. 

I have owned bulldogs for over 40 years.  Currently I show/exhibit and breed Bulldogs and French Bulldogs. 
Also, I have judged Sweepstakes for specialty shows for bulldogs at American Kennel Club (AKC) events.  I
have been an active member of Tampa Bay Bulldog Club since 1993.  I was club President from 2005 – 2015, and currently, I am the Secretary.

My passion is helping dogs and cats and making their trip to the vet “not so scary”.

Coming Soon...