by Lauren Howard, DVM, DACZM

About Her Story

"Our zoo’s struggle to treat a young animal with a crippling condition had an impact far beyond its gates. Amali touched the entire community. We now have a formal relationship with a local children’s orthopedic hospital, and the giraffe barn is always one of their favorite stops!"

About the Author

Lauren L. Howard grew up in Maryland with a houseful of pet rodents. She became interested in zoo medicine during high school, thanks to her father, a biomedical engineer, and his acquaintance with veterinarians at the National Zoo in Washington DC. She received her veterinary degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in southwestern Virginia, and then spent a year as small animal medicine and surgery intern at the Oradell Animal Hospital in New Jersey. She completed a residency in zoo medicine in a joint program between the University of California Davis and the Zoological Society of San Diego, and became board-certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2005. While in San Diego, Dr. Howard participated in the California condor reintroduction project in Baja Mexico. A staff veterinarian at the Houston Zoo since 2005, she lives south of Houston with her husband, Doug, a small animal veterinarian, their daughter Annabelle, and the family's pets--two dogs and three cats.