by Lucy H. Spelman, DVM, DACZM

About Her Story

"Our initial treatments for Mohan’s foot problems were palliative at best. His case taught me to keep looking for the root cause. Once we understood the problem, we found a solution. The shoes were the first step."

About the Author

Lucy H. Spelman grew up with a menagerie of animals on an old dairy farm in rural Connecticut. While in middle school, she looked forward to “old clothes Wednesday,” a day set aside by one of her teachers to explore the nature trails across the street. She earned a bachelor of arts in biology from Brown University, then her veterinary degree from the University of California at Davis, and completed her post-doctoral training at North Carolina State University. Board-certified by the American College of Zoological Medicine in 1994, Dr. Spelman’s work experience includes nearly ten years with the Smithsonian's National Zoo, half as staff veterinarian, and half as its director. She joined the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project in October 2006 as its Africa-based regional manager. Dr. Spelman enjoys sharing her work with others through all forms of media. She and Dr. Ted Mashima are the co-editors of The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes. In addition to writing, she has been filmed at work with animals in more than a dozen cable television documentaries, and has served as a consultant for various media and education divisions of Discovery Communications, Inc. “We’re all in this together,” she says of today’s conservation challenges.