Medical Information for Pets

Learn about certain disorders that can affect your pets' health.

Common Pet Questions..

Meet Our Veterinary Staff

A Little About Dr. Joel Murphy

Veterinarian/Owner

Dr. Murphy has never been satisfied with being average at what he does. He has created a whole new standard in veterinary care. The Animal & Bird Medical Center of Palm Harbor, Florida, a full-service hospital and boarding center, reflects his continued effort to offer you a higher standard in care for your cherished pet.

Dr. Murphy has written four books on pet care. His latest book How To Care For Your Pet Bird: Practical Advice From Dr. Joel Murphy just rolled off the presses this year and is available at the hospital (at a discount for clients). He gives lectures at veterinary continuing education conferences and animal and bird societies every year. He has published 112 articles and 12 scientific papers. He produced a complete “How To” pet video series in 1988. He has been featured on many radio shows and on Good Morning America.

Advanced Training In Veterinary Care For Your Pet

He graduated Cum Laude from Virginia Tech with a double bachelors degree in biochemistry and animal psychology. He received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the world renowned University of Georgia Veterinary School. He was one of four students out of his entire veterinary class that qualified for an additional year of extremely rigorous training in dog and cat medicine and surgery. This was the most intense year of advanced training as he worked hand in hand with some of the top dermatologists, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, radiologists and internal medicine specialists in the country. In addition to his advance training in the diagnosis and treatment of dog and cat diseases, he served as Director of Exotic Animal and Bird Medicine at the University of Georgia Veterinary School and taught all of the exotic animal and bird classes to student veterinarians.

Holistic Medicine

In addition to state of the art medicine and surgery, Dr. Murphy has been studying homeopathy, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals, Reiki and adamantine medicine for over 20 years. Dr. Murphy is well known across the United States for his holistic supplements that are sold in quality health food stores by the Renew Life Company.

The Highest Level of Expertise In Pet Bird Medicine

He is one of the first veterinarians in the world to become diplomat, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Certified in Avian Practice. This is the only advanced certification for exotic bird medicine and this level of expertise requires an extremely high level of training and testing.

In addition, Dr. Murphy founded the Murphy Exotic Bird Research Center, one of the largest nonprofit bird sanctuaries for the study of how to best care for your parrots. Dr. Murphy has been doing research in the Amazon rainforest for 15 years, studying habitat and natural diets of parots in the wild.

A Little About Our Staff

The Animal & Bird Medical Center of Palm Harbor boasts one of the best staff in the Tampa Bay area. Friendly and professional, this group of men and women strive to make you and your pet’s experience at the Animal & Bird Medical Center as comfortable and helpful as possible.

Between them, they have over 60 years of experience in the veterinary field, and collectively they own 20 dogs, 29 cats, 6 birds, 9 snakes, countless fish and lizards, and one horse.

They understand your needs when it comes to your pet!