The Golden Years: How to Care for Your Senior Pet

Doctor McCaffrey received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Oklahoma State University in 2011.

She practiced small animal medicine and surgery in general practice for several years. During this time, Dr. McCaffrey began to realize that there was a significant gap in senior pet care. With all of the incredible advances in veterinary medicine over the past decades, she noticed how often pet parents felt lost when their beloved companion received a chronic or terminal diagnosis. Without resources to assess what all of their options were and what might be best for their individual situation, many pet families began to feel helpless.

Inspired to make an impact in this gap in senior pet care, she pursued certification in hospice and palliative medicine in 2018 through the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. She was a part of the second class to move through this program, becoming one of fewer than 100 veterinarians world wide with advanced training in this area of veterinary medicine.

In 2019 she founded Senior Pet Vet, an integrative house call practice focused solely on the care of senior pets. She is trained in acupuncture and is a firm believer in the power of integrative medicine.

She is passionate about the human-animal bond and preserving that relationship as much as possible through the final season of a pet’s life.

She has spent time volunteering for local animal shelters and animal welfare committees.

Dr. McCaffrey currently lives and practices in Northern New Jersey where shares her home with her husband, 2 daughters, and a yellow lab named Violet as well as a tuxedo cat named JoJo.