The world has lost one of the great ones and my heart is very heavy in trying to process this tragic loss. To know Kaitlyn was to love Kaitlyn. She was truly one of a kind and I am so thankful to have called her my friend. I admired her for so many reasons. Her kindness, positivity, and loyalty were unparalleled; when I was a newly graduated vet she was my biggest supporter. I remember late nights after surgery working hard to get done and having her stay late to help me out and keep me company. This meant the world to me. 

She was truly the cat whisperer and taught me how to have patience with even the most feral or “spicy” cats. For Kaitlyn these cats were just misunderstood and needed extra love and care. She even convinced to take home a feral tripod kitty whom she named Penny Dutchess. She was my favorite travel companion for international mission trips because she kept me laughing and feeling confident even when I felt nervous and stressed. She’d say “doc, we got this.” I admired her passion and advocacy for animals above all things -every patient, every “kitten mitten” deserved the best. We had a tradition of taking end of the day, sweaty surgery pictures on our mission trips because we loved the hard work and rewarding long days. I’ll always smile thinking of her playing Christmas or boy band songs during surgery and wearing her favorite halloween scrub top. 

We would have a good laugh any time a client would ask if she was my daughter. I was impressed with her perseverance to excel and advance in the vet field. She taught me so much about better anesthesia monitoring, protocols and never failed to answer my questions. She touched so many lives human and animals included. I’ll miss her nicknames and her use of words like dingus, nugget, frolicking and dork. Lastly, I admired how much she truly loved her family and friends especially her true love Edward. My deepest condolences to them during this overwhelmingly difficult time. I know all the animals in heaven are lucky to have you and I can feel some solace in knowing that any patient or pet I send over the rainbow bridge will be taken care of. I’ll miss you my beautiful friend and you will not be forgotten.