Kelly McCord

In the second grade, Dr. Kelly McCord organized a neighborhood petting zoo filled with chickens, chinchillas, dogs, rabbits, and lizards as a fundraiser for an animal protection agency. The $6.25 in admissions fees that he raised that day set the stage for developing the love he has for helping to preserve the amazing relationships between people and their pets. 

 

Dr. McCord completed both his residency in internal medicine and Master of Clinical Science degree in 2011 at Colorado State University, from where he also received his DVM degree in 2007. His research during his residency focused primarily on pancreatitis, hepatology, and gastrointestinal disorders, but his clinical training allowed for extensive experience in all areas of internal medicine. 

 

After his residency, he moved to the Pacific Northwest to practice small animal internal medicine for over 10 years. He has also been volunteering as a veterinary internist at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA, since 2015, and in 2021 was hired as a relief and on-call veterinarian, providing consultations, and performing endoscopic procedures on polar bears, Sumatran tigers, seals, sea lions, clouded leopards, primates, and various other species. He hopes to continue providing clinical support to this excellent organization. 

 

Dr. McCord has published multiple peer-reviewed veterinary journal articles on topics including canine acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal disorders, and oxidative stress, among others, and co-authored a chapter titled "Hepatic Dysfunction" in Veterinary Clinics of North America. He received the Distinguished Resident Research Award for gastroenterology at the ACVIM Forum in Montreal in 2009. In 2013 he was awarded the Outstanding Gastroenterology Paper of the Year by the Board of the European Emesis Council and the European Society for Comparative Gastroenterology at the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine conference in Liverpool, England, for a multi-institutional study evaluating diagnostic testing for canine acute pancreatitis. 

 

Dr. McCord has a particular interest in hepatic, gastrointestinal, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. He is currently working in clinical practice in his home state of Colorado and is excited to be able to assist primary care veterinarians anywhere and everywhere via Hope's remote consultation services. He has two cats, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, two Lab puppies, two Chihuahuas, and a toy Maltese.