First off, I want to say thank you to all who are taking the time to read my blogs. I am excited to be able to offer you new and exciting information and hope to increase my interactions with you over time through this platform.
I wanted to start this blog with a little background about myself and my journey. My name is Dr. Alicia Marquart (Dr. Alicia) and I decided I was going to be a veterinarian at the age of five. My next door neighbor's dog had puppies and my parents agreed to take one! Her name was "She Dog" and we changed that to Contessa, Tessa, She Dog, Shadow, Taffy, Junior, Rueschhoff; Tessa for short. My mom agreed that I could tag along to the veterinarian office for Tessa's first examination. At this appointment, the veterinarian diagnosed Tessa with a yeast infection of her ears, and let me look at the bowling pin-like fungus under the microscope. It was at that moment I knew that is what I wanted to do.
Throughout the years, I continued to grow my love for animals of all shapes and sizes, which continued developing my passion for animal care. At the age of fifteen, I wrote to all the local veterinary offices asking for a job and I landed one! I started as a kennel kid and slowly grew into a daycare assistant, veterinary assistant, receptionist, manager, and then was accepted into veterinary school.
I started veterinary school in 2010 at Mizzou, single, with an 8 month old child. It was not easy, but I continued working hard and graduated in 2014. I migrated to Chicago and practiced there for 3 years until my husband got an opportunity to come back to St. Louis. I started as an associate veterinarian and am now part owner of a couple of veterinary hospitals and hope to continue growing to create practices that are small, intimate, caring, and kind.
Other than being a veterinarian I enjoy spending time with my family (husband, 2 sons and dog), time outside, learning new things, exercising, and reading. I enjoy all the relationships I make through my work and all the furry friends I continue to watch grow.