Captain Doctor Dave is a veterinarian who grew up in Michigan. He owned his own veterinary hospital near Saginaw Bay, where he practiced for twenty years, before selling everything and sailing off in his sailboat for the east coast via the Erie Canal and then down the Hudson River. He and his wife, Annie, stopped in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for six months where he ended up staying and running a local veterinary practice for four years while Annie managed one of the large marinas in the inner harbor.
After four years in Baltimore, they continued down the ICW, crossing to the Bahamas, and island hopping down
the 'thorny path' to the Caribbean. They are now living and cruising the islands of the Caribbean Sea aboard their sailboat Fidelis,
a 37 foot CSY cutter.
Dr. LaVigne received his Bachelor of Science degree with
high honor from Michigan State University, and subsequently got his D.V.M. degree with honor from the Michigan State University College
of Veterinary Medicine in 1979 and was a member of Phi Zeta, the veterinary honorary. Dr. Dave is a member of the AVMA and he
is licensed in the states of Michigan, Maryland, and Florida. He is a Commodore in the Seven Seas Cruising Association and
is a USCG licensed master with sailing and towing endorsements.
Dr. LaVigne has served as veterinary
consultant for WorldClinic (worldclinic.com), an on-line medical care organization providing persons around the world with telemedicine
services. He serves as consulting veterinarian to the Seven Seas Cruising Association and serves as the pet advisor on the official
SSCA website.
Captain Doctor Dave has done presentations for boaters at many different venues. He has appeared at
Seven Seas Cruising Association member gams and also has given seminars at various boat shows and other boating
venues.
In the summer of 2005, while spending hurricane season holed up in Luperon in the Dominican Republic,
a dog aboard one of the cruising boats there died of an acute toxic response shortly after picking up one of the local toads. As a
result, Dr. LaVigne was asked to do a seminar on 'Cruising with Pets.' The ten page handout prepared for that seminar was barely
an introduction to what cruisers really needed to have in order to provide them with a fundamental awareness of potential problems
they might encounter. As a result, the handout was expanded and expounded upon until it culminated in the final product, Wilderness
Veterinary Companion for Cruisers and Other Outbackers, a 350+ page volume on health issues in cruising cats and dogs.
Dr. LaVigne has three married daughters who live in Michigan. He enjoys playing the guitar and trumpet and enjoys writing and performing
his own songs.
