The bond that humans and animals share is one of the most
unique, most precious ties that exists.
And while most of us who have pets realize the importance of
this, there are those who go a step further in life and make it their passion —
and mission — to help as many animals as they can.
I’m talking, of course, about all the heroic veterinary
doctors out there! In addition to saving lives, they see the intrinsic value in
each and every pet, or even wild animal, that they meet — like this doctor, who
performs miracles on pets who were once paralyzed.
And then there are others, like Dr. Evan Antin, who
dedicate their lives to understanding the rarest, most endangered, and exotic
species.
Dr. Evan has in fact been making rounds lately on the
Internet for a very curious reason — but when you read his story, you won’t be
surprised to see why.
Meet Evan Antin: California-based veterinary doctor, exotic
animal veterinarian, and all-around animal expert.
He has recently been making rounds on the Internet, after
being named People magazine’s “Sexiest Beast Charmer” last year.
Other than being devilishly handsome, the 31-year-old vet
has an impressive résumé.
He previously spent several years traveling between six
continents to treat animals, and received his doctorate from the Colorado State
University in veterinary sciences, before settling down at Conejo Valley
Veterinary Hospital in Thousand Oaks, CA, to practice exotic medicine.
To his curious newfound fame, he tells WABC, “I thought it
was pretty funny. I’ve always strived to be the sexiest something, and so I’m
glad it could be [as] a vet.”
“I’ve gotten a little bit of
teasing from my colleagues, a lot of attention locally, and a few more patients
than normal since the magazine came out,” he told Source, a blog at Colorado
State University.
Helping save animals means
everything to Dr. Evan.
He loves snakes in particular,
even though he used to stay away from them as a child.
“They’ve always fascinated
me,” he told BuzzFeed. “And a big part of that is the fact that they’re
basically living dinosaurs.”
To him, there’s nothing more
sacred than the bond between animals and human beings, calling it “one of the
most special things on the planet.”
Ever since he was young, he
was always on the lookout for new, exciting, and exotic species.
According to his page on the
veterinary hospital’s site, “he grew up spending the majority of his childhood
in search of native wildlife including snakes, turtles, and insects.”
Dr. Evan currently lives with
his dog, Henry, his cat, Willy, his savannah monitor lizard, Matilda, and
several tropical fish, and he is happily engaged to his girlfriend.
In his spare time, he loves to
lift weights, hike, and snowboard. He also does some modeling on the side. No surprise
there!
But his truest passion in life
is interacting with exotic animals in their natural habitats.
He has had extensive
experience researching and interacting with animals in Central America,
Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America.
His knowledge of varied
ecosystems and fauna is what makes him a top expert in his field.
His day-to-day
responsibilities include caring for both small, delicate animals and larger,
more dangerous species.
