The BIRD Clinic

When Larry Nemetz, DVM, was four years old, he was introduced to a menagerie of birds by his dad, an animal loving dentist. During his teens, he got to know many of the avian breeders and importers in Southern California. This early exposure made Dr. Nemetz an avid avian fan and his eventual choice of professions was cemented at a young age. Initially, he became a mainstream veterinarian treating dogs and cats by day, while taking care of avian patients by night.

Eventually, however, he quit his “day job” in 1994 and today, Dr. Nemetz has one of a handful of veterinary practices in the nation limited strictly to pet birds – The BIRD Clinic – which he founded in 1987. Located in Southern California, many of his clients are Hollywood’s elite – from well-known basketball players to actors to a famous magazine publisher.

“We treat 12-15 patients a day, six days per week,” said Dr. Nemetz. “I see patients who belong to well-known figures to those who just belong to bird lovers in general. We also have a boarding facility and state-of-the-art medical equipment, such as the Eklin RapidStudy DR system.”

The BIRD Clinic was the first avian-only practice to purchase Eklin’s RapidStudy EDR6 DR and Digital Practice^® platform. Dr. Nemetz worked extensively with Eklin engineers to optimize this industry-leading DR platform for avian diagnostic work. The delicate bones and other structures in birds make image clarity a major challenge, however, Eklin’s DR provides Dr. Nemetz with the needed information to diagnose.

“Birds, like humans, can get everything from cancer to broken bones,” said Dr. Nemetz. “Regular analog x-ray images were difficult to analyze due to the size of the structures in birds, lack of clarity of the x-ray film image and the inability to manipulate the image afterwards. The RapidStudy system gives us outstanding images plus the post-imaging tools to magnify or change contrast and resolution at will. It’s made a huge difference in both workflow and diagnostic confidence.”

Dr. Nemetz received a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from UC Davis in 1980, then completed a Master of Science program in veterinary anatomy. He subsequently received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University Veterinary School. Dr. Nemetz returned to his hometown of Santa Ana, California and built The BIRD Clinic. He enjoys teaching and has given numerous lectures to veterinary organizations and bird clubs. The BIRD Clinic also offers an externship program for senior veterinary students to get a better exposure and practical experience in the world of avian medicine BEFORE they graduate veterinary school.

Dr. Nemetz has bred meyer's parrots for many years and shares his home with his beloved avian pets – Gigi, Peste, Sitka, and Rosie – not to mention playing surrogate “papa” to several other avian pets belonging to the famous and not so famous.

So, if your travels take you to Southern California, check out The BIRD Clinic and its related retail store – BirdStuff. And, give your regards to Gigi, Peste, Sitka, and Rosie.

For further information on The BIRD Clinic, visit www.thebirdclinic.com.

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