BIOGRAPHY
     For over twenty years, Dr. Virga has been a distinguished practitioner and leader in veterinary medicine, respected for his sensitivity and compassion toward animals and humans alike. His expertise spans the animal kingdom from dogs and cats to wild species such as leopards, gibbons, wolves, and giraffes. As the founding president of Veterinary Healing Arts, he is the country’s preeminent veterinarian specializing in zoo animal behavior and serves as a consultant to zoos, wild animal parks, aquariums, and aviaries on the behavioral well-being and management of animals in their care.
     Dr. Virga has served as an advisor to leading U.S. corporations, professional associations, and animal welfare organizations; a veterinary liaison to the US congress; and an expert on legal and legislative issues concerning animal health and welfare. He is a prominent advocate for respecting and nurturing the human-animal bond.
     An internationally recognized expert on animal behavior and our relationships with animals, Dr. Virga has been interviewed on ABC World News and appeared as a featured guest on National Geographic Explorer, PBS Nature, and PBS Wild TV. He has been interviewed and quoted widely in books, professional journals, magazines, and newsletters on a variety of issues relating to animal behavior and welfare. He lectures internationally at zoo management, veterinary medicine, and behavior conferences; continuing education symposia; colleges and universities; zoos; and humane societies. He is distinguished for his insights into the parallels between animal and human behavior – making animal behavior meaningful, relevant, and easy to understand.
     Dr. Virga received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of California, Davis and completed his clinical residency in behavioral medicine at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals. He is board-certified in veterinary behavior and a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. Through his career he has worked in clinical practice as an emergency room clinician, associate veterinarian, practice owner, and in industry as a technical services veterinarian. His additional professional activities have included serving on the Board of Regents for the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and as an editorial review board member for the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
     Dr. Virga lives in southern New England with his wife, daughter, and two Norwegian forest cats.