Dr. Reed grew up in the “Tip of the Mitt”, at the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. He grew up near Mackinaw City, he attended Pellston Public Schools.
Dr. Reed’s love of animals began when he was very young, with this orange & white cat Orange Juice (“OJ”) and his Dad’s hunting Brittany Spaniels Reggie and Sheba. He even taught OJ the cat to come when he whistled for him.
Dr. Reed also grew up on a small farm with beef cattle and horses, and started taking care of the chickens (and selling the farm eggs) when he was 9.
He attributes his interest in medicine and surgery to a fascination with the body’s ability to heal and how the immune system can fight disease. He cannot deny that his Dad being a mechanic and all-around handy man had an influence on his interest in surgery and the ability to interact with, modify, and correct anatomy and physiology.
Dr. Reed worked with their local mixed animal veterinarian (also their farm vet) as a kennel assistant during high school. After graduating valedictorian of his class, he attended Michigan State University for his undergraduate studies. As a member of the Honors College, he was able to apply to MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine early, contingent upon completing his Bachelor’s Degree. After earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, he travelled east and south for his post-doctorate training in small animal surgery.
His first post-doctorate program was a Rotating Internship at the Ontario Veterinary College in Canada. This Internship gave him more experience in Surgery, Internal Medicine, Emergency, Oncology, and other specialty services.
His next step was a Surgical Internship at the Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Services in Rochester, New York. This year was focused only in surgery – assisting the Surgeons and Residents on staff, as well as taking primary case responsibility on some of his own emergency surgery cases.
Dr. Reed’s Surgical Residency program was with the Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists in Annapolis and Baltimore, Maryland. This program gave him intensive experience at a very busy referral hospital in all types of surgery (orthopedic, soft tissue, abdominal, thoracic, neurologic, cancer surgery, skin & reconstruction, minimally invasive surgery, etc.).
Dr. Reed completed his residency in 2015 and returned to the Midwest, as a specialist surgeon with the Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center (WVRC). He successfully passed his Board Exam in 2016 to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (Small Animals).
During his time at WVRC, Dr. Reed worked at all three of their clinics in Waukesha, Grafton, and Kenosha.
In 2024 Dr. Reed opened Reed Mobile Veterinary Surgery to bring specialty surgical care out to the pets throughout southeastern Wisconsin, rather than having the pets and clients travel to him. This is only possible through collaborative medicine with the General Practice veterinarians of the region.
Throughout his career, Dr. Reed has always been a fierce advocate for his team. He understands that no veterinarian works alone and behind every success story is an amazing team of passionate veterinary professionals.
Dr. Reed lives in Milwaukee with his partner and their dog, Theo. Outside of work, he recently started Nose Work classes with Theo, and also enjoys sailing with the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center, gardening, exploring the food scene in Milwaukee, and leading wine tastings with the Milwaukee Wine Academy.
