What is Fear Free?

As veterinary professionals, we know that visits to our hospitals are declining—and we know that the stress and anxiety associated with taking a pet to the veterinarian is a significant reason why. Fear leads to trauma for our patients, and as a result, pet owners visit their veterinarian less often or not at all, instead opting to seek advice and products from other sources.

Fortunately, there is a solution that can resolve this downward trend, restore trust in veterinarians as the true pet health experts, and most importantly, reduce feelings of stress, resulting in a better experience for all involved, including pets, owners, and veterinary health care teams: Fear Free℠ veterinary visits.

Who Created Fear Free?

Dr. Marty Becker, “America’s Veterinarian,” has spent his life working toward better health for pets and the people who love them. Dr. Becker was the resident veterinary contributor on “Good Morning America” for 17 years. He is a founding member of Core Team Oz for “The Dr. Oz Show,” and a member of the Dr. Oz Medical Advisory Panel.

He has written 25 books that have sold more than 8 million copies, including three New York Times best-sellers—one of which is the fastest-selling pet book of all time, Chicken Soup for the Pet-Lovers Soul.

He also writes the weekly nationally syndicated newspaper feature, Pet Connection, with his writing partner, Kim Campbell Thornton, and is regularly featured in Oprah Magazine, Good Housekeeping, and Dr. Oz’s “The Good Life”..

Dr. Becker is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and also at the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine at both Colorado State University and the University of Missouri. Additionally, he has lectured at every veterinary school in the U.S., and is on the advisory board of World Vets, an international veterinary and disaster relief program to help animals.

A passionate advocate for the human-animal bond, Dr. Becker serves as an adjunct professor at the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He is an honorary board member of Pet Partners and the Humane Society of New York, as well as a past board member and strong supporter of his local pet rescue group, Second Chance Animal Adoption in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. He is also an avid supporter of Panhandle Animal Shelter in Sandpoint, Idaho, Kootenai Humane Society in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Whitman County Humane Society in Pullman, Washington.

Dr. Becker serves on the board and also as the chief veterinary correspondent for the American Humane, with a strong focus on supporting their efforts to end the use of gas chambers in animal shelters, a cause for which he has successfully advocated since his earliest days as a veterinarian. His special fondness for older pets has led him to a spot on the advisory board of The Grey Muzzle Organization, which is dedicated to helping homeless senior dogs. Dr. Becker also serves on the board for Pet Partners, the preeminent organization certifying animal assisted therapy animals.

He practices at North Idaho Animal Hospital because he loves veterinary medicine, pets, and the people who care for them.