Dr. Courtney Campbell tells Vet Candy about 25 things we didn’t know about him:

1. When I was young, I wanted to be either a chef, a magician, or a veterinarian. At home, I pretend to be the first, I feel blessed to be the last, and I still haven’t given up my dream on the middle one. 

2.  I was an National Physique Committee (NPC) bodybuilding competitor for 4 years and the spartan diet made me appreciate how much I enjoy food. I look forward to stepping on stage again someday soon.

3. My main form of entertainment growing up was spending hours outside in the woods looking under rocks and logs looking for tiny wildlife. I spent so much time outside, that it’s possible that I was actually raised by wolves. 

4.  I’ve acted in over 6 theater productions and I survived the week prior to opening night (also called Hell Week) by eating a steady diet of just tortilla chips and green tea.

5.  In high school, geometry made me fall in love with mathematics. And calculus quickly made me fall out of love with mathematics. 

6. I had a deep passion for writing short stories in high school. Almost every story had an action or fight sequence incorporated into the story line. 

7. I’m absolutely horrible about posting on social media. I blame it on being a xennial.

8. When I was a baby, my mother told me that I almost never cried. And if I did, she would just give me food and I would stop crying.  And today, I’m still the same. 

9. The fact that I can be deeply passionate about both orthopedic surgery and fighting infectious disease, is just one example of how expansive and beautifully intriguing veterinary medicine can be.

10. My high school sports were wrestling, track and field, cross country and tennis.  I was probably one of the worst tennis players my high school has ever seen. 

11. I started to realized how what a unique state Connecticut is when I left home and I told someone that I just ate a grinder. And they just stared at me because they had no idea what I was talking about. 

12. I was plump and chunky as a baby. And when I look in the mirror today, I still see plump and chunky. 

13. I played rugby for 3 ½ years at University of Delaware and it was the first sport where I had to catch and run with a ball…...and it showed. 

14.  I’ve likely done over 30 guest spots with daytime talk shows. After every segment, I marvel at the hours of personal preparation, planning, and production talent needed to make just a few minutes of great television. And yes, Rachel Ray is truly that nice!

15. Co-hosting Pet Talk, a first-of-its-kind talk show on Nat Geo Wild, is an example of speaking a dream into existence. It’s still one of the most fun and amazing moments of my media career. One of my former co-hosts is Andre Milan, son of Caesar Milan and all around cool dude. I was honored to be on the Pet Talk team.

16. Zoobooks (a book series by The National Wildlife Federation) lit a fire under me as a kid and opened my eyes regarding animals. I was so inspired that at age 7 I wrote a letter to the fictional character ‘Ranger Rick’ asking him why dogs have whiskers. And yes, I still keep his response letter under my pillow. 

17. Some people have a sweet tooth. I have a ‘rice tooth’. My favorite carbohydrate is rice. Any form of rice. I could eat it all day, every day. In fact, had to cut myself down to having rice only once a week because my basmati habit was getting a little out of control. 

18. I’ll only drink water if matcha and kombucha are unavailable.

19. I was so lucky to have such amazing guests on my podcast, The Courtney Campbell Show and I look forward to having more. The preparation is intense but I wouldn’t change that experience for the world.  One of my favorite shows was with Dr. Kathryn Primm when we launched our new book “A Pet Owner’s Guide to Infectious Disease.” The book is available for free at heroes4healhypets.com.

20. I have tried to suppress my nerdy love for ‘Wolverine’ comics and The Matrix movie series but I can’t deny it anymore. I am proud to be a nerd!

21. Even though I spend most of my free time lecturing or speaking at events- I suffer from stage fright. Talking about and being honest about my social anxiety has been the key to me battling against it.  And no, thinking that the audience is in their underwear does not work.

22. I used to say I dislike olives but I think detest is a better word.  Actually, detest doesn’t even describe how much I hate olives.

23. I’m not very good at bar sports like darts, billiards, and bowling. Some say it might have to do with being a teetotaler, but I think no matter what I’d still be bad.

24. I’m allergic to cats. But I still love them. And based on their level of chill and my obsession for grooming perfection. it’s possible that I was a Maine Coon in a former life. 

25. I am boarded in surgery. Currently, I know of only one other African-American board certified veterinary surgeon in this country. There is a need for greater diversity in veterinary medicine; everyone should do their part to foster the love of animal medicine for all people no matter their race or gender.