Dr. Bonnie H. Shope

Dr. Bonnie H. Shope is a Board Certified Veterinary Dentist®. She is a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College® and the past-President. In 2019, she received the AVDC® Peter Emily Service Award, being honored for her service on the Board of Directors, and as past Chair of the College’s Examination Committee and the Training Support Committee. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University in 1991. She completed a residency program in dentistry and oral surgery in 2008.

Dr. Shope frequently lectures to veterinary professionals and the public on subjects related to dentistry in animals. In her early career, she practiced small animal medicine and surgery, then joined Veterinary Dental Services in 2000. From 2002 to 2007, she also worked as a clinical assistant professor of dentistry at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. She is a member of the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and serves on the board of reviewers for the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry. She has co-authored several scientific papers and recognized an inherited form of enamel dysplasia in the Samoyed dog, working with genetic researchers to confirm this and develop a genetic test. She enjoys teaching, and in an effort to broaden awareness about veterinary dentistry, welcomes veterinary students, technicians, and veterinarians to shadow in the practice.

Dr. Shope is passionate about veterinary dentistry and is guided by her goal to make all of her patients’ mouths “free of infection, free of pain, and one that can be maintained.” When not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends, on the water and in the woods, skiing, road and mountain biking.