Ricardo Irizarry, DVM, DACVECC

Dr. Ricardo Irizarry is a board-certified Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care specialist with over 15 years of experience. He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where he is actively involved in clinical teaching, intern supervision, ICU workflow development, and medical software optimization at the Small Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Dr. Irizarry earned his Bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University. Following graduation, he completed a small-animal rotating internship under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen Ettinger, followed by a small-animal surgery internship at Centre Vétérinaire DMV. He then completed a three-year Emergency and Critical Care residency under the mentorship of Adam Reiss, DVM, DACVECC. He completed his residency and became board-certified in small animal ECC in 2010.

In addition to academia, Dr. Irizarry has extensive private practice experience. He previously served as a Staff Criticalist, Emergency Specialist, and Co-Medical Director at a high-volume emergency hospital. His career also includes faculty and clinical instructor positions at Auburn University and Tuskegee University, as well as emergency and critical care roles in specialty and emergency hospitals across the southeastern United States.

Dr. Irizarry has particular interests in shock, respiratory disease, complex triage decision-making, and the use of point-of-care diagnostics and ultrasound in emergency settings. He is also experienced in helping hospitals develop more efficient ICU workflows, leveraging medical software and AI-assisted tools to improve patient care.

He is fluent in both English and Spanish and is committed to helping others to the best of his abilities.