A vet who comes when called

Veterinarian Jake Tedaldi, with his dog, Tilly, in their Newton yard, says pets are less stressed if they receive medical care in their own homes. (Patricia McDonnell For the Boston Globe)

Two months after landing his first job as a veterinarian, Dr. Jake Tedaldi witnessed for himself the emotional stress that his patients endured each time they came to the office.

"They had to be transported to the hospital, sit in the waiting room, then dragged into an exam room for someone to poke and prod them before being kicked out the door," said Tedaldi. "I thought there had to be a better way to do this."

So Tedaldi opened his own practice and took it on the road. Since 1991, the Newton resident has been caring for pets in their own homes.

On a typical day he sees between six and 10 patients. Some visits involve a single physical exam and vaccination. On other occasions, he'll arrive at a home that has as many as six animals, each with its own priorities. Some patients resist treatment more than others, as evidenced by a recent house call. "I had a cat patient in Framingham who was very obstreperous," said Tedaldi. "I had to do blood work, but first had to sedate him, as he won't tolerate anything."

Tedaldi said the cat was hiding under a bureau, so he used a large teddy bear as a shield. As he gave the cat a quick jab with the needle, it swiped at him, tearing through his rubber glove.

For the most part, Tedaldi's patients are the traditional dogs, cats, bunnies, hamsters, and litany of rodents, but they've also included a wolf, a chinchilla, and a snake. He will run from Framingham to Boston, as far north as Burlington, and south to Canton, but there are certain occasions for which he extends his boundaries, like euthanasia.

"I'm one of the few veterinarians who come to people's homes. It's probably one of the most important things that I do," said Tedaldi, who just turned 50. "When you're suddenly saddled - or graced - with the possibility to end a life, it's scary." Making that decision, he said, is probably the hardest part for the pet owner, and one for which he frequently offers counsel.

Because the experience of euthanasia is so unnerving, he said, it's not unusual for people to act in ways that are inconsistent with their normal behavior. Some, he said, will start telling jokes, or play unusual music and start singing. "Completely unpredictable things will happen, but how do you set up a system of rules for the end of a life? You don't," said Tedaldi.

The most challenging situations, according to Tedaldi, occur when a healthy animal must be put to sleep: a violent dog, for example, or in one particular case, a belligerent iguana that no zoo or animal rescue organization would take.

But most frequently, a situation calling for euthanasia involves a terminally ill animal that is experiencing pain. "You don't think of death as a cure, but in some cases, it really is," said Tedaldi. "I have to convince myself that I'm doing a good deed for these animals, because otherwise I'd be a basket case."

Author Robert B. Parker, a Newton resident whose books inspired the television hit series "Spenser: For Hire," has used Tedaldi for both of his dogs, one of which was put to sleep. "Jake sees a full dimension of veterinary care, not only the animal, but the animal's owner," said Parker. "He's extremely aware of both, and I think that sets him apart."

Every day presents a different challenge, like the cat in Wayland who is forever getting into scraps with raccoons. One day, Tedaldi said, he arrived to find the cat's entire side sliced open. "I cleaned out the wound, sewed him up, and started him on antibiotics," said Tedaldi. He believed transporting the cat to the hospital would have made matters worse by adding to its stress.

Tedaldi grew up in Westchester County, just north of New York City. During his childhood, he had five dogs and a raccoon named Scrappy that lived inside his home for three years. "We fed her from a bottle, and as a young adult she would hang out with us on the lake," said Tedaldi. "In the winter she would hibernate outside and return to our house in the spring."

He also nursed sick chipmunks and broken-winged crows, but working with animals for a living wasn't on his radar. He majored in English and American literature at Harvard, and took a handful of premed courses while briefly considering human medicine.

His first job out of college was at Massachusetts General Hospital's pediatric microchemistry lab, drawing blood samples and running tests to make sure appropriate doses of medications were given. It was then that he began dating a girl who encouraged him to try modeling, and he soon signed with the prestigious Wilhelmina agency.

When the two-year job at Mass. General ended, Tedaldi moved to New York City to try modeling and acting full time. He also got married; he and his wife, Ruth, who has a dermatology practice in Wellesley, have four grown sons.

The most lucrative modeling experience Tedaldi landed was a Michelob beer commercial that paid residuals for three years. But the reality, he said, was that despite being called back for 73 commercials, he was hired only twice.

Tedaldi headed to Europe for three months to build up his modeling portfolio. While in Milan, he visited relatives who had a small farm with a few pigs and goats, a cow, and some dogs. "Right there, it suddenly dawned on me to go to veterinary school," Tedaldi said.

He was accepted at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

After 16 years of practicing medicine, Tedaldi wrote his first book, which was published last August: "What's Wrong With My Dog? A Pet Owner's Guide to 150 Symptoms and What to Do About Them."

Doug Brum, a staff veterinarian at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, said he's been working with Tedaldi for nearly 15 years.

"He's very committed in following up on his patients and keeping tabs on them," he said. "Many vets will wait to hear from us, but Jake is more hands on."

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