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The westminster reeves club logo.

THE WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB PRESENTS

Veterinarian of the Year

ABOUT

The award

The Westminster Kennel Club continues its tradition of supporting the veterinary community with its Veterinarian of the Year Award. The award recognizes veterinarians in the dog community and raises awareness of the mental health challenges within the veterinary community. In 2026, WKC will celebrate its 5th anniversary of the Veterinarian of the Year Award. To date, more than 1,000 nominations have been received over the past 4 years, with $40,000 donated to charities supporting veterinarians’ mental health. 

Nominations for the 2026 Veterinarian of the Year Award will open in late 2025

NOMINATIONS FOR 2025 VET OF THE YEAR OPEN NOVEMBER 11.

2025 Veterinarian of the Year Winner
A person smiles while cuddling with a large brown dog resting its head on their shoulder, embodying the compassion and dedication worthy of Veterinarian of the Year.

DR. SARA LYLE

Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be recognized as the Westminster Kennel Club’s Veterinarian of the Year. Education and service are at the heart of my work from the cornerstone of canine health to raising research funds through the Theriogenology Foundation. I am thankful to The Westminster Kennel Club for creating this award which shines a light on Not One More Vet and its support of mental well-being within the veterinary community.” — DR. SARA LYLE
READ THE PRESS RELEASE

NOMINATE A VETERINARIAN

Veterinarians are among the most compassionate and trusted professionals in the world. They are unsung heroes who dedicate their lives to being patient advocates. Do you know a veterinarian who has made a difference and actively improves the lives of pets, and other veterinary professionals? Do they elevate the bar for best treatments, mentor the next generation of veterinary professionals, or pursue a passion to advance the profession? Help them get the recognition they deserve by submitting a nomination when entries open on November 13. 

Whether you are a dog owner or a member of the veterinary community, tell us in 200 words or less how a veterinarian that you know is making a difference. Four regional finalists will be selected by an esteemed judging panel of veterinarians. Regional finalists will be the entrant from each region that best demonstrates that the veterinarian has actively improved the lives of pets and owners, elevated the bar for best treatments, mentored the next generation of veterinary professionals, and pursued a passion to advance the profession.

Regional finalists must submit a video entry that will be shared across Westminster social media platforms. The winner will be the finalist who receives the most cumulative likes/favorites across platforms. View Rules and Regulations.

MEET THE PAST WINNERS
A person smiles while cuddling with a large brown dog resting its head on their shoulder, embodying the compassion and dedication worthy of Veterinarian of the Year.
DR. SARA LYLE
Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Diggs, Westminster Kennel Club Vet of the Year, with a dog in his care.
DR. TREYTON DIGGS
AllStar Animal Clinic
Dr. Joseph Rossi
North Penn Animal Hospital
Dr. Marty Greer
Veterinary Village

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Sara K. Lyle, DVM, MS, PhD, DACT, is an accomplished theriogenologist, Associate Professor at Louisiana State University’s (LSU) School of Veterinary Medicine, published author, and passionate animal advocate. Following 10 years in private practice, Dr. Lyle joined LSU as a Clinical Instructor in 2002, transitioning into academia to inspire and train the next generation of veterinary professionals. With a dedicated focus on advancing reproductive health in animals, her work explores innovative reproductive management strategies, assisted reproductive technologies, and the immunological aspects of reproductive disorders. At LSU, her vision includes fostering interdisciplinary collaboration among veterinarians, clients, and patients to achieve shared goals of improving reproductive health outcomes. Currently, Dr. Lyle is President of the Theriogenology Foundation, the non-profit sister organization of the Society for Theriogenology and the American College of Theriogenologists.

Dr. Lyle’s impact extends beyond the classroom and clinic. She has served as a member of the Louisiana State Animal Response Team, helping to rescue and care for animals following hurricanes impacting south Louisiana. In addition, Dr. Lyle is an active member of professional societies, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Society for Theriogenology, the American College of Theriogenologists, and Phi Zeta, the veterinary honor society.

Dr. Treyton (Jai’) Diggs is a native of Boutte, Louisiana, but was reared in Miami and Miramar, Florida. He attended Hahnville High School while in Boutte and Miramar High School while in Miramar. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana in 2000. After receiving his B.S. from Nicholls, he pursued his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the historic Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama and was selected and voted by his peers to be the class president.

During his time as a student, he received the AKC CAR Scholarship twice and was awarded the Fort Dodge Best All Around Student Award during graduation. While in veterinary school, Dr. Diggs worked in the anatomy lab and the large animal clinic. After completing veterinary school in 2007, Dr. Diggs was chosen to participate in an internship for small animal medicine and surgery at California Animal Hospital Veterinary Specialty Group (Dr. Steve Ettinger and Associates) in Los Angeles, California. While interning, Dr. Diggs was extensively trained by top Board-Certified Veterinary Specialists in Small Animal Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Emergency and Critical Care, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Surgery, Dentistry, and Radiology. After completing his internship, Dr. Diggs returned home to Louisiana to the VCA Causeway Animal Hospital family. After working at VCA Causeway Animal Hospital for 4.5 years, he founded Allstar Animal Clinic in 2013, a clinic that has an interest in soft tissue and orthopedic surgery and canine reproduction since its inception.

In addition to dedicating his life to servicing and saving animals, Dr. Treyton Jai Diggs considers himself to be a “child of the village,” as he dedicates and volunteers numerous hours to “paying it forward” for a community that is “near and dear to his heart” and that was influential in shaping and molding his head, hand, and heart. Dr. Diggs was also instrumental in helping establish protocols for The Inner Pup of New Orleans, a low-cost Heartworm Initiative founded to educate pet owners and make heartworm prevention affordable to low-income families. Additionally, he volunteered veterinary services to the Pen Pals Program, the only prison based no kill animal shelter, where inmates care for and train dogs that are to be adopted at Jackson Correctional Institute in Jackson, Louisiana.

As a product of poverty and a single parent home, Dr. Diggs prides himself in mentoring the youth and cultivating young minds. Hence, he has consciously and subconsciously dedicated his time, effort, energy, passion, and compassion to changing the trajectory and landscape for students from all walks of life. To that end, Dr. Diggs has educated inner city youth about the profession of veterinary medicine, animal behavior and animal health care. This commitment and community outreach has inspired more than 30 students to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. His humanitarian thumbprint is also evident in his local community and hometown, as Dr. Diggs and his relatives spearheaded measures to ensure that the community was provided hot meals, cleaning supplies, and debris removal services during the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

Equally important to share, Dr. Diggs is a Dog Fancier and Field Trial Judge. He has judged the AKC SPO National Championship, AKC Gundog Brace Championship, and the AKC SPO Two Couple Pack Championship. He has won the AKC SPO National Championship in 2015 13” Male Class (McDaniel’s Running Like Forest), trained and conditioned 12 Field Champions that he owned, and judged over 130 AKC licensed trials. Dr. Diggs has also served in various Dog Fancier and Field Trial leadership roles that are inclusive of, but not limited to, AKC SPO Championship President, AKC SPO Championship Treasurer, Southern States Beagle Gundog Association Field Trial Secretary, Deep South Gundog President, and President of Westbank Beagle Club.

Dr. Diggs has three lovely children, Treyton Diggs II, Milan Diggs, and Italia Diggs. When time permits, he coaches his children in sports, fishes, trains his beagles to compete in AKC sanctioned field trials, or simply rides into the sunset on his favorite horse, Joe.

Dr. Joseph Rossi completed his undergraduate studies at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa. He received his Veterinary degree in 1987 from Ross University and completed his clinical studies at Oklahoma State University and Ontario Veterinary College. He finished his studies with an externship at Rochester Equine Clinic. Dr. Rossi started his career as a large animal Veterinarian in Northern Pennsylvania, focusing on Surgery and Reproduction. In 1990, he returned to the Delaware Valley area.

Dr. Rossi established North Penn Animal Hospital in 1996, dreaming of building a quality, caring family practice in Montgomery County. Since then, North Penn Animal Hospital has grown substantially because of its hiring strategy based on core values – kindness and compassion for clients and patients.

Dr. Rossi’s interests include all aspects of surgery, both orthopedic and soft tissue, reproduction, dentistry, and especially the needs and surgeries required for the brachycephalic breeds. He is looking forward to sharing his experience with all doctors in his practice to continue the legacy of being the caring difference in our community. He is excited to see North Penn Animal Hospital continue to grow by encouraging all his team members to live into NPAH’s mission statement: Giving our patients excellent medical care and treating them with dignity and compassion. Additionally, he is encouraged that with the next generation of his family joining the business, he will continue to provide a healthy and positive work environment for our staff, which results in giving our clients a quality of customer service that surpasses their expectations and ensures that they leave with a positive and caring experience after every visit. Dr. Rossi is excited about the future of Veterinary Medicine and the continual advancement of North Penn Animal Hospital’s team of veterinarians, able to give access to high-quality medicine to more of our community.

Source: https://npah.com/team/dr-joseph-rossi/

I received my Bachelor of Science in 1978 and my DVM in 1981 from Iowa State University in Ames Iowa. In 1982 I established the Brownsville Small Animal Clinic in Dr. Griffith’s practice building and in 1988, moved the practice to Lomira.

I have a special interest in Pediatrics and Reproduction. In 2002, I opened a Canine Semen Freezing Center, International Canine Semen Bank – Wisconsin (ICSB-WI/IL), and became Penn-Hip Certified.

On my first attempt at using extended semen, I bred the practice’s first litter of pups from frozen semen in 1998. The advent of in-house quantitative progesterone testing has made this process much more successful.

My husband, Dr. Daniel Griffiths, and I have two children, Katy, married to Tim, an entomology Ph.D. student at Purdue, and Karl, married to Kelly. In addition, we raise and show Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Danish Swedish Farmdogs. Our family has raised 5 puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, a service dog organization.

The practice has contributed to pharmaceutical and nutritional research as an investigator for Abbott Laboratory, Deprenyl Animal Health, Pfizer, Virbac, and Hill’s Pet Food Corporation. I have also been featured in articles in Veterinary Economics.

In 2005, I was appointed by Governor Jim Doyle to a position on the Veterinary Examining Board of the Department of Safety and Professional Services, where I served for 8 years.

In 2010, I graduated from Marquette Law School.

In 2014, I wrote Canine Reproduction and Neonatology, a 470-page book about everything reproduction which was the Winner of Dog Writers Association of America’s Dogwise Best Book Award.

In 2019 I became certified as a Fear Free professional. I recognized the benefit of including Fear Free practices to try to make your pet’s visit to us as relaxed as possible. While there are many Fear Free practices we use, one of them is offering treats like peanut butter and chicken baby food to give your pet a distraction while we do exams and testing to reduce anxiety and stress. We know that a Fear Free experience is a benefit to you, your pet, and also our staff.

In 2020, I wrote Your Pandemic Puppy, which explains how to raise a well-adjusted puppy during a pandemic.

I am active in the community as a member of the AVMA, NEWVMA, AAVSB, APDT, AAFP, SVME, The Society for Theriogenology, the Fond du Lac Kennel Club, The Kettle Moraine Kennel Club, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America, Lakeshore Pembroke Welsh Corgi Kennel Club, and the Lomira Area Chamber of Commerce.

I am on the Board of Directors for the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, American Veterinary Medical Law Association, and the Society for Theriogenology. I served on the Animal Welfare Committee and Education Committee for the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association. I am also the Board Chair of the National Animal Interest Alliance.

I have recently started working with Revival Animal Health as their Director of Vet Services. I will be posting articles that will be exclusive to Revival Animal Health.

Source: https://www.smallanimalclinic.com/about-us/staff/veterinarians/dr-marty-greer