Robert L. Linville, DVM

Why I Created This Site

I have spent my professional life trying to understand animals more completely and to keep learning as veterinary medicine, genetics, and technology have changed. I created this site to share useful animal-health information with pet owners and to provide links to outside resources that I believe are worth exploring. Some pages contain original articles I have written or developed for clients; others are curated directories that point visitors toward veterinary, scientific, educational, breed, welfare, and general animal-information resources.

The site reflects four interests that have remained important to me throughout my adult life: veterinary medicine, genetics, community service, and technology. They are different subjects, but each has influenced how I approach veterinary practice and why I continue to maintain and update this website.

Veterinary Medicine and Lifelong Learning

I received my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis in 1976 and have practiced veterinary medicine since that time. From 1977 through 2019, I owned All Creatures Veterinary Hospital in Vallejo, California. After ownership changed, I continued working there as the senior veterinarian through 2024. Since 2024, I have worked at Advanced Veterinary Medical Center in El Sobrante, California, where I serve as a Senior Attending Veterinarian and Mentor.

Veterinary medicine has changed enormously since I graduated. New diagnostic methods, medications, imaging, laboratory testing, surgical techniques, genetic tools, and evidence-based treatment approaches have continually changed what veterinarians can offer their patients. One of the habits I have tried to maintain throughout my career is continuing education—through veterinary seminars and classes, professional meetings, journals, new textbooks, scientific literature, and other credible sources. My goal has always been not simply to accumulate information, but to decide which advances are well supported and useful enough to apply in daily practice.

My professional affiliations currently include the American Veterinary Medical Association and California Veterinary Medical Association, and I maintain USDA APHIS veterinary accreditation. Earlier in my career I was also active in specialty and regional veterinary organizations, including service as president of the Napa-Solano Veterinary Medical Association.

A Lifelong Interest in Genetics

Before veterinary school, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics from the University of California, Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 1972. Genetics was already a fascinating field, but the changes since then have been extraordinary. During my lifetime, the field has moved from classical inheritance and relatively limited laboratory techniques to molecular genetics, DNA sequencing, genomics, breed-specific testing, increasingly sophisticated studies of inherited disease, and rapidly expanding applications in both human and veterinary medicine.

I have tried to follow those changes because genetics increasingly helps explain not only inherited disorders, but also breed characteristics, disease susceptibility, population diversity, cancer biology, and many other aspects of animal health. That continuing interest is one reason this site includes links to genetics, breed, research, and scientific resources in addition to traditional pet-care information.

Community and Service

Community involvement has been another long-standing part of my life. I was a founding member of the organization that later became the Humane Society of the North Bay in Vallejo. I was also a founding member and original equity partner in the first veterinary pet emergency clinic serving Napa and Solano Counties, the Napa-Solano Pet Emergency Clinic.

Over the years I have also served as president of the Vallejo Rotary Club and the Napa-Solano Veterinary Medical Association, chaired the Solano County Animal Control Task Force, served on committees for the Vallejo City Unified School District, and served on the Board of Directors of the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce. I have given educational talks to breed clubs and other pet organizations and have written articles for breed publications.

These activities reinforced something I have always believed: useful knowledge has more value when it is shared. That idea is central to the purpose of this website.

Technology: From Punch Cards to Artificial Intelligence

I have also been interested in computers and technology for as long as I have had access to them. My experience began when using a computer could mean preparing punch cards for a mainframe. I watched computing move through terminals and workstations, early portable and laptop computers, personal computers, local networks, the growth of the Internet, and increasingly powerful software available to individuals and small businesses.

Along the way I learned enough coding and web development to build and maintain this site myself. The technologies used to create the site have changed many times, and periodically updating older pages has become part preservation project and part continuing education. More recently, artificial intelligence has become another important technological transition. I am interested in how these tools can help organize information, review older material, improve access to reliable sources, and assist with maintaining a long-running educational website—while still requiring human judgment about accuracy, relevance, and appropriate use.

The Purpose of Dr. Bob's Pet Health Information

This website is intended as an educational resource for people who are interested in animals. Its content ranges from practical pet-care articles to veterinary and scientific references, breed and species resources, animal organizations, genetics, wildlife, and other subjects that I find useful or interesting.

The original articles are written from the perspective of a practicing veterinarian and are intended to help readers understand animal care and health topics. The external links are selected because I believe they lead to useful information, with preference given to veterinary organizations, universities, government agencies, scientific sources, established animal organizations, and other credible references. Because both veterinary knowledge and the web change over time, I periodically review and update the site, replace obsolete links, revise older pages, and add newer resources.

The goal is not to replace a veterinarian or other qualified professional. It is to make good information easier to find, to explain subjects that interest pet owners, and to provide a starting point for learning more about animals.

Professional Summary

• B.S. in Genetics — University of California, Davis, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 1972
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine — University of California, Davis, 1976
• Owner, All Creatures Veterinary Hospital — Vallejo, California, 1977–2019
• Senior Veterinarian, All Creatures Veterinary Hospital — through 2024
• Senior Attending Veterinarian and Mentor, Advanced Veterinary Medical Center — El Sobrante, California, 2024–present
• Current professional affiliations — American Veterinary Medical Association; California Veterinary Medical Association; USDA APHIS-accredited veterinarian
• Selected community service — founding member of the organization now known as the Humane Society of the North Bay; founding member and original equity partner of the Napa-Solano Pet Emergency Clinic; past president of the Vallejo Rotary Club and Napa-Solano Veterinary Medical Association; former chair of the Solano County Animal Control Task Force; former Vallejo Chamber of Commerce board member