Welcome back: Laurence Sawyer, D.V.M., V99

Dr. Laurence Sawyer, V99 (she/her), a long-time primary care clinician and surgeon, has returned to her alma mater as an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences.

Sawyer moved to Massachusetts in 1994 to attend Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and to be closer to her husband’s family. “Although I miss my family in Austin, Texas, the New England summers are certainly more pleasant,” she quips.

Following graduation and an internship at South Shore Animal Hospital, Sawyer continued there as a staff surgeon, where she mentored the interns in surgery and realized how much she enjoyed teaching it. 

After several years of growing her surgical and teaching skills, she most recently served as medical director of Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) Angell at Nashoba veterinary hospital, where they often hosted fourth-year veterinary students as externs. “It’s very rewarding to see a rising veterinarian mastering a new skill,” she says.

Sawyer has maintained a close relationship with her contacts at Cummings School and has participated as an instructor in the third-year veterinary dental course for five years. 

“In this new position, I can impact foundational veterinary surgical learning,” Sawyer explains, which was intriguing to her as a new faculty member. “I would love to help veterinary students become competent and confident in surgery and learn to love it, as I do.”

Welcomed back to campus by many familiar faces, Sawyer is eager to begin. She shares, “I’m really excited for the Introduction to Small Animal Anesthesia and Surgery Techniques course and the clinical skills labs as I especially enjoy the hands-on teaching opportunities.”