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VSB 105 Meet the Birmingham vets helping pets have more good days — At Vet Specialists of Birmingham, emergency veterinarians and specialists work together to provide comprehensive care for local pets. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

Your pet can’t tell you what hurts—and when something seems off, figuring out what’s wrong isn’t always as simple as a trip to the vet. That’s where specialty veterinary care comes in.

At Vet Specialists of Birmingham (VSB), a team of specialists and emergency veterinarians works together to care for pets facing complex medical needs from emergency situations to internal medicine, surgery and critical care.

Behind that care are people like Dr. Katie Cooley Lock, an internal medicine specialist who spends her days working through some of the more complicated cases that come through VSB. We sat down with Dr. Lock to learn more about what her job looks like and why she’s passionate about vet care for local pets.

Veterinary internal medicine is like putting together a puzzle

VSB 109 Meet the Birmingham vets helping pets have more good days — Dr. Katie Cooley Lock (R) is one of the specialists working to help Birmingham-area pets get the specialized care they need. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

Vet Specialists of Birmingham is a multi-specialty veterinary hospital located on Highway 280 near Inverness specializing in emergency, internal medicine, surgery and critical care.

As an internist, Dr. Lock sees conditions involving:

Many of the body’s internal systems
Including the respiratory
Gastrointestinal
Liver
Kidney + immune systems

In Dr. Lock’s words, veterinary internal medicine can feel a little like putting together a puzzle—except the puzzle is alive, can’t tell you where the missing pieces are and may have eaten something questionable three days ago.

A typical day starts with the team checking on pets who stayed overnight. From there, specialists may take on new patients from VSB’s emergency service, work through diagnostic testing, develop treatment plans and check in on existing patients. They may also lend their expertise to other departments, helping with diagnostics such as ultrasounds.

It’s a lot of moving parts, but the goal is straightforward: get answers and determine the best way to help each pet.

Compassion is part of care at VSB

VSB 101 Meet the Birmingham vets helping pets have more good days — Pets may not be able to tell us what hurts, but VSB’s specialists have plenty of ways to help find the answer. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

Specialty medicine can be complex, but the reason behind it is simple: Birmingham pets are family.

Dr. Lock’s own path to veterinary medicine started after her first dog was hit in a car accident. Her family had nowhere to take the dog for care, and the experience inspired her to pursue a career helping animals.

Today, she gets to see firsthand how far veterinary medicine has come—and how advanced treatment options can give pets more opportunities to recover and enjoy time with their families.

For Dr. Lock, success isn’t necessarily about completely fixing every problem. It’s about improving a pet’s quality of life, whether that means days, weeks or potentially years.

Think you have a pet emergency? Here are six common signs of an emergency + what to do.

Consistent vet care makes all the difference

IMG 1062 Meet the Birmingham vets helping pets have more good days — Parker, a brave little patient at VSB. (Vet Specialists of Birmingham)

One recent patient, Parker, is a good example.

Parker came to VSB with a condition where his immune system was attacking his red blood cells. He required multiple blood transfusions and medications to suppress his immune system, and his prognosis initially looked uncertain.

After nine months of treatment, Parker was completely in remission and back to living his normal life!

Cases like Parker’s are why the VSB team keeps working through the tough cases. Sometimes, finding the right answer takes time, collaboration and plenty of persistence—but the payoff can be more good days at home with the people who love their pets most.

One team, one goal for Birmingham pet parents

VSB 106 Meet the Birmingham vets helping pets have more good days — The care team at Vet Specialists of Birmingham are here to help you and your pets have happier, longer days together. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)

At VSB, Dr. Lock isn’t working alone. The hospital brings together emergency, surgery, critical care and internal medicine teams, allowing specialists to collaborate on complex cases.

Dr. Lock puts it simply: It’s a team effort. That means putting egos aside, communicating across specialties and keeping the same priority at the center of every decision: the furry, sweet little patient.

For Birmingham pet parents, that team-based approach means their pets have a network of veterinary professionals working together when they need more than a routine checkup.

And for Dr. Lock, it means getting to do the work she set out to do all those years ago—helping as many animals as possible get back to the people who love them.

Having a pet emergency? Here’s where to go in Birmingham:

Veterinary Specialist of Birmingham 2026 102 6 common warning signs for when to take pets to the ER, according to Bham experts — Veterinary Specialists of Birmingham provides emergency services for animals in need. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

Address: 146 Resource Center Pkwy, Birmingham, AL 35242
Hours: Emergency room is open 24 hours, 7 days a week
If your pet needs treatment after normal hours, or your vet recommends you visit the ER, call 205-967-9107 or just show up!

When your pet needs a little extra care, learn more about the specialists at Vet Specialists of Birmingham.

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