Soraya V. Juarbe-Diaz, DVM, DACVB

Veterinary Behaviorist in west central Florida

About Dr JD

Dr. Juarbe-Diaz has the longest established behavior referral practice in the state of Florida. Known as Dr. JD to owners throughout the state, she received a B.S. in biology in 1983 and her D.V.M. degree in 1987 both from Cornell University. She was in mixed practice for about 1 1/2 years and in small animal practice for 5 1/2 before returning to her alma mater for specialty training in veterinary behavior medicine. She finished her residency in 1996 and received her board certification in 1997. In the fall of that year she relocated to the Sunshine State and established a referral veterinary behavior practice that saw cases throughout Florida (currently serving only one location in the Tampa Bay Area).

She has been an adjunct professor at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine and an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine, teaching veterinary behavior medicine to students and all interested hospital staff while also seeing patients for treatment of behavior problems. For 2 years Dr. JD was the assistant editor of the Journal of Veterinary Behavior; Clinical Applications and Research and continues to be a member of its editorial board, a position she has held since the journal's creation in the fall of 2005. She was a postdoctoral researcher and research consultant at the University of Pennsylvania's Medical School, Dept. of Psychiatry in a study of the genetic determinants of noise phobia in dogs and in a study into the cognitive abilities of working dogs. Because of her experience both in academia and in general practice, she brings to her professional endeavors the best of both worlds: a drive for excellence and for staying abreast of advances in veterinary behavioral medicine along with the common sense needed to make things work in the real world. She is a speaker at local, national and international veterinary meetings and behavior conferences and also the author of a variety of papers and articles on behavior written for professional and lay publications.