Melissa Shapiro, DVM is a small animal veterinarian, author, speaker, and advocate for pets and people with disabilities. She is also the driving force behind the social media phenomenon Piglet, the deaf blind pink puppy (@pinkpigletpuppy).

For almost thirty years, Dr. Shapiro has served as the founder and operator of the Visiting Vet Service, a house call practice providing custom, individualized care to dogs, cats, and their families, in the comfort of their own home. Her practice offers a wide range of services from routine wellness exams to management of acute and chronic illness with full hospital backup available.

In 2013, Dr. Shapiro launched Your Senior Pet’s Vet, a subdivision of her main house call practice, that focuses on senior and disabled pet wellness, illness, palliative care, and dignified, peaceful end of life services. Client communication and support are always a priority. Dr. Shapiro works with a number of dog and cat rescue groups and is the CT State Rep for the HSVMA.

In addition to her work as a veterinarian, Dr. Shapiro manages, creates, and publishes all content for her deaf blind dog Piglet’s social media platforms, Piglet, the deaf blind pink puppy (Facebook), and @pinkpigletpuppy (Instagram and TikTok). In 2017, Dr. Shapiro co-created the Piglet Mindset® educational outreach program, which uses Piglet’s story to teach growth mindset, resilience, and inclusion lessons in classrooms across the United States and the world. She is the CEO and director of Piglet International Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports Piglet Mindset® and raises awareness for rescued and disabled animals through education and fundraising.

Dr. Shapiro’s book PIGLET, The Unexpected Story of a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy and His Family was published by Simon and Schuster, Atria Books, in August 2021. Her children’s book, Piglet Comes Home was published in June 2022 by Simon and Schuster, Aladdin Books.

Dr. Shapiro is a speaker in the Simon and Schuster Speaker’s Bureau. She offers in-person and virtual Piglet Mindset® presentations in school, libraries, and other venues. Her motivational talks centering on using animals as engaging, inspiring ambassadors for positivity, resilience, inclusion, empathy, and kindness are well received on a local and national level. Dr. Shapiro also offers a full series of lectures about senior and disabled pets.

A graduate of Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Shapiro completed a rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, followed by a residency in small animal internal medicine at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Shapiro is the proud mother of 3 children. She lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband Warren Shapiro, 7 rescued dogs, and 1 rescued parakeet.