J.S. Player, MD

At Bristol Veterinary Clinic, “family-owned” is not just a phrase! It is part of the foundation of who we are.

Dr. Player, affectionately known around BVC as “the OG Dr. Player,” is a retired Orthopaedic Surgeon, former independent practice owner, skilled craftsman, surgical assistant, mentor, and Dr. Kate Player’s dad. Long before BVC existed, he helped shape the way Dr. Kate understood medicine, surgery, teaching, craftsmanship, and what it means to care deeply about doing things the right way.

His connection to veterinary medicine began early in his own human medical training. During his Master’s coursework, Dr. Player studied fracture repair in dogs, giving him an early foundation in comparative orthopaedics. He later became one of the first surgeons to use arthroscopic surgical techniques in human medicine and he taught one of the first veterinarians to apply those surgical techniques to equine surgical repairs. That veterinarian went on to write one of the first textbooks on veterinary arthroscopic orthopaedic surgery.

Throughout his career, Dr. Player owned and operated his own independent medical practice. He remained independent as all the practices around him were absorbed into larger groups, corporate models, and hospital systems. His example profoundly influenced Dr. Kate’s decision to build Bristol Veterinary Clinic as a privately owned, doctor-led practice committed to high standards, thoughtful medicine, and personal accountability.

One of his greatest influences on BVC is not just surgical, it is philosophical. Dr. Player never believed in simply telling patients what to do. He believed in education, partnership, and shared decision-making. One of his guiding principles was: “I am going to make you as smart as me about this problem so we can decide together how best to proceed with your treatment.” That approach is deeply reflected in the way Dr. Kate practices medicine today. At BVC, clients are educated, included, and empowered to make informed decisions for their animals.

He taught Dr. Kate another principle tightly woven into BVC’s culture: if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right and redoing until it is exactly right. That mindset shows up everywhere, from surgical standards to radiographic positioning to the way the team approaches difficult cases.

Today, OG Dr. Player remains an important part of BVC behind the scenes. He frequently assists Dr. Kate during C-sections and has helped bring nearly every C-section puppy born at BVC into the world. His surgical background, calm presence, and steady support have made him an invaluable part of the team during some of the clinic’s most delicate and meaningful procedures.

He is almost always involved in BVC’s orthopaedic work. His human medical background offers a unique lens for interpretation of diagnostics and his decades of practical experience give a different perspective of treatment options and outcomes. During OFA Clinics, if Dr. Kate is pulled in a different direction, OG Dr. Player helps the staff verify perfect positioning before the team moves on ensuring radiographs meet the clinic’s exacting standards. During routine OFA Consultations, Dr. Kate has been known to run radiographs by OG Dr. Player to verify the most perfect images are selected for submission and grading. When Dr. Kate was working through the technical challenges of PennHIP certification, OG Dr. Player dropped what he was doing to help. With his experienced orthopaedic eye and deep understanding of radiographic positioning, he helped the team refine the subtle adjustments needed to produce the precise diagnostic images required for PennHIP.

OG Dr. Player's orthopaedic expertise remains an invaluable resource for BVC patients. Dr. Kate regularly discusses injury, lameness, and complex orthopaedic cases with him to review treatment options, refine management plants, consider a different perspective, and support the best possible outcome for each patient.

His fingerprints are also quite literally all over the clinic. The wooden Fear Free benches in the exam rooms, the staff desk in the administration area, the clinic coat racks, almost every storage rack, and many of the custom-built wood pieces throughout BVC were milled, built and crafted by Dr. Player himself. He has even made a pellet mold for semen cryopreservation. His work is part of the clinic’s structure, function, and feel.

BVC exists because of more than one person. It takes a village to build a clinic with this much heart, and OG Dr. Player has been part of that village from the very beginning. He is a mentor, surgeon, teacher, craftsman, father, and the original Dr. Player. His influence can be felt in nearly every corner of Bristol Veterinary Clinic.