Dr. Bishop started with us in 2006 as a technician while obtaining her undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. Shortly after, she returned to Bolton Vet to practice both small and farm animal medicine. She credits the hardworking staff and dedicated doctors who continually practice high quality medicine as the main reason for returning to the practice. She also knew that returning to BVH would allow her to see a diverse caseload of routine appointments as well as emergency cases. Dr. Bishop’s interests include small animal internal medicine and cardiology. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, attending concerts and cooking. She shares her home with her husband, daughter, three cats, Ivy, Olivia, & Silas, and her rescued German shepherd/Malinois mix, Maverick.
Dr. Badeau started volunteering for our clinic when he was only 14 years old. He began working as a technician in April 1997 and continued working here as he attended the University of Connecticut where he received his undergraduate degree in Pathobiology in 2003. He left us to obtain his D.V.M from the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2007. Fortunately, he returned shortly after graduating to re-join our staff as a veterinarian. Dr. Badeau chose to return to our clinic because of our “family-like” atmosphere and because we offer one of the highest case-loads in the area. He enjoys the diversity that our emergency clinic offers and appreciates the collaborative effort that this 19 doctor practice provides. His special interests lie in dentistry and alternative medicine. At home, Dr. Badeau has 3 cats, Mojo, Achilles, and Sophie. When he’s not working, Dr. Badeau enjoys fly-fishing, camping, hiking, and spending time with his wife Jenny and two children.
Born and raised in western Connecticut, Dr. Kos grew up surrounded by multiple cats and her grandparents’ dogs. Her passion for veterinary medicine stems from her interest in difficult science, creative thinking and, of course, her love of animals. After obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and English Literature, Dr. Kos went on to complete her Doctorate at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. After graduating, she made her way up to Cornell University where she was an intern in their Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. A year later, Dr. Kos moved on to become a clinical instructor in Cornell’s Clinical Pathology Lab. After spending a year teaching, Dr. Kos joined the Bolton Veterinary team in 2002 as an associate veterinarian and has been with us ever since! Her specialties include ultrasonography, hematology, clinical chemistry and cytology. Dr. Kos’s other interests include surgical procedures and emergency medicine. She shares her home with her four incredibly spoiled dogs and two cats. When she isn’t working, Dr. Kos can be found reading, writing, hiking with her dogs, or riding her lovable (but sometimes obstinate) horse.
Dr. Grace is a 1983 graduate of UConn (B.S. Pathobiology, Magna Cum Laude, Degree with Distinction) and a 1988 graduate of Purdue University (D.V.M.). Dr. Grace has been a veterinarian at B.V.H. since 1994. For many years he was engaged primarily in the practice of emergency medicine and surgery, areas where he retains a strong interest. Dr. Grace most enjoys the challenges and rewards of seeing a large number of difficult cases in a practice that retains its practical ‘down to earth’ philosophy. Dr. Grace has served on many boards and commissions including The Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association Executive Board and Coventry School Building Committee. He is currently a board member of The New England Veterinary Medical Association and will be it’s President in 2022. His interests include running, cycling, and cross country skiing. His passion for athletics led him to become High School Cross Country and Middle School Track Coach for the Coventry Public Schools from 2000-2015. He has two dogs Daisy and Rosie who brighten every day and serve as personal reminders of the critical importance of companion animals in our lives.
Dr. FitzGerald received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2014, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2009. Shortly after graduation from Ohio State she joined Bolton Veterinary Hospital and was immediately drawn to the challenging cases and high level of patient care. Dr. FitzGerald’s interests include emergency medicine and surgery, internal medicine, and preventative care. A native of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Dr. FitzGerald enjoys reading, running, skiing, and Buckeye football! Her greatest pleasure, however, is spending time with her three-legged beagle, Sophie, and her two cats, Leo and Michael.
Dr. Kalos is another of our veterinarians who “grew up” at Bolton Vet. She started in our job shadow program as a high school student, and worked her way up from kennel assistant to veterinary technician while graduating from UCONN in 1999 with a B.S. in Animal Science. Later, she attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine located on the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Kitts. She went on to do her clinical rotations followed by a small animal internship at North Carolina State University. Dr. Kalos returned to start her career as a veterinarian with us in 2007. She enjoys the opportunity to practice high quality medicine in a supportive environment while continuously growing and learning from the numerous other veterinarians and specialists here. She has a soft spot for feline medicine, but also wanted the opportunity to practice emergency medicine and surgery, in addition to dentistry and general wellness. Outside of work, Dr.Kalos enjoys to travel, as well as watching movies or dining out with friends, participating in escape rooms, and going on wine tastings and cruise vacations. She shares her home with her boyfriend and their combined total of 4 cats.
As one of our overnight emergency doctors, Dr. Kopec can be found treating a variety of cases and performing any given surgery at all hours of the night. After she graduated with her DVM from Tuft’s University in 2005, she made her way to Bolton Vet to begin her career. She chose our hospital as it allowed her to practice both emergency and routine medicine on a wide variety of cases. Growing up locally in Manchester, Dr. Kopec always had pets growing up and chose to become a vet so that she could help the animals she loves. She enjoys the challenge of diagnosing difficult cases and treating emergencies but also values the time she spends seeing cases during our routine hours. Dr. Kopec’s other interests include neurology and exotic animal medicine. At home, Dr. Kopec can be found spending time with her husband (who is also our go-to handy man!) and her four children. They share their home with two dogs and two cats. In her free time she also enjoys skiing, running, hiking and camping.
Dr. Pikas joined our staff in June 2005. He completed his undergraduate work in 1996 at Washington University in St. Louis, focusing on Environmental Sciences. He attained his D.V.M. from the University of Illinois in 2003 and continued with an internship in 2004 in small animal medicine, surgery, and critical care. He chose Bolton Veterinary Hospital because of its great staff with an unbelievable amount of cumulative experience, knowledge, and expertise. In addition, the hospital is able to receive emergencies 24 hours a day. His special interests in the veterinary field include emergency medicine, critical care, and wildlife/zoo medicine. Dr. Pikas enjoys ice hockey, in-line hockey, biking, camping and backpacking. He has a dog, Ellie Mae, and a cat named Bam.
Founder of Bolton Veterinary Hospital, Allan was an Army Air Corps P-47 “Thunderbolt” fighter-bomber pilot in World War II, having flown 113 combat missions in France, Italy and Germany from August 17, 1944 to V-E Day. First Lieutenant Leventhal was a flight leader in the 527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 86th Fighter-Bomber Group in the 12th and 9th Air Forces. His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with six clusters, the Presidential Group Citation with one cluster and five battle ribbons.
Early in his life, Allan lived on a cow and chicken farm in Rehoboth MA. It was here where his love for animals was born. Allan came from a long line of veterinarians. Two uncles and cousins were practicing in the same field. Upon his graduation from Cornell University in 1951, at the top of his class, Allan worked for his uncle, Bob Globus in Norwich. It was here where a drug salesman told him that Bolton was a great spot for a new practice.
On January 18, 1953, Allan and his father-in-law ventured to Bolton, CT. With a $100 loan from his father-in-law, he purchased the property at 222 Boston Turnpike. His baby girl was born on this very same day! And by April 7 of the same year (Allan and his beloved Dottie’s 9th wedding anniversary) BVH was opened. The hospital was a converted 600 square foot two-stall horse barn in the back of the house. The barn was heated by a small pot-bellied stove and served as reception, examination, surgical suite, laboratory, treatment and discharge areas of the “new hospital”. The room had space for 5 people, 2 sitting and 3 standing. Any others waited in their cars.
Dr. Leventhal was on call 24 hours/7 days a week. He was able to manage the job with the help of his wife, who functioned as his surgical assistant, kennel attendant, telephone operator and receptionist — all while having an infant on her hip and a three year old wrapped around her leg. Having the practice 50 feet from their home was ideal in many respects. A serious surgical case could be monitored hourly all through the night. There were many occasions when there would be a recuperating dog in the bathtub on blankets. Or a cat in a box with a heat lamp on it next to the bed. His love for animals never waned. No matter how successful he became, losing an animal hurt him visibly. His daughter Kim, fondly notes she could always tell when he lost an animal when he came home. It didn’t matter, old, young, sick or healthy he took it to heart.
Allan served as the president of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Leventhal and his partners later built Bolton Veterinary Hospital into the largest veterinary practice east of the Connecticut River. He retired in March 2002 and died in August of the same year.
Colleagues spoke of him with genuine awe and deep admiration. Andrew Taylor, Bolton Vet’s first hospital manager, and Dr. Michael Tulman, long-time business partner, both spoke of Dr. Leventhal as a father-figure who taught them so much about business and caring about animals. Another former partner, Dr. Bill Pomper noted Allan’s empathy for the people whose pets were not well.
Mike Tulman was born in Hartford, December 4, 1945. While raised in the North End of Hartford, Michael summered in Clinton, where he grew to love the sun and ocean – waterskiing, boating, and sailing. In his late teens, he held formative employment with A.C. Petersen dairy farm in Bloomfield, which furthered his appreciation for cows and hard work. Michael attended the University of Connecticut until 1968, and received a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the New York State Veterinary College at Cornell University in 1972.
Upon graduation, he started practicing at Bolton Veterinary Hospital, and continued to practice there for the remainder of his career – serving as a partner for many decades, helping to build the practice, and enjoying the diversity, the opportunities for creativity and common-sense problem-solving, and the camaraderie with excellent coworkers that it afforded.
Mike remained dedicated to veterinary medicine as a craft, especially enjoying surgery, large animal medicine and mentoring new veterinarians. He understood that the comfort and well-being of his patients and clients was the essence of good veterinary medicine. Most of all, he enjoyed people – sharing stories, finding common history, and bringing light to the hearts of all who knew him.
Michael lived in Andover, CT, from 1974 to 1994, helping to raise a family with three sons, and embracing small-town life – gardening, harvesting firewood with friends, woodworking, and crafting fine hand-carved birds. Over the last decades, Michael has lived on his gentleman’s farm in Ashford, enjoying his animals and nature, his cottage on Lake Chaffee, and spending time with his four beloved Labradors, family and friends.
Throughout his life, Michael continued to return to the sea – sailing remained a passion, joy, and freedom of expression which he shared with friends and loved ones. Dr. Tulman passed away suddenly in June 2020. He was an integral part of the heart of Bolton Vet, and is missed dearly.
