Dr. Block is a graduate of Cornell Vet School and a board-certified small animal veterinary internist. He has a Master’s degree from Tufts University in Animals and Public Policy, with his thesis focused on the teaching of veterinary ethics. He is the former President of organizations including the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association, the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, and he is the current President of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association. He has lectured extensively and published numerous articles and book chapters on increasing access to veterinary care, standard of care, animal welfare, and veterinary ethics. His current project is editing a textbook on Spectrum of Care medicine.
Dr. Block helped found the Rhode Island Companion Animal Foundation, a non-profit that helps financially limited pet owners afford veterinary care, and which has provided over 2 million dollars for needy pets in the last 20 years. He also helped establish the Rhode Island Pets in Need (PIN) clinic, a full-service general practice that caters to low-income pet owners.
Along with his wife, Dr. Justine Johnson, he founded Ocean State Veterinary Specialists (OSVS) in Rhode Island and BayState Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Services (BSVESS) in Massachusetts. These two 24/7/365 referral and emergency hospitals employ 350 people and over 65 veterinarians. He continues to work full-time as an internist and medical director at these hospitals.
Dr. Block has two children: Elsa (named after the lioness in “Born Free”) and Derek (named because it was the only name he and his wife could agree on). Other than humans, he lives with a menagerie including two dogs, three cats, four horses, two goats, honeybees, and a 12-year-old catfish.