Tribute to Dr. Anna Worth

Pardon a little tangent today. I’m sad to say that my former colleague Anna Worth, VMD, died May 16 from cancer. I offer this little story as an example of who Anna was. More tributes here.

Anna and I met while I was on staff at the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) in the mid-1990s. We served as AAHA members to board of the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, after my boss Marilyn Bergquist died of breast cancer (which was another big blow in my life and my career). AAHA needed someone to take on these duties, and as the other staff member on the Animal Welfare Committee, I got the chance.

During one particularly crazy trip to New York City for a board meeting and research conference, Anna and I had a little time to poke around before catching our planes home. So, Anna decided we should pop into an AAHA-accredited veterinary practice only a few blocks from our hotel.

When we walked into the lobby, we found (of all things) a magazine article on alternative veterinary medicine I’d written framed and hanging on the wall. It turns out I’d interviewed the practice owner. He must have liked it and displayed it for clients to see.

It was a surreal moment to see the article hanging there.

Anna’s enthusiasm for pointing out the kismet of the whole thing still cracks me up. She kept saying something like, “THIS is Roxanne, who wrote THAT article!” with a big grin on her face.

Honestly, the hospital staff didn’t return her excitement, but it made me feel important in that moment, which meant a lot on a trip when I was clearly NOT Marilyn but had been sent in her place. Big shoes to fill, for sure.

I can still see us — me, oh so short, and Anna, really quite tall — making our way through NYC together. It’s a nice thing, early in your career, to be treated as an equal.

A couple months ago, I learned that Anna was sick when I interviewed her for an article on how pet adoptions have changed. Anna offered ideas on veterinary-assisted adoptions. That article will be published soon, and I have archived the recording of our interview, but I cannot bring myself to listen to it yet.

Even though, she sounded resigned to her fate, I held out hope. I suspect she knew it would be our last conversation. The news of her passing hit me hard last week when I saw the announcement below.

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Anna Worth, VMD, an outstanding leader, talented veterinarian and dear friend, passed away on Saturday, May 16, following a long and valiant battle with cancer. “It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness we say goodbye to such a compassionate and talented individual,” said John Albers, DVM, AAHA executive director. “AAHA will forever be indebted to Anna’s unwavering devotion and leadership to the Association and our profession.”

A 1978 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Worth, with her husband and partner Dr. Bob Bergman, served as the hospital directors and owners of West Mountain Animal Hospital, an AAHA-accredited practice for more than 25 years, in Shaftsbury, Vermont.

Dr. Worth was AAHA president in 2008-2009 and had served on the Association’s Board of Directors since 2002. In addition to her duties on the AAHA board, Dr. Worth was heavily involved in several other aspects of the Association as well.  She served on the veterinarian student work group, mentoring guidelines work group and referral task force.  Dr. Worth was instrumental in the creation of the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, a benevolent arm of the AAHA Foundation. 

With an active interest in animal welfare, Dr. Worth was a past president to the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, as well as past chair to the Vermont Animal Cruelty Task Force, the Vermont Animal Welfare Committee and the Euthanasia Board for Animals. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals presented her with the veterinarian of the year award in 1992.

Dr. Worth was a past president of the Vermont Veterinary Medical Association and served as the Vermont delegate to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Within her local community, Dr. Worth has volunteered with the Bennington County Humane Society, the Vermont Women’s Fund and local parent teacher associations.

Dr. Worth is survived by her husband and partner, Dr. Bob Bergman; son Bo Bergman, DVM, a recent graduate at NC State and his wife Megan and their newborn daughter Anna Frasier; and daughter Sarah M. Bergman, who works for the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Arizona.