David Lavigne

David W. LaVigne, D.V.M., AKA Captain Doctor Dave, is a native of Michigan and has been a practicing veterinarian for over 40 years. Over the years he has been licensed to practice in Michigan, Maryland, and Florida. He was formerly a USCG licensed master and a rear commodore in the SSCA.

He and wife Annie left Michigan in 1999 aboard their 37 foot CSY cutter and headed across the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River and the east coast to Chesapeake Bay where they lived aboard for four years in the inner harbor of Baltimore while he worked as a veterinarian and Annie managed a marina. From there they moved down the ICW, across to the Bahamas, and down to the northern Caribbean where they lived and cruised for another four years.

He is the author of the Captain Doctor Dave books Where There Is No Pet Doctor and also Pets on Board? Adapting Your Pet to Travel by Boat or RV. Over the years he has appeared at numerous boat shows and cruising venues across the U.S., has served as veterinary consultant and written veterinary articles for the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) website, and for several years he provided online informational webinars for the SSCA’s SevenSeasU and also for the Great Lakes Cruising Club’s GLCCSchool. He maintains a veterinary website for cruisers who cruise with pets at captdrdave.com and a website on cruising from the east coast to the islands of the Caribbean on islandhoppingtothecaribbean.com.

He lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida where he still practices after-hours emergency medicine. He enjoys swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding, and playing pickleball.