Dr. Li was born in Berkeley, California and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California at Davis. Following a year in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar at the Università degli Studi's Scuola di Medicina Veterinaria in Perugia, she entered private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Following a number of years practicing conventional Western veterinary medicine, Dr. Li's interest in acupuncture began about 25 years ago when her uncle came back from China and spoke about the effects of this modality of treatment. About 20 years ago, she began visiting a local veterinarian who was practicing acupuncture, and she then started treating her staff's animals. Dr. Li was very encouraged by these successes. These past experiences gave her the incentive to study more extensively and formally.

Her accreditation in veterinary acupuncture (in 1989) is through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society (IVAS). In addition, Dr. Li completed graduate studies in Hong Kong and China in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and holds the degree in Oriental Medicine (OMD) from the Post-Graduate Institute of Oriental Medicine (H.K.). She has since also lectured both locally and abroad on her experiences in veterinary acupuncture practicing both here and in China.

Formerly the owner of the Campanile Veterinary Clinic, Inc. in Oakland, Dr. Li sold the practice in 1994 and joined the United Nations Development Programme as a United Nations Volunteer in China, based at the China Agricultural University's College of Veterinary Medicine. During those two years, in addition to her teaching in the Small Animal Clinic, she studied at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department. She holds honorary Guest Professorships at the China Agricultural University and Hebei Agricultural University.

Previously, Dr. Li was Visiting Professor at the Beijing Main Veterinary Hospital's San Yuan Clinic. Today, Dr. Li divides her time between her veterinary acupuncture house call and specialty practice in California and her role as the Co-Founder and Medical Director of the International Center for Veterinary Services in Beijing, China.

Dr. Li's Pets

For his 9th birthday, my son wanted to have a dog. In fact, he'd named it already to be Ruffy. So I started asking around to try to find a suitable dog. We went down to the Berkeley Pound several times. On our third visit, we asked about a Welsh Corgi (which is what I was looking for), and they said, "Well, we have a cross."

So we went to the back, and there was Ruffy in the cage. The Staff had been calling her "Funny Feet" and she came right up to the door and wagged her tail at us. I immediately felt that she would do quite well. We took her out to get acquainted, and she seemed FINE. So we took her home. She slept for two days straight, she was so tired!

About a year later, when I had a staff meeting at my hospital, we had invited an animal psychic to come to speak to us. I asked her to give a demonstration and asked her to contact Ruffy, who was out in the back yard, and find out how she had come to the Pound. She told us that she had gotten lost. She was originally owned by a groom that worked at the race track, and she had run off to look around and had gotten lost. That's how the Pound picked her up. One thing I had noticed was that she could ride for long periods in the car without any problem and never got carsick. I attribute that to the fact that she was probably following the races with her previous owner and spent long hours on the road.

Regretfully, we must report that we had to put Ruffy down in 2006, shortly before Christmas. She was 19 years old, blind, and her arthritis prevented her from moving around much. We hated to say "Good-bye", but it was just time.