Dr. M. Josephine Deubler- a legend and inspiration for us all
M. Josephine Deubler, VMD was the first female graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Big Penn had other, earlier female graduates. She went on to earn a master's degree in 1941 and a PhD in 1944. Though she was challenged with a serious hearing problem, she learned to rely on lip reading her college lectures.
She was a second-generation veterinarian, her father, Dr. Ernest C. Deubler was also a veterinary practitioner and played a key role in the early development of the University of Pennsylvania’s Veterinary College. Her brother, uncle, and two cousins were also veterinarians.
After receiving her PhD, she spent two years teaching tropical medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and was later appointed as an assistant pathology professor. She performed research on feline panleukopenia and bovine keratitis. Her other interests included participating in dog shows, in 1956, she won Best of Breed at Westminster with her Dandie Dinmont. She passed away in 2009 at the age of 92.
