Dr. Rudd received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee in 1981 and completed his internship and surgical residency at Purdue University in 1985.  He taught surgery at Kansas State University and conducted research and development for Ethicon Endosurgery in Cincinnati to progress minimally invasive surgical techniques.  Dr. Rudd has authored and published more than 20 articles in refereed journals.  He then opened and ran his private veterinary clinic, Braelinn Village Animal Hospital, in Peachtree City, GA, for over 15 years.  During that time, he developed a surgical practice within the hospital, complete with an MRI.  

In 2007, Ray joined the United States Army Reserve.  He served in Kandahar,  Afghanistan, in 2011 on a 12-month deployment and four additional deployments to the Middle East before he left service 16.5 years later.   He was awarded three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, and two Army Achievement Medals during his time in the Army.  He served in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Spartan Shield, and Operation Inherent Resolve.  In addition, he received the Afghanistan campaign medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal,  “Working for the Army as a veterinarian has been an incredible opportunity.  I have been exposed to things that I  would never have been able to see in any other professional capacity,” says Dr.  Rudd.  

Dr. Rudd began working with the Animal Emergency and Specialty Center in Knoxville upon returning from Afghanistan in 2012 and worked there for two years before being deployed to Kuwait.  He returned in January 2015 to work at the Animal Emergency and Specialty Center again until he transitioned to the practice in Chattanooga as lead surgeon. Dr. Rudd returned to VCA Braelinn Village Animal Hospital and transitioned to the Veterinary Care and Specialty Center in Chattanooga.  After his final deployment, he began working at Dogwood Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center in Marietta, GA. He works as a Locum Tenens and is licensed in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Ray lives in Peachtree City, GA, with his wife. He has four children, all of whom have careers of their own.