It began with a question that would shape everything: why do animals behave the way they do?
As a veterinary student at Ankara University, Yasemin wasn't satisfied with treating symptoms alone — she wanted to understand the inner lives of the animals in her care. That curiosity set her on a path spanning two continents, two doctoral degrees, and more than two decades of work at the intersection of veterinary medicine, behavior, and welfare.
After earning her DVM, she pursued doctoral training in animal welfare and behavior at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in Germany, then returned to Türkiye to complete a second PhD in Physiology at Ankara University. She later became a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine — one of the most rigorous specialist qualifications in the field.
For over 15 years, she served as faculty at Ankara University, where her work moved well beyond the lecture hall. She developed the first rehabilitation program for urban free-ranging dogs aimed at increasing adoptability, brought dog bite prevention programs into schools, and contributed to the field through numerous peer-reviewed publications. Alongside her academic work, she has contributed to research and innovation, including a patented test apparatus designed to assess paw preference in dogs — part of her broader interest in laterality, cognition, and emotional processing in animals.
Today, she teaches and mentors students in the Department of Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), bringing the same curiosity and rigor to the classroom that she brings to her clinical work.
When you work with Dr. Demirbas, you're working with someone who has spent her career asking what animals feel, need, and are trying to tell us — and translating those answers into better care for your animal and a stronger bond between you.
