Michael Milts, D.V.M.

Michael Harold Milts, DVM, 84, of Brevard, passed away on January 24, 2022. A native of New York City, he was the son of the late Abraham and Helene Jacobs Milts.

Dr. Milts completed both his undergraduate and graduate work at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he was also the middleweight boxing champion. He opened his veterinary practice in Manhattan, New York where he worked with cats, dogs and many exotic animals.  He also served as chief veterinarian for the New York City Zoos; veterinarian for Dawn Animal Agency which provides animal talent for television/film, the famous Radio City Christmas Spectacular and other live events; as well as on the Advisory Board regulating the carriage horses in New York’s Central Park. Over the years, he worked with animals including lions, grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves, pumas, elephants, camels, giraffes and llamas, among others. Dr. Milts also wrote a nationally syndicated column which appeared regularly in the New York Post as well as other publications. Many of his accounts with his animal patients, including those he encountered during a Smithsonian-backed expedition to the Amazon jungle, were documented in his book, “Only a Gringo Would Die for an Anteater: The Adventures of a Veterinarian.”

After retiring from his practice, Dr. Milts and his wife, Vernetta, would begin a series of new adventures. For several years they would race sailboats, before they began calling a 60-foot sloop “home” while they sailed from New York to Bermuda to South America and back over a period of three years.  In 2003, they sailed with their partners, Jane and Doug Eck, from Hilton Head, SC through the Panama Canal to Australia.  They loved to travel and enjoyed a number of cruises in Europe, cruised around Italy, visited China, Australia and South Africa among other places. They settled in Brevard in 2007, moving into the Connestee Falls community where he enjoyed being a part of the fishing club.

Dr. Milts is survived by his loving wife, Vernetta; his sisters, Alice Stapleton (Joe) of Port Orange, Florida and Brauna Singer (Robert) of Plainview, NY; his nephews Barry Katz (Ronda) and Jared Singer; nieces Danielle Lepper (John) and Diane Viola (Paul); great-nephews, Avery and Chandler Katz, Kyle and Tyler Viola; and great-nieces, Jessica and Marissa Lepper.

No local services are scheduled at this time.

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