Dr. Payne joined the staff at VCA Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center of Kalamazoo in June of 2020. He obtained his DVM degree from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Payne then completed an internship in Emergency and Critical Care at Michigan State University teaching hospital. After his internship, he joined the staff at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, where he became lead emergency doctor for two years. After two years he entered an Emergency and Critical Care residency in Florida and completed training in 2010. He then moved into a position at Veterinary Specialty Center in Chicago as their Criticalist.

At VSC he was an integral part in starting up their hemodialysis program and nephrology department. After working in Chicago, he made the hard choice to return to the east coast to be closer to his family. After his commitment to the east coast was no longer needed, the decision was made to come back to Michigan.