Charles attended the University of Florida for undergraduate work and for his veterinary degree. He did an internship at the Animal Medical Center on the Upper East Side of New York City. Following that, he did a combined surgical residency and master’s degree in Virginia which he completed in 1994. He then did a 12 month research fellowship in cardiac surgery at Auburn University and an 18 month surgical oncology fellowship at Colorado State University. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and an ACVS Founding Fellow of Surgical Oncology. He was an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery also at Colorado State University before he started a large surgical referral hospital in Washington DC. He was on the Board of Directors for the District of Columbia Academy of Veterinary Medicine and also the Program Chair. 

He started Southpaws Specialty Surgery for Animals in 2004 in Melbourne Australia. He set up the first deep radiation therapy unit for animals in Australia which is still the only one in the state of Victoria. Southpaws has grown from just Charles and a single nurse to a mega-practice with over 50 employees including 7 surgeons, 2 residents, 7 interns and over 30 nurses and receptionists. 

Charles has lectured internationally on topics including cancer surgery, neurosurgery, urinary surgery, orthopaedic surgery and non-cancer soft tissue surgery as well as leadership in the workplace. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer reviewed publications, proceedings, abstracts and book chapters. He also started the SouthpawsVet youtube channel in which has pioneered live-streaming surgery in animals with over 15,000 subscribers and over 2 million views. 

Charles is married to Dr. Kate Savage, a specialist in equine internal medicine and has three sons who are all in medical school. The furry love of his life is Humphrey, a 15 month old black Labrador.