I can truthfully say that being a veterinarian was my first career goal as a child. I grew up in California in a small house in the city with a big collection of pets. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in biology, I became distracted by travel and bicycling and ended up spending several years bike touring and racing semi-professionally. After meeting my husband and starting a family, I eventually made my way to veterinary school at Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Massachusetts. After graduating a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, I accepted a commission into the US Army and served four years as an Army veterinarian. Stationed at Holloman AFB, I fell in love with beautiful southern New Mexico and decided to make the Alamogordo area my family’s permanent home. I currently serve in the US Army Reserves. In my spare time, I enjoy gardening, camping, and trying to keep up with our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, an off the track thoroughbred mare, and a growing collection of house pets!

Don’t be offended if I am nicer to your pet than I am to you. I just like animals better. I have infinite patience for them (and, it’s true, sometimes a limited amount for people). I spent many years working at the animal shelter in Austin, TX, where we performed thousands of surgeries a year and worked tirelessly to get more animals adopted. My job is to care for the animals, and I’m proud to say I do it well. Each one of my patients – especially the sick ones – creeps into my heart and stays there forever. I claim one husband, two human sons, and a few cats and dogs: Bubba, Shiner, Joey, Alyvia, Wally, Baby Kitty, and Psycho.