Pet emergencies can be scary – we’re here to help you handle them.
We understand that seeing your pet sick, hurt or in distress can be stressful – especially if you don’t know what’s wrong. Fortunately, our experienced ER clinicians are prepared to take action and help.
Acting quickly in an emergency may save your pet’s life.
If your pet is experiencing an emergency, you’ll have an entire veterinary team helping them so you can get back to what matters most – spending precious moments together.
Experience makes all the difference.
Our emergency team is made up of veterinarians, vet technicians and assistants, and support staff with rigorous training and experience in specialty medicine. The team works hand in hand to provide the comprehensive, compassionate care your pet needs and deserves. Because we’re a multidisciplinary hospital, the team can consult the expertise of other specialty departments, too.
Dr. Barbara Avalos Cavero is particularly interested in treating gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, endocrine disorders, toxicities and feline urinary tract diseases.
In her spare time, Dr. Avalos Cavero enjoys exercising at the gym, salsa dancing, painting and traveling. She loves to spoil her dog, Koko Puff.
Dr. Alyxandra Brady is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She finds critical care cases the most gratifying to treat.
Dr. Brady has a dog named Totem and a cat named Edgar.
A dedicated emergency clinician, Dr. Casey Braginton’s interests include urethral obstruction, diabetic ketoacidosis and toxicities. He has also worked with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
When not working, Dr. Braginton enjoys reading, visiting breweries and board games. He has two cats, Frodo and Dart, and a pit bull mix named Roo.
Dr. Kylee Bush is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She is most interested in soft tissue cases, specifically lacerations, foreign body, gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), orthopedics, specifically fracture stabilization, and cardiology. Dr. Bush is certified in basic and advanced life support through the Recover initiative.
Dr. Bush enjoys running to help de-stress after a long day or catching up on the latest documentary series on Netflix with her couch potato dog, Murphy.
Dr. Emma Byers is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. Her particular clinical interests include ophthalmic cases, Addison’s disease, diabetic ketoacidosis and toxicities.
Dr. Byers loves travel, yoga, reading, paddle boarding and watching football. She has two cats, Alice and Minion, and a hound mix dog.
Dr. Dugger enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.
Dr. Dugger’s hobbies include spending time with her pugs, sailing and photography.
Dr. Kristin Habegger has a background in working with wildlife and in zoological institutions and enjoys bringing her knowledge of exotic animal medicine into clinical practice. She finds triaging and managing trauma and metabolic derangement cases the most interesting to address.
Dr. Kristin Habegger lives with her boyfriend and their two Australian shepherds, Khali and Arya. They all enjoy spending time outdoors together or staying in and watching movies.
Dr. David Hoch’s special interests include transfusion medicine; metabolic disorders like diabetic ketoacidosis, pancreatitis, disseminated intravascular coagulation and systemic inflammatory response syndrome DIC/SIRS; and surgery involving foreign bodies, splenectomies, gastric dilatation volvulus GDV, and C-sections.
Dr. Hoch and his family share their house with a variety of pets: dachshund Paxton, Chihuahua Lola, a Pacman frog, two pythons and three African cichlid fish tanks. An avid golfer, Dr. Hoch hopes to one day finish 18 holes using only one golf ball.
Dr. Megan Johnson’s particular clinical interests include feline medicine, urethral obstructions, renal failure, trauma and shock.
A diehard sports fan, Dr. Johnson’s favorite teams are the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Mets. Favorite activities include biking, running and working out on her elliptical. She and her husband have three cats: grumpy Siamese mix Caleb and two naughty orange kitties, William Alexander and JT.
Dr. Tara Keaney is an emergency clinician. She is particularly interested in the role of ultrasound in an emergency setting.
The proud mom of rescued pup Zahra, Dr. Keaney is a fitness advocate and enjoys travel and going to the beach.
Dr. Rachel Lucas is most interested in exotic and wildlife emergencies and gastrointestinal diseases.
Dr. Lucas enjoys spending time with her husband and their foster-failure feline, Aslan, and serving their church and the Tampa Bay community.
Dr. Cassandra Mancari is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She finds helping animals in respiratory distress, treating feline urinary obstructions and repairing lacerations particularly gratifying.
Dr. Mancari and her fiancé have two cats who they enjoy spoiling to no end. She enjoys being outside (hiking, walking and beach trips), working out (Pilates and Yoga) and lazy mornings playing video games with her cats.
Dr. Nicole Tomasso’s special interests include foreign body removal as well as treating diabetic ketoacidosis (especially in cats), soft tissue injuries and fractures.
Dr. Tomasso enjoys walking outside on trails, playing tennis, eating sushi and visiting her family for Sunday dinners. She has two cats: one named Manny, who was adopted in St. Kitts during her time at veterinary school, and one named Dominik, who was adopted in Indiana during her clinical rotation.
We know an unexpected trip to the emergency pet hospital can be stressful, and we want you to be prepared so you have one less thing to worry about. Our entire BluePearl team will be with you every step of the way.
During an emergency, every second counts. If your pet is experiencing an emergency, call us so we can talk you through their situation and be with you.
Our goal is always for your pet to have the best chance at a complete recovery so they can return home with you, happy and healthy.