BluePearl Pet Hospital Cedar Rapids, IA Our Vets

• Diplomate, American College Veterinary Surgeons-Small Animal
• Residency, Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Master of Science, Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, Michigan Tech University

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Dermatology
• Residency, Dermatology, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Internship, Dermatology, University of Columbia, Columbia MO
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames
• Master of Science, Human Animal Bond and Grief Counseling, Iowa State University, Ames

Dr. Janelle Karau loves emergency medicine because every day is different. She welcomes the opportunity to continuously enhance her knowledge and skills, which ultimately allows her to offer the very best medical and surgical care to her patients.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, South Dakota State University, Brookings

Dr. Karau enjoys spending family time with her husband, son, dog and three cats. Her hobbies include cooking and baking, gardening and yoga.

Dr. Matt Keller is interested in both surgery and research. He finds emergency medicine gratifying, especially trauma surgery and wound management.

• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Southwest Veterinary Surgical Service, Phoenix AZ
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Arts, Biology, Chemistry, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls

In his free time, Dr. Keller enjoys outdoor pursuits.

Dr. Erin McCormick enjoys all aspects of small animal medicine. She particularly likes the variety of cases that are seen in an emergency practice, and is proud to part of a motivated, compassionate team.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA Aurora Animal Hospital and VCA Berwyn Animal Hospital, Aurora and Berwyn, IL
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Mount Mercy College, Cedar Rapids IA

A fan of the outdoors, Dr. McCormick likes biking, hiking, cross-country skiing and gardening. She also enjoys cooking and various house projects. She and her husband have a Red Heeler mix named Denali and a pit bull named Max, as well as occasional foster cats.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Residency, Internal Medicine, Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, Houston TX
• Internship, Internal Medicine, Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, Houston TX
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Animal Hospital Specialty Center
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City

Dr. Leo Roa Guzman has been practicing emergency medicine since 2007 and finds the field particularly gratifying, especially the technological advancements that have allowed for better patient care. His clinical interests include trauma cases, mechanical ventilation and transfusion medicine.

• Residency, Emergency & Critical Care, Eastern Iowa Veterinary Specialty Center, Cedar Rapids
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Dr. Roa Guzman spends most of his free time with his family and pets. He also enjoys travelling and finding places to go hiking and biking.

Dr. Amie Roberts started her emergency medicine career as a receptionist at an e-clinic, continuing as a veterinary assistant throughout her education. She has over a decade of emergency experience.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biology and International Studies, Iowa State University, Ames

Dr. Roberts and her family enjoy traveling, hiking and biking in Iowa's famous RAGBRAI. Outside of her work at the hospital, she holds an active position in the state Veterinary Medicine Association.

Dr. Holly Salzbrenner enjoys fostering the human-animal bond by providing the best care possible to pets when they are sick. She appreciates the diversity of cases that emergency medicine offers as well as the challenges of surgery.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls

Dr. Salzbrenner enjoys spending time with her husband, their two dogs, two horses and family and friends. She likes to travel, hike, run, trail ride with her horses and spend time outdoors.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville

Dr. Tyler Zylstra has a strong interest in research. While in in school, he researched kinematics of spinal cord injuries in sheep for a year. As a clinician, he finds wound repair and surgery particularly gratifying.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames

Dr. Zylstra enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, kayaking and doing yard work. He has two dogs.