BluePearl Pet Hospital
Des Moines, IA
Our Vets

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
• Residency, Small Animal Emergency & Critical Care, Eastern Iowa Specialty Center, Cedar Rapids
• Internship, Small Animal Emergency & Critical Care, Iowa State University, Ames
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames

Dr. Alexandria Baltes enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine, especially the variety of cases she sees. She is committed to providing excellent care, and her favorite part of the job is getting patients well and back home to their families.

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

Married with two cats and an assortment of reptiles, Dr. Baltes enjoys weight lifting, cooking, and attending Minnesota Vikings games.

Publications & Articles

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

Dr. Gwyneth Culp is skilled in all aspects of surgery, to include total hip replacement. Her particular clinical interests include emergency surgeries, fracture repairs and gastrointestinal surgery.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons-Small Animal
• Residency, Small Animal Surgery, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
• Doctor of Veterinary Science, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Veterinary Emergency Clinic and Referral Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Internship, Small Animal Surgery and Neurology, Veterinary Surgical Center, Vienna, VA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Iowa Veterinary Referral Center, Des Moines
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Dr. Culp and her husband have one daughter and a high-energy, flat-coated retriever. She enjoys outside adventures, camping and traveling, both within the US and abroad.

Dr. Emily Davis is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians.

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

Dr. Joseph DiBenedetto is particularly interested in hematology, gastroenterology, and nephrology. He enjoys performing endoscopies and bronchoscopies.

• Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Sandy Springs, GA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Bachelor of Science, Cell and Molecular Biology, Binghamton University, Vestal, NY

Dr. DiBenedetto enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, working out at the gym, and taking care of things around the house. In his downtime, he also enjoys watching Netflix and playing basketball.

Dr. Elle Donnini finds lower urinary tract diseases and associated interventional procedures especially gratifying to treat.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine)
• Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA West Los Angeles, CA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
• Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

Dr. Donnini has a Shiba Inu named Jethro, an Australian cattle dog named Bella, and a cat named Riesling. In her free time, she enjoys puzzles, hiking, and traveling.

Dr. Roxanne Jacobson particularly enjoys being presented a difficult case, running a diagnostic workup and coming up with a solution to the problem.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Arts, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud MN

Dr. Jacobson loves being a wife and mother to three sons. She volunteers her veterinary skills at the Blank Park Zoo and Animal Rescue League of Iowa. Some of her favorite pastimes include stained glass, crotchet, wood working, quilting, painting and ceramics. The family has a black Labrador named Amos and several fish in an outdoor pond.

Dr. Cory Janssen worked in general practice for two years before joining our team as an emergency clinician where he enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine.

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

Some of Dr. Janssen’s favorite pastimes include city league kickball, biking and attending Iowa State sporting events. His furry sidekick is lab mix Zeke.

Dr. Macenzie Johnson is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She particularly likes treating trauma and toxicity cases, but seeing her patients go home to their families is the most rewarding. Prior to joining BluePearl, Dr. Johnson led courses for pre-veterinary students through a non-profit rainforest conservancy in Costa Rica.

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

Dr. Johnson enjoys traveling, hosting game nights, listening to music, exploring the city and spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Caleb Kemnitz is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. He has been working in the veterinary industry for over eight years, and he finds thoracentesis the most gratifying to perform.

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

Dr. Kemnitz enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, horseback riding and spending time with his two dogs, an Australian shepherd and yellow Labrador.

Dr. Paula Kuhfus has been practicing veterinary medicine for 30 years. Before she joined our BluePearl team, she owned her own clinic for over 20 years where she specialized in preventative medicine, surgery and dentistry. Since becoming a part of our emergency medicine service, Dr. Kuhfus especially enjoys the diagnostic aspect of veterinary emergency care and formulating treatment plans that are best for her patients.

It is gratifying to her to work with dedicated owners that strive to improve and lengthen the lives of their elderly cats and dogs. Some of the cases that most intrigue Dr. Kuhfus are diabetic ketoacidosis, pancreatitis and other metabolic disorders because she finds that emergency care goes alongside the primary care veterinarian to help manage these cases by adding years to the patient’s life and life to their years.

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

Dr. Kuhfus lives on 11 acres and takes joy in gardening in the summer. She and her husband are empty nesters except for their shih tzu who runs their home and a lovely cat who lets them wait on him. Her current hobbies are reading and playing chess.

Some of Dr. Melissa Lind’s favorite emergencies to treat are feline urethral obstructions and trauma cases, but she admits to finding any case rewarding when the patient starts to feel better.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Center, Buffalo Grove, IL
• Master of Science, Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biology & Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames

Dr. Lind enjoys running, reading, hiking, camping, gardening and listening to music. Her pets include corgi/shepherd mix Gabby, cats Water and Cricket and quarter horse gelding Tippy.

Dr. Jordan Marotz is particularly interested in treating cardiac emergencies, trauma and toxicities.

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

Dr. Marotz lives with her husband, two dogs (a chihuahua/dachshund mix and an Aussie mix) and one cat. She enjoys anything outdoors, including hiking, camping, horseback riding, traveling, kayaking and gardening.

Stephanie is passionate about anesthesia and loves the challenges and diversity of cases she gets to see. She particularly enjoys nursing patients with advanced systemic disease and those in emergency situations.

Dr. Samantha Schipull loves the challenge and diversity of cases she sees in emergency medicine. She particularly likes treating trauma and toxicity cases and immune-mediated disorders.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN
• Bachelor of Science, Genetics, Iowa State University, Ames

Dr. Schipull enjoys watching Iowa State football and basketball teams, and she likes doing hot yoga. She is married with two boys and two family pets: black lab Bear and cat Oscar.

Dr. Emily Slight finds it gratifying to stabilize critical cases, whether from severe illness or injury, and reuniting those patients with their families. Other clinical interests include management of hypotension and sepsis patients.

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

Married with two children, Dr. Slight enjoys crochet, reading, baking and biking with her family.

Publications & Articles

Dr. Chad Spah enjoys all aspects of small animal surgery.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons-Small Animal
• Residency, Small Animal Surgery, Advanced Veterinary Care Center, Fishers, IN
• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Advanced Veterinary Care Center, Fishers, IN
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo

Dr. Carolyn Stafford particularly enjoys treating trauma cases and managing critical patients.

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

Dr. Stafford is married and has two daughters. Her favorite pastimes include cooking, reading, running, and singing and volunteering at her church.

Dr. Heather Vaske’s special interests include non-invasive diagnostic procedures including ultrasound, and endoscopy as well as treating complicated endocrine disorders.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan
• Master of Science, Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center, Norwalk CT
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe

Dr. Vaske likes spending time with her husband, two kids and the family cat. The family loves traveling and spending time outdoors.