Dr. Wayne Berry is internationally revered in the field of veterinary neurology-neurosurgery, expertise gained from restricting surgery to exclusively spinal and brain surgery. Although respected as an authority on a range of procedures, he is especially recognized for his expertise on the following: • Spinal decompressive surgery for both neck and back disc ruptures. • Atlanto-axial luxation reduction-stabilization, a procedure to restore dislocation between the first and second neck vertebrae in mostly toy breeds. • Lumbosacral distraction-stabilization-fusion to alleviate discomfort and debilitation of sciatic and cauda equine compression, more commonly in large breed dogs. • Spinal fracture reduction/stabilization, a procedure in which spinal fractures are reduced and repaired using orthopedic implants.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology)
Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Residency, Neurology-Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Master of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Bachelor of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Away from the hospital, Dr. Berry is an olive farmer. He and his wife have two adult sons.
Vivian Chiang
DVM, DACVECC
Critical Care
Vivian Chiang
DVM, DACVECC
BluePearl Veterinarian
Board Certified in Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
Dr. Vivian Chiang specializes in the management of critical patients, including those in respiratory distress and sepsis. Her areas of interest include the treatment of hypertensive encephalopathies and heatstroke in patients. Her primary goal is to continue providing the highest level of care to critically ill pets and helping her clients through difficult times.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
Residency, Emergency & Critical Care, University of California, Davis
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialists of South Florida, Fort Lauderdale
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University College, Ithaca, NY
Dr. Chiang enjoys yoga, hiking, baking cookies and collecting all things related to owls.
Dr. Megan Doan is an intern in our cardiology service. She has been working in veterinary medicine for over 10 years, both in general practice and emergency medicine, and is very excited about cardiology and is passionate about learning more in the field and educating clients on the best care for their family pets.
Dr. Doan has specific interests in valvular disease and interventional procedures. She also has a passion for managing cardiac emergency cases, such as congestive heart failure and arrhythmias.
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital, Denver, CO
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Dr. Doan enjoys hiking, dancing, concerts and spending quality time with her friends.
Dr. Gayle Donner specializes in surgical oncology (the surgical treatment of cancers and tumors) and general soft tissue surgery. Her particular areas of interest include head and neck cancer surgery, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. The first veterinary surgeon to specialize in surgical oncology in a private practice referral setting, she pioneered the surgical technique that combines the removal of tumors with the implantation of chemotherapy beads in dogs and cats eliminating the need for postoperative radiation in many cases.
Dr. Donner’s caseload also includes cancers of the limbs and trunk, chest, abdomen, and urogenital system, as well as other soft tissue disorders and injuries. She performs all of her surgeries using magnification and microsurgical instrumentation, for the utmost in precision to achieve the best possible outcome.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
Residency, Small Animal Surgery, University of Florida, Gainesville
Internship, Large Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens
If not with patients, pets or family, Dr. Donner can be found at the stable on her horse.
Skilled in all aspects of surgery, Dr. Adam Gassel’s particular clinical interests include TPLO, a knee-stabilizing surgery, portosystemic shunts, surgical oncology, and minimally invasive procedures, especially arthroscopy and laparoscopy.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
Residency, Small Animal Surgery, Univeristy of Tennessee, Knoxville
Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Animal Specialty Group, Inc., Los Angeles CA
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Animal Specialty Group, Inc., Los Angeles CA
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN
Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of California at Irvine, Irvine
Some of Dr. Gassel’s favorite pastimes include surfing, snowboarding and crossfit training. He and his wife have a son and two daughters, and the family pets include boxer mix Leroy and rabbit Roxy.
Dr. Rachel Kurzbard enjoys working on cases with multiple concurrent conditions. She is also interested in assisted feeding, critical care nutrition and weight loss plans.
Residency, Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, University of Missouri, Columbia
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital, Irvine
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona CA
Master of Science, Animal Biology, University of California, Davis
Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, University of California, Davis
Outside of work, Dr. Kurzbard enjoys jogging and reading. She and her family like to spend time outdoors, especially near the ocean.
Dr. Sarah Miller is highly regarded for her work using minimally invasive techniques to close patent ductus arteriosus (PDAs) from the carotid artery in very small dogs. She is most interested in the role of live 3D transesophageal echocardiography in veterinary medicine.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology)
Residency, Veterinary Cardiology, University of California, Davis
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Angell Memorial Animal Medical Center, Boston, MA
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus
Dr. Miller enjoys water skiing, traveling, listening to music, watching Ohio State football and running. She and her husband have three daughters, two geriatric cats and two golden retrievers.
Dr. Kyley Olson enjoys the fast pace of emergency medicine, as well as the variety of cases she sees every day. She finds the process of triaging critical patients and facilitating appropriate diagnostics and treatments particularly rewarding.
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Hospital, San Diego CA
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale AZ
Bachelor of Science, Biology, California State University, Fullerton
Dr. Olson has two cats, Ice Man and Indy, and two dogs, Vier and Scampi. In her free time, she enjoys camping and traveling.
Dr. Roger Pettigrew has worked all over the United States at different universities and private practices, which has exposed him to a lot of unique and challenging cases. He is most passionate about surgeries and MRI interpretations, and he finds it extremely gratifying to make a neuroanatomical localization, confirm the lesion on MRI and, in some cases, do surgery to fix it.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology)
Residency, Neurology & Neurosurgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Internship, Small Animal Neurology & Neurosurgery, University of Georgia, Athens
Internship, Surgery, Long Island Veterinary Specialists, New York
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Animal Specialty Group, Glendale, CA
Clinical Rotation, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
Bachelor of Science, Political Science, University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Pettigrew enjoys biking, swimming and spending time with his wife, two daughters, three dogs, two cats, fish and 80lb sulcate tortoise.
Dr. Tracey Rossi likes treating patients with immune-mediated disorders. She has also taken a number of interventional radiology courses to be able to provide patients with lesser invasive methods for treating conditions like tracheal collapse and ectopic ureters. Another particular interest is treating dogs with aspergillosis, a fungal infection in the nasal sinuses.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton MA
Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center, Norwalk CT
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dr. Rossi enjoys boat time and time with her fur babies, Colton, Chicken, Jax and Reagan. She also likes traveling and has been to Kenya to help raise awareness for a school.
Emily Southward
DVM, MS, DACVECC
Critical Care
Emily Southward
DVM, MS, DACVECC
BluePearl Veterinarian
Board Certified in Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
Dr. Emily Southward has been practicing emergency & critical care medicine for over 20 years. She thrives on opportunities when she can think outside the box to find unique solutions to daily problems, whether it involves creating a missing piece or solving a clinical sign puzzle.
Dr. Southward finds metabolic derangements, traumatic brain injuries, multimodal anesthesia and analgesia and trauma the most gratifying to treat.
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
Residency, Emergency & Critical Care, University of Missouri, Columbia
Master of Science, Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia
Internship, Small & Large Animal Anesthesiology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Clinical Rotation, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of California, San Diego
Although Dr. Southward admits that she’s not very creative, she does enjoy painting, writing and drawing whenever she can. When she’s not feeling artistic, Dr. Southward spends her time hiking, exploring new places, traveling or relaxing with her spouse and four cats.
Dr. TingTing Xia is a small animal medicine & surgery intern. She prides herself on her customer service skills, team player mindset and her professional and positive attitude.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Doctor of Philosophy, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Bachelor of Science, Biotechnology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Dr. Xia enjoys cooking and playing musical instruments. She has a husband who works in biological scientific research, a 6-year-old son and two black and white cats.
Amy Zide
DVM, MS, DACVS-SA
Surgery
Amy Zide
DVM, MS, DACVS-SA
BluePearl Veterinarian
Board Certified in Veterinary Surgery-Small Animal
Scarlette is passionate about continuing education and often lectures at local and national levels. Her clinical interests include her two specialties as well as advanced imaging and ventilator patient care, a subject in which she was published in the Veterinary Nursing Journal in 2017.