Seattle Veterinary Specialists
Kirkland, WA

Dr. Jenna Arnaiz is particularly interested in managing seizures in crisis, and stabilizing shock and cardiology emergencies.

Dr. Arnaiz enjoys watching kids' sports, running and cross-training. She’s also a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners. Lola is the family’s basset hound mix.

Dr. Kelly Blackstock’s special interests are ventilation and coagulation medicine, specifically fibrinolysis associated with trauma.

Dr. Blackstock's favorite pastimes include triathlons, rock climbing, learning the cello, and being lazy on the beach. She has two dogs: Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix Gideon, and Shiba Inu Bruce.

Dr. John Buikema went back to college and veterinary school after serving four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. His particular interests include wound repair, endocrine emergencies and cardiac emergencies.

Dr. Buikema’s favorite pastimes include hiking, mountain biking and motorcycling. He and his wife have an tabby cat named Attila.

Dr. Alaina Carr’s particular clinical interests include working with and diagnosing patients with hepatobiliary and urinary tract disorders, such as portosystemic shunts and feline ureterolithiasis.

Dr. Carr is married and has two dogs. She enjoys landscape photography and riding competitive upper level dressage.

Dr. Esther Choi is a small animal medicine and surgery intern with a special interest in dentistry.

Dr. Choi loves the ocean and aquatic animals. She has a Labrador mix who also appreciates the ocean.

Dr. Choy's professional interests include lymphoma, transitional cell carcinoma, localized tumor treatment with electrochemotherapy and translational cancer research through cooperative clinical trials and research projects with both local and national institutions including the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to improve patient care in both animals and their owners. He has co-authored studies and book chapters in feline lymphoma and mammary tumors.

Married with two children, Dr. Choy's favorite pastimes include nature and wildlife photography, RV and international travel, vegetable gardening, cooking, tennis and cycling. The family has three cats, Kiwi, Smokey and Bobo, as well as a large assortment of fish, shrimp, snails and aquatic life in their aquariums.

Dr. Nashua Compton is an intern in our surgery service.

Dr. Compton enjoys bouldering, soccer and competitive powerlifting. He has a golden retriever named Seka.

Dr. Mark Engen has been a practicing surgeon for many years and owned his own surgery practice for almost forty years. Skilled in all aspects of surgery, his particular interests include orthopedics, sports medicine, total hip replacement, regenerative medicine and minimally invasive surgery.

Dr. Engen enjoys outdoor activities, especially fishing and skiing. He is married with two adult children. The family pets include a German short-haired pointed, Shiba Inu and two ragdoll cats.

Dr. Franci Forman is a small animal medicine and surgery intern with a special interest in emergency and critical care medicine.

Dr. Forman enjoys hiking, standup paddle boarding, camping, gardening and road trips to explore new parts of the Pacific Northwest. The favorite part of her day is going home to her husband and two crazy lab mix dogs, Shorty and Derby.

Dr. Jennifer Hauss is an intern in our oncology service.

Dr. Alison Herendeen is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. Her particular clinical interests include oncology, neurology and emergency medicine.

Dr. Herendeen enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and swimming. Other favorite pastimes include cooking, reading, board games and trivia nights. She has a tabby cat named Minnie.

Dr. Alice Huang worked as a visiting assistant professor of small animal internal medicine at Purdue University conducting research on hematology, particularly platelet disorders, which she is still particularly interested in, as well as immune-mediated disorders and urinary disorders. While she offers mostly non-invasive procedures, she does enjoy performing endoscopy, including cystoscopy and bronchoscopy.

Dr. Huang loves throwing pottery (on a potter’s wheel, of course.) Other favorite pastimes include cooking, being outdoors and spending time with her husband. Clementine Pennyfeather is the family’s Siamese mix who experienced head trauma prior to adoption and now has a left leg that doesn’t quite do what she wants it to.

Dr. Frances Hurrell enjoys all types of procedures, especially arthrocentesis and endoscopy. Her favorite conditions to treat include immune disease, gastrointestinal disease (including esophageal disorders), and renal disease (especially acute renal failure management).

Originally from New Zealand, Dr. Hurrell loves traveling back to visit, and to other places around the world. She also enjoys reading, watching movies, playing tennis and snow skiing.

Dr. Rachel Kakas' favorite cases involve severely ill patients who have the opportunity to recover.

A fan of outdoor activities, Dr. Kakas enjoys running, hiking and biking. Her indoor pastimes include reading, baking and enjoying tea.

Dr. Erin Kishi worked as a clinical instructor at the University of Missouri before joining BluePearl. Her particular interests include oncologic, endocrine and reconstructive surgeries, as well as fracture repair.

Dr. Kishi enjoys skiing, swimming, hiking and kayaking. She has a shepherd mix named Phoenix.

Prior to joining us, Dr. Ken Linda co-owned a mixed animal veterinary practice in British Columbia for 23 years. He is currently a resident in our surgery service. Dr. Linde’s particular interests include adrenalectomy, cholecystectomy, liver lobectomy and intrathoracic surgery, especially if these can be done minimally invasively. Because surgical stabilization is often necessary to return function to a limb, he finds fracture repairs, especially intra-articular, very satisfying.

When the wind is blowing hard, Ken loves the thrill of kiteboarding or windsurfing white-capped waters. He also likes working on vintage cars and motorcycles. His family includes a wife and five children, and a German short-haired pointer named Gunnar.

Dr. Nakesa Morey is an intern in our cardiology service. She particularly enjoys treating congestive heart failure, especially in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy.

An outdoor enthusiast, Dr. Morey likes hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter. She also likes traveling to the United Kingdom and Kenya to visit family and friends.

Dr. Mikaela Mueller’s clinical interests include complex congenital heart disease and the management of acquired cardiac disease and congestive heart failure.

Dr. Mueller enjoys tango dancing, being outdoors and riding her Friesian horse Ollivander, aka Roel. She has a beagle-boxer mix named Brandy, and a cat named Nigel.

Dr. Rebecca Noel is an intern in our surgery service. Her clinical interests include fracture repair, sports medicine, trauma and wound management, and surgical oncology.

Dr. Noel’s favorite pastimes include running, mountain biking, woodworking and reading. Her pets include border collie Bella, redbone coonhound Leon, and cats Peyton, Nerlens and Olive.

Dr. Danielle Pollio is particularly interested in the treatment of polytrauma and sepsis.

Dr. Pollio enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. She has two cats, Osbourne and Santo, and a Catahoula Leopard Dog named Dante.

Dr. Mona Qahwash enjoys all aspects of neurology.

Dr. Reist has a special interest in surgical oncology and orthopedics.

Dr. Reist enjoys traveling, camping, skiing, and hiking with her dog, Pavlov.

Dr. Jennifer Rubinstein has worked exclusively in emergency medicine and has an affinity for geriatric herding dogs.

Dr. Rubinstein is fond of doing just about anything outdoors, especially horseback riding, skiing and hiking. She and her husband have three children, four dogs, five chickens and a horse.

Dr. Lilian Shen is an intern in our cardiology service.

A fan of the fast pace of emergency medicine, Dr. Jennifer Spooner’s favorite emergencies to treat include polytrauma, sepsis, and endocrine and cardiovascular emergenices.

Some of Dr. Spooner’s favorite pastimes include hiking, skiing, cooking, traveling and going to baseball games.

Dr. Lauren Sprague is a small animal medicine and surgery intern with a special interest in cardiology.

Some of Dr. Sprague’s favorite pastimes include hiking, cooking, reading and board games. Her cat’s name is Cas.

Dr. Allison Stilin is a small animal medicine and surgery intern with interests in cardiology, neurology and emergency medicine.

Dr. Stilin’s hobbies include swing dancing and hiking. She has two very spoiled rabbits at home.

Dr. Julie Stoka-Hanley enjoys seeing all types of cases but particularly likes treating trauma cases.

Some of Dr. Stoka-Hanley’s favorite pastimes include hiking, tennis and baking. She has a pit bull mix named Rowena and a lab mix named Mordecai.

Dr. Nicole Tey is a small animal medicine and surgery intern. Her particular interests include wound management, cardiac disease and endocrine disorders.

Some of Dr. Tey’s favorite pastimes include bouldering, board games and knitting. She has a dog named Cora and two cats, Dog and Giraffe.

Dr. Kent Vince joined our team after spending 12 years of service as a Veterinary Corps Officer in the United States Army. His clinical interests include orthopedic surgery and treating traumatic injuries in dogs. He has presented at numerous national and international veterinary meetings and won research awards from both the Veterinary Orthopedic Society and American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

An avid world traveler, food lover, mountain biker and skier, Dr. Vince enjoys time with his wife, daughter and three dogs. The family enjoys the Pacific Northwest and all of the cultural and outdoor activities it has to offer.

Dr. Courtney Wright is a small animal medicine and surgery intern with a particular interest in internal medicine, especially Addison’s disease.

Dr. Wright was a ballerina for 18 years. Every year she backpacks a new state or national park. She also likes crafting, sewing and knitting. Professor Plum is her cat.