Seattle Veterinary Specialists Kirkland, WA Our Vets

Dr. Katherine Bibi enjoys all aspects of neurology and neurosurgery. From a clinical perspective, she is passionate about spinal surgery because of the difference it can make in the daily lives of her patients and their families. From an academic perspective, she values the process of neurolocalization and predicting how clinical observations correlate to imaging and surgical findings.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology)
• Residency, Neurology & Neurosurgery, University of Georgia, Athens
• Fellowship, Comparative Neurology, University of Missouri, Columbia
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Trinity College, Hartford, CT

Dr. Bibi is a trained dancer, and she continues to take classes and develop choreography. She also enjoys barre, yoga, traveling and staying active outdoors.

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

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
• Residency, Emergency and Critical Care, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
• Intern, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Fifth Avenue Veterinary Specialists, New York City
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
• Master of Science, Physiological Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson
• Bachelor of Science, Physiological Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson

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. Maria Brandifino is especially interested in transfusion medicine, treating trauma, resuscitation and coagulation.

• Residency, Emergency and Critical Care, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston, MA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston, MA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Villanova University, Pennsylvania

Dr. Brandifino enjoys cooking, watching all kinds of sports, spending time outdoors, hiking and traveling with her boyfriend and their boxer mix, Atticus.

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.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Radiology
• Residency, Diagnostic Imaging, University of California, Davis
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, VCA Animal Referral and Emergency Center of Arizona, Mesa
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca NY

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

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.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology)
• Master of Science, Veterinary Science, Washington State University, Pullman
• Residency, Small Animal Medical Oncology, Washington State University, Pullman
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Oregon State University, Corvallis
• Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honors), University of Melbourne, Australia
• Bachelor of Science (Honors), Animal Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

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. 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.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
• Residency, Surgery, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Rowley Memorial Animal Hospital, MA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
• Bachelor, University of Minnesota, St. Paul

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. Shawna Fujita is a resident in our surgical service. She finds minimally invasive procedures and fracture repairs the most gratifying to perform.

• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Kirkland, WA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Seattle Veterinary Specialists, Kirkland, WA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis

Dr. Fujita enjoys hiking, playing sports and spending time with family. She has three dogs, a French bulldog, a boxer and a Maltese mix.

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.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine)
• Master of Science, Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN
• Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN
• Internship, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Animal Specialty Group, Los Angeles CA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Garden State Veterinary Specialists, Tinton Falls NJ
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Bachelor of Science, Biology and Anthropology-Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

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).

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine)
• Residency, Small Animal internal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, Massey University, New Zealand

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. Casie Lee is particularly interested in surgery, emergency and critical care medicine, shelter and disaster medicine and exotic and small ruminant animal care.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Pet Emergency & Specialty Center, La Mesa, CA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
• Bachelor of Science, Molecular Environmental Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Nathan Nee is especially interested in soft tissue surgery, critical care and polytrauma cases.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Pet Emergency & Specialty Center, La Mesa, CA
• Master of Business Administration, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
• Postbaccalaureate, Health Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
• Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, University of Chicago, IL

Dr. Nee enjoys backpacking, trail running, photography, bicycling, baking, sour beer and reading in his hammock. His dog, Turkey, is a shelter dog with one goal: to kiss all the human faces of the world. She loves hiking and listening to marmots chirp at her.

Dr. Amanda Radek enjoys all aspects of emergency medicine, especially anything having to do with the heart.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Seattle Veterinary Specialists-BluePearl, WA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies, University of Iowa, Iowa City

Dr. Radek loves exploring the mountains and outdoors with her dog Chi.

Dr. Alexandra Reist is a surgery resident with a special interest in surgical oncology and orthopedics.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Seattle Veterinary Specialists, WA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus

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.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Animal Emergency Center, Glendale WI
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
• Bachelor of Arts, Marketing and Finance, University of Wisconsin, Madison

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.

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

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, New England Animal Medical Center, West Bridgewater MA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis

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

Dr. Taylor Stephens finds acute abdomen, sepsis, polytrauma and endocrine emergencies the most gratifying to treat.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle, Lynnwood, WA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

Dr. Stephens enjoys cooking, skiing, traveling and spending time with his tripod golden retriever, Friday.

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

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital, Akron OH
• Doctor Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago IL

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. 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.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons-Small Animal
• Residency, Small Animal Surgery, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Master of Specialized Veterinary Medicine, Small Animal Surgery, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Internship, Equine Ambulatory Medicine, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Lexington KY
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

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. Waldrop’s interests are varied and include hypoadrenal disorders, pediatrics, and metabolic emergencies. She enjoys teaching and lectures at national conferences.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
• Residency, Emergency and Critical Care, Tufts University, North Grafton MA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group, Ventura CA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis
• Bachelor of Arts, Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania

Dr. Waldrop’s household includes her husband, two children, rescued terrier/cattle dog mix Leo, two guinea pigs, and senior cat Moe. She is an avid sports fan and runner and enjoys outdoor adventures.

Dr. Wassink enjoys the daily challenges of emergency medicine and has a special interest in pain management.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Animal Medical Center, New York City
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman