Veterinary Specialist
DVM, DACVS
Dr. Shields has been practicing specialty surgery for over 20 years and is well accomplished in orthopedic, general, soft tissue, and basic neurologic surgical procedures. She is also qualified to perform some minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopy. While there is not much Dr. Shields has not seen or operated on, distal limb fractures, wound management, surgical oncology, and stifle surgery make her smile! (A little weird, but we still love her!)
Dr. Shields did all of her veterinary training in California. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Biological Sciences and received her veterinary degree from the University of California, College of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, California in 1997 where she graduated with academic honors (Phi Zeta). She completed her one-year internship and a three-year residency in Small Animal Surgery at Animal Specialty and Emergency Center (formerly California Animal Hospital) in Los Angeles, California and became Board Certified in Surgery in 2002.
Dr. Shields founded a small animal surgery service in Santa Barbara, California at Advanced Veterinary Specialists in 2012 and has maintained a busy surgery practice there for the last 13 years. Prior to this, Dr. Shields was part of the busy surgery team at Animal Specialty and Emergency Center in Los Angeles for 6 years and Veterinary Specialty Center in Tucson, Arizona for 4 years.
Dr. Shields is excited to bring her experience to the Okanagan Valley where she can help the pets in the community, work closely with local veterinarians through continuing education, case review prior to formal consultation, and if needed, evaluate radiographs and other diagnostic tests prior to referral. Through this collaboration, Dr. Shields can play an important part of the comprehensive care that our beloved canines and felines deserve (sorry no horses, the one in the photo above is a fake!).
Outside of AVS, Dr. Shields enjoys running, cooking, hiking, creating cool (and occasionally lopsided) ceramics. But most of all, she is grateful to spend time with her family which includes her kilt-wearing ever-supportive husband, her teenage son who loves to play with his border collie Winnebago, the outspoken chihuahua Thomas (also known as the Burrito), and the two fuzzy felines who rule the house and hearts –Booger the Supervisor and Sebastian the Snuggler. She and her family are very excited to explore the beautiful Okanagan Valley and make it their new home!
