Unlike many veterinarians, Kate did not grow up surrounded by animals. She grew up in the suburbs of Boston, MA, and her parents weren’t keen on having animals in the house. It took her ten years to convince them to get a dog. But of course everyone loves a Golden Retriever puppy, and they were immediately won over.

Kate graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a BS in Brain and Cognitive Science. She spent the next few years working in biomedical research at Tufts University. During this time, adopting a shelter dog and volunteering for a foster-based rescue inspired her to shift from looking at PhD programs to applying for veterinary school, specifically to work with shelter animals. During that time, she also attended the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and ran a small pastry business from her home.

After graduating from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010, she completed a 1-year internship in Shelter Medicine at Cornell University and has been working in shelters ever since. One of her favorite parts of the job is performing dental procedures, as this quickly relieves a patient’s suffering from loose or infected teeth. She has volunteered for spay/neuter projects around the world to help control the street dog population humanely, visiting Nepal, Puerto Rico, Cambodia, Bahrain, and American Samoa.

Dr. Riley, SPCA Veterinarian, is exploring the area with her Great Pyrenees, Lucy. They’re both enjoying the cool weather and prolific wildlife in the Monterey peninsula. In her free time, she still enjoys cooking, as well as taking advantage of the many kayaking and SCUBA diving opportunities the area has to offer.

Dr. Julio Gomez joined the SPCA as a Veterinarian in 2023 after providing relief Veterinary work at the SPCA since 2018. Dr. Gomez graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and has worked in private practice in Hollister and Dixon as well as a high volume spay and neuter clinic in Sacramento, the Sacramento SPCA and Michigan Humane Society. He also worked at Michigan State University.

Dr. Gomez was born in Mexico and moved to Northern California when he was in middle school, graduating from Seaside High School and UC Santa Cruz. While in high school, he volunteered at the SPCA Wildlife Center. Dr. Gomez likes shelter medicine due to the variety of animals and cases seen. He loves that he gets to help so many animals, especially those who have experienced a rough life and seeing them become healthy and find homes.

Dr. Gomez lives in the Santa Cruz area with his wife, who is also a Veterinarian, and his twin son and daughter. They share their homes with one dog, three cats (including one adopted from the SPCA), a bird, a snake, and a bunny.

Dr. Edith Blair joined the SPCA veterinary team in 2023. Dr. Blair graduated from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and came to the SPCA after working in emergency veterinary care in the Bay Area and Santa Cruz.

Dr. Blair grew up in Washington DC and came to California for veterinary school. She enjoyed the company of dogs, cats, and horses while growing up. Dr. Blair always loved working with animals and wanted to be a veterinarian ever since she was a child. She enjoys being able to help animals that don’t have an owner to look out for them, and seeing the wide variety of species and cases helped by the SPCA.

Dr. Blair lives in the Santa Cruz area and shares her home with a dog named Tyson. She loves baking, trail running, and mountain biking.