Our Team

Dr. Rick Garcia, BS, BVSc, MRCVS,  our Lead Surgeon and Hospital Director has been providing veterinary surgical services for over 20 years in the greater Los Angeles area.  He graduated from the Royal Academy of Veterinary Surgeons in London, England. Prior to moving back to the US, Dr. Garcia worked in a private practice with great mentorship and support to gain expertise in veterinary surgery. He has completed hundreds of advanced procedures, and developed advanced skills including the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA.) and Advanced Locking Plate System (KYON ALPS).

Dr. Garcia and his supportive wife have 4 small children, 4 pups, 16 chickens, many snakes, lizards, and a tortoise. If Dr. Garcia isn't practicing his life long passion performing surgery, then you'll find him with his family, cheering on one of his kids at one of their activities.

Dr. Heather Mineo graduated as valedictorian from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. After completing a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery in New York City, she went on to finish a residency in emergency and critical care medicine in 2007. Since then, Dr. Mineo has worked with several multi-specialty veterinary groups in the Los Angeles area.

Recently, she took the exciting leap to become a partner and the Chief Medical Officer at Western Veterinary Center. She has a special interest in trauma care, wound management, sepsis, and soft tissue surgery. Over the years, she’s developed a strong background in diagnostic and interventional endoscopy, ultrasound, and intensive care. Dr. Mineo is always expanding her professional skills—she now also offers tracheal stenting and laparoscopy services.

Outside the hospital, Dr. Mineo keeps busy cheering on her kids at sporting events across the country and spending time with her family. She loves exploring modern art and architecture, catching live music and Broadway shows, reading a good book, and relaxing at the beach. A longtime fan of the Dave Matthews Band, she makes sure to see them in concert at least once a year—usually in California, but sometimes beyond.

Dr. Mineo shares her life with a lively crew of rescued pets. Hedwig, her Old English Sheepdog, is her loyal daily sidekick at work, while Kitty, a not-so-friendly dilute calico, prefers to stay home and rule the roost. Oliver the Boxer lives with her brother, Phoebe the mini Dachshund splits her time between homes in Colorado, and Kona the spirited Jack Russell Terrier keeps things lively in Costa Mesa. Most recently, Smokey the kitten joined the family after being rescued from a coworker’s car engine compartment—he’s settling in quickly and keeping everyone on their toes.

Dr. Gerards, our Director of Preventative Medicine, is a Ventura County local with a love for travel, running, and swimming. She comes to us with over a decade of experience as a small animal veterinarian. She has lived and practiced veterinary medicine in many places, including Northern California and Perth, Australia. She has traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, Alaska, and New Zealand. She has a Dutch husband, 2 young boys, 5 Fur-babies, and a tortoise!

Dr. Gerards loves taking care of people and their beloved pets. She has a special interest in internal medicine cases, soft tissue surgeries, dentistry, and dermatology. She has also completed speciality training in Abdominal and Cardiac Ultrasound (Echocardiography).

She can’t wait to meet you and your furry friends.

Dr. Ferber received her veterinary degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 2013. After graduation, she returned to her hometown of Toronto, Canada where she worked at a local after-hours emergency vet clinic. There, she gained interest in furthering her training in emergency and critical care and went on to complete a rotation internship in small animal medicine and surgery at BluePearl in New York City, followed by a residency in Emergency and Critical Care at ACCESS Culver City. Dr. Ferber achieved diplomate status in 2021. Her professional interests include sepsis, toxicities, and trauma.

Outside of work, Dr. Ferber enjoys going to escape rooms, exploring hiking and walking trails, and crocheting.

Dr. Ferber is excited to be joining the team at Western Veterinary Center where she hopes to continue to provide compassionate and quality care to pets and owners.

Dr. Kalee Salas was born and raised on the island of Maui, Hawai’i where her love of animals started with her horse rescue called Kalee’s Retirement Stable. She moved off island for university and graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Applied Biology. She then made the move to Southern California to attend Western University of Health Sciences where she obtained her veterinary degree. She went on to live and work in Seattle, Washington for about a year then moved back to California to continue her career. Her special interests are emergency medicine, neurology, and research.

In her free time (basically any moment of it) you can find her reading something about magic or dragons or plotting her next travel adventure.

Dr. Salas has two dogs named Atlas and Alien and of course a sassy calico cat named Chola to rule them all. Her absolute favorite animals are bats and manatees.

Dr. Stan Kunin was raised on a 44 acre chicken ranch in north San Diego. Spending his youth with his knowledgeable grandfather, he learned about chickens and the menagerie of other animals residing there including horses, dogs, cats, a goat, and a pig. It was there that he fell in love with the idea of becoming a veterinarian. Dr. Kunin graduated from U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1978, after which he completed an internship program in West Los Angeles. During his internship he worked emergency shifts while concurrently learning from specialists who trained him in internal medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, dermatology, and exotic animals. He is married with three grown children and one grandchild. When not working he enjoys performing magic (once a member of The Magic Castle), playing and discussing baseball, and traveling with his family.

Dr. Aubrey Malott grew up on a farm in a rural village near Cincinnati, Ohio. It was there that she found her love for animals and veterinary medicine. She graduated from Wilmington College where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biology. Dr. Malott then moved north to receive her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University. After making close friends in vet school that were from the west coast, Dr. Malott decided to pack up her things and travel back with them to California. She has not regretted her decision to come enjoy the California sunshine! Dr. Malott’s special interests include feline medicine and welfare, internal medicine, geriatric medicine and big cat conservation. In her free time, Dr. Malott enjoys hiking in national parks, gardening, making pottery, and spending time with her cat, Goose.

Dr. Julia Cohen knew she wanted to be a veterinarian since she was four years old, largely influenced by the numerous farm animals and stray cats and dogs she used to play with during her childhood summers spent with her family in Moldova. Dr. Cohen grew up mostly in the Conejo Valley before leaving to attend the University of California, Davis, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Biology, followed by her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. She always knew she wanted to return to the Conejo Valley, and she is thrilled to serve you and your pets here at Western Veterinary Center! Dr. Cohen is passionate about holistic and preventative care, and strives to ensure the best possible health and happiness for our beloved pets. She adores all animals, but has a soft spot for cats and feline medicine.

Dr. Cohen is bilingual, speaking English and Russian fluently, and hopes to use this to serve even more members of the community. Outside of the hospital, Dr. Cohen enjoys traveling, learning languages, swing dancing, listening to live music, fostering kittens, and training and playing with her cats, Mishka and Twilight.

Bio Coming Soon

Dr Alwen started her career as a conservation mammalogist conducting research on African Wild Dogs in South Africa for several years. Her research focused on progeny outcomes based on social hierarchies. In 2012 she attended UC Davis and subsequently completed a rotating internship with a heavy Emergency and Critical Care focus at a busy specialty veterinary hospital in Los Angeles, CA. She can currently be found at Western Veterinary Center on Mondays. Which adds to her weekly service at several trauma tier I (highest tier of critical cases) specialty vet hospitals across L.A. Here at Western, she is able to practice high quality ER medicine with some of the best veterinary specialists in the field. This truly is one of the most challenging and fulfilling jobs in the world!

Dr. Priya Thakkar graduated from Michigan State University in 2011 after completing her undergraduate degrees in Animal Science with a minor in Chemistry from CalPoly Pomona. Upon her graduation from Michigan State University, she participated in a one-year rotating internship at the Animal Specialty Group. Since 2012, she’s worked exclusively in the ER, and specializes in emergency medicine.

Dr. Priya Thakkar lives with her husband, young daughter, and her two rescue pups. When not saving lives, she enjoys traveling, yoga, hiking, and spending time with her family.