VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hospital

Bios

• Suzanne Cook Olson

  DVM

  Dr. Cook is board certified in Small Animal Internal Medicine (Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, (www.acvim.org) and enjoys all aspects of internal medicine. She received her veterinary degree from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship in 1988 at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Dr. Cook completed her residency training in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 1991 at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Cook was on staff at the Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital and Veterinary Tumor Institute in Santa Cruz, CA, from 1991-1995. After trying mobile consulting in the Chicago area in 1995, she went on to serve as staff internist and medical director at the Animal Emergency and Critical Care Center, a busy, multi-specialty referral practice in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, IL, from 1996-2003. Dr. Cook's referral services include abdominal ultrasonography, ultrasound-guided aspirates and biopsies, limited thoracic ultrasound, bronchoscopy/bronchoalveolar lavage, gastrointestinal endoscopy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement, rhinoscopy, urethrocystoscopy, bone marrow aspirates, and chemotherapy. She accepts referrals for consultations and management of complicated chronic disease processes such as diabetes mellitus, cushing's disease, chronic gastrointestinal conditions, and immune-mediated disease. Dr. Cook is a native of Minnesota. She received her B.A. in chemistry and biology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN in 1983. Free time is hard to come by, but Dr. Cook enjoys alpine skiing, swimming, classical music, and walking. The Olson home is currently between dogs after the loss of their beloved Bo, but enjoys the company of Loki the cat and Cheetah the leopard gecko. Dr. Cook established the internal medicine referral service at Central Kitsap Animal Hospital in 2003, and became Medical Director in 2011. She lives in Poulsbo with her husband (Dr. Scott Olson, owner of Viking Dental in Poulsbo) and three teenage and young adult children.

• Cerissa Blair

  DVM

  Dr. Cerissa Blair is Kitsap County native. She was born and raised in Port Orchard, Washington. She graduated valedictorian of her high school class at South Kitsap High School in 1998. She subsequently moved to Pullman, Washington, where she pursued both her undergraduate and professional training. She received her Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences through the WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences in 2002. Dr Blair received her doctorate in Veterinary Medicine through the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. After nearly a decade on the Palouse, Dr. Blair happily moved back to the Kitsap peninsula and joined the emergency and general practice team at VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hospital in May of 2006. Dr. Blair truly believes our pets are family members and that their health and happiness are essential for long happy lives. Common sense, education and commitment to pursue and provide proper care are necessary for this occur. To achieve this end, Dr. Blair's practice focuses on the importance of preventative care medicine, early disease detection practices, internal medicine case management, soft tissue surgery and dentistry. Outside of work, Dr Blair loves spending time with time with her four-legged and two-legged family members, in that order. Currently she has two dogs and two cats, each with a special story of their own. She also enjoys motorcycle riding, boating, gardening and reading.

• Kathy Hickey

  DVM

  Dr. Hickey is a Kitsap County native who returned to school to follow her dream of becoming a veterinarian when her children were in grade school. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Veterinary Science and a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University. Dr. Hickey graduated summa cum laude and is a member of the national veterinary honor society, Phi Zeta. She joined the general practice team in 2006. Her special interests include challenging internal medicine cases, surgery, dentistry, and preventative care. She values the relationships she builds within our community and strives to provide each client and patient with compassionate, high quality care. Dr. Hickey's philosophy is that she and her clients are a team working toward the same goal: to provide the longest, healthiest, and happiest life possible for their pet(s). She feels her primary role in this team is to provide the information, education, and support that are necessary for clients to make the best decisions for their pet(s) and their family. In her free time Dr. Hickey enjoys hiking, skiing, reading, gardening, WSU Cougar football games, volunteering in the community, and spending time with her family and friends. She and her husband have two teenage children and a houseful of rescued pets, including Sadie (Border collie), Canelita (stray dog from Mexico), Forrest (gray and white tabby cat), Chloe (calico cat), and Libby (brown tabby cat).

• Lucy Hellier

  DVM

  Dr. Lucille Hellier joined Emergency Service at VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hosptial in 2006. She comes to Central Kitsap Animal Hospital with extensive general practice experience. Dr. Hellier received her Doctrate of Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1983, graduating cum laude. During her time as a student she worked for the parasitology department, contributing to several publications. While a student she was the recipient of an NIH summer research training grant and conducted research on drug resistance in equine parasites. Dr. Hellier has been a member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society since 2006. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband, Bud, and two grown sons, Ben and Nat as well as their three cats, Daisy, Louise, and Rosa. Her hobbies include , hiking, gardening, classical music, and quilting. She is an active member of her Catholic parish.

• Jennifer Mead

  DVM

  Dr. Jennifer Mead graduated veterinary school from Oklahoma State University in 2009. Upon graduation she moved to Michigan for her internship at Michigan Veterinary Specialists. While there, she worked in surgery and medicine beside a team of 10 different specialists. Dr. Mead joined the VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hospital team in June 2011 and she brings her expertise in emergency medicine, internal medicine, and radiology with a passion for quality. In her free time, she enjoys running, biking and competing in a variety of races. She completed her first triathlon last year and has plans to complete another this year in addition to the Rock and Roll half marathon in June. She is currently enrolled in an acupuncture course and should be certified and ready to see clients by late spring early summer.

• NIcholas Angelette

  DVM

  Originally from the Greater New Orleans area, Dr. Nicholas Angelette studied veterinary medicine at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. Following graduation he completed a year of advanced training in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana before moving to the Kitsap peninsula. Dr. Angelette is grateful to work with the very talented and dedicated staff at VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hospital as a part of the emergency medical team. He has special interests in emergency and critical care, soft tissue surgery, and diagnostic imaging. When not at the hospital Dr. Angelette lives with his best friend, River a mixed breed dog, affectionately referred to as a Chien Noir (Black Dog), in the serene setting of Seabeck WA.

• Tara Rees

  DVM

  Dr. Tara Rees was raised in the Seattle area and received her B.S. in Biology from Seattle University in 2000. Prior to receiving her doctorate from Washington State University in 2007, she spent years working as both a marine mammal trainer in zoos and aquariums and as a naturalist in both Washington and Alaska. Dr. Rees' free time is spent with her husband and son, as well as their three dogs, Denali, Juneau and Homer. She was very excited to join VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hospital's General Practice team in the winter of 2011. Dr. Rees feels strongly about providing the best quality wellness care for dogs and cats, with the goal of promoting healthy, happy and long-lived pets.

• Emily Saunders

  DVM

  Dr. Saunders is originally from Oregon by way of Iowa. She obtained a bachelor of science in zoology form Oregon State University and graduated with honors from Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008. Following veterinary school Dr. Saunders completed a rigorous small animal medicine and surgery internship at a large referral hospital in Sacramento. She subsequently returned to the northwest to join the emergency team at VCA Central Kitsap Animal Hospital. She enjoys all aspects of emergency and critical care medicine with special interests in shock and sepsis, trauma, feline medicine, toxicities, surgical emergencies, and gastrointestinal emergencies. In her down time Dr. Saunders enjoys many outdoor activities especially hiking and exploring the beautiful Kitsap Peninsula with her dog Henry, reading a good book while cuddling with her cats Oliver and Maddie, gardening, baking and traveling. Dr. Saunders is a member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society and the national veterinary honor society, Phi Zeta.

• Mary Danley

  BVSc

  Dr. Mary Danley is from San Diego and attended University of California, San Diego for her undergraduate degree in Evolution, Behavior, & Ecology Biology. During her final year, she studied abroad in Costa Rica, Australia, and South Africa. She then went on to attend veterinary school at Onderstepoort, Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. During her final clinical year, Dr. Danley chose to do her elective rotations in wildlife, including assisting in boma training black rhinos for translocation at Kruger National Park, wildlife management at the DeWildt Cheetah & Wildlife Centre, and mass capture of impala, wildebeest, and zebra. After graduation, Dr. Danley went through her international and national boards and became licensed in the state of California before moving to Eastern Washington to work as a mixed animal veterinarian. Dr. Danley continued her career on the Olympic Peninsula as a mixed animal veterinarian before joining the team at VCA Central Kitsap in May 2014. Dr. Danley's special interests in veterinary medicine include preventative health medicine, dermatology, and dentistry. In her free time, Dr. Danley enjoys hiking with her two dogs.