VMSG - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Board - Certified Neurologist at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group
Job Titles:
- Certified Veterinary Surgeon at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group
Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group is excited to welcome Dr. Joseph Raleigh, DVM, Diplomate ACVS (Small Animal) to the Surgery Service. Dr. Raleigh is originally from Thousand Oaks, CA. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California - Davis' Veterinary School and completed a rotating internship at the University of Pennsylvania's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. He returned to UC Davis for a rigorous three year residency in Small Animal Surgery before joining VMSG.
Alexandra Z. Ripoll, DVM, is a veterinary oncologist at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) in Ventura.
Dr. Alexandra Z. Ripoll is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She received a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from the University of California, Davis. After college, Dr. Ripoll worked at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center evaluating therapeutic responses in a comparative urology laboratory in human transitional cell carcinoma and prostatic cancers.
She then attended UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. After completing her studies, she completed a rotating Small Animal and Surgery Internship in Los Angeles, followed by an oncology specialty internship at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. She continued her research endeavors by completing a two-year fellowship in Bone Marrow Transplant at the North Carolina State University and returning to private practice for a one-year specialty oncology internship with The Oncology Service in Richmond, Virginia. She went on to complete her residency in private practice in New Mexico. She has contributions to various publications in comparative and veterinary research with expertise gathered throughout her time practicing across the nation.
Dr. Ripoll is committed to the patients she cares for and their families. Given her extensive experience, she is able to develop treatment plans assuring both families and their family members are well cared for. She is passionate about helping to guide families on medical decisions and delivering empathic and individualized care. She has experience in diagnostic evaluation, chemotherapy as well as advanced medicine including electrochemotherapy and integration of new developments in the field including targeted therapies. Her priority is to ensure each pet is cared for, alleviating pain, and extending survival times while ensuring quality of life.
Her personal interests include art, baking, gardening, and marine life. She also has a passion for cats having several feline friends of her own and enjoys caring for their needs upon request.
Beth Favaloro, DVM, is an emergency veterinarian at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) in Ventura.
Dr. Beth Favaloro prides herself on caring for the pets, and pet parents, that find themselves in the emergency room. She gets great satisfaction from alleviating pain and suffering quickly and getting pets back into their parent's loving arms.
Dr. Favaloro earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, graduating cum laude, from St. George's University School of Veterinary Medicine in True Blue, Grenada, West Indies. After earning her veterinary degree, Dr. Favaloro completed a rotating internship in veterinary medicine, emergency, surgery, and oncology at Advanced Veterinary Specialists in Santa Barbara.
When she isn't providing loving care for pets, you can find Dr. Favaloro hiking, swimming, doing yoga, or spending time with family and friends.
If you find yourself in the ER, you and your pet will be in good hands with Dr. Favaloro.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff of Veterinary Dental Specialties
- Director of the San Diego Veterinary Dental Training Center
Dr. Niemiec is the Chief of Staff of Veterinary Dental Specialties, with 17 practices spread over California, Nevada, Idaho, Louisiana, and Florida.
Dr. Niemiec is also the director of the San Diego Veterinary Dental Training Center. This state-of-the-art facility combines small class size with the latest technology for an excellent learning experience. Please visit vetdentaltraining.com for information on classes.
Diana Tucker, DVM, is an emergency veterinarian at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) in Ventura.
Dr. Diana Tucker is a Ventura County native. She grew up in Thousand Oaks until she was nine. Her family then moved to the country before she returned to Southern California for her higher education. Dr. Tucker obtained a BS degree in Biology at the Master's University in Santa Clarita (2012) and a doctoral degree at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (2016). Upon completing her doctoral degree, Dr. Tucker completed a rigorous one-year, small animal rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital.
Dr. Tucker loves all things emergency medicine. Since completing her internship, Dr. Tucker has practiced small animal emergency medicine at specialty referral hospitals in Irvine and Ventura. Dr. Tucker sees emergency medicine as a unique opportunity to serve her community. "No individual wants to bring their pet to the emergency room. It is a scary time for the client and patient. My job is to alleviate suffering and bring healing to as many as I can."
Dr. Jennifer Simpson grew up in South Africa and came to the United States of America to start her college education in 1995. She graduated from Oregon State University Veterinary School and carries the title of the first small animal surgical resident at OSU. Board certified in 2012 as a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (Dip. ACVS) in Small Animals.
She has expertise in both soft tissue surgery (thoracic surgery, abdominal surgery, cancer surgery etc.) and orthopedic procedures (joint surgery, fracture repair, ACL injuries etc.). As an active educator, she loves teaching general veterinarians basic surgeries along with advanced courses in Small Animal surgical oncology (cancer). Like our whole team of skilled and compassionate professionals at VMSG, Dr. Simpson is always focused on caring for each patient and client, ensuring their optimal surgical plan and well-being.
Dr. Simpson has made Ventura her home for longer than a decade. She, along with her husband, and two children are very active in the community. In their free time, you will see them enjoying the great outdoors - sailing, surfing, hiking, and watching the kids' sports.
Dr. Kenneth Bruecke r (founder and president) began providing surgical specialty care in Ventura County in 1988. The addition of other specialties has allowed Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) to grow to a staff of 85 doctors and paraprofessionals.
Laila Joseph, DVM, is an emergency veterinarian at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) in Ventura.
Dr. Laila Joseph grew up along the Central Coast of California spending time with her pets, swimming in the ocean, and competing on several sports teams. Following high school, she attended UCLA where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She worked as a technician in a small animal private practice and at spay/neuter clinics before attending veterinary school at UC Davis. During veterinary school, Dr. Joseph became interested in emergency medicine, surgery, and bench-top research. She also enjoyed organizing fun events for her class and exploring the many areas around Davis.
Following veterinary school, Dr. Joseph completed an intensive 1-year rotating internship at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. This solidified her desire to provide high quality care to families and their companion animals during their greatest times of need. She strives to serve all communities, find solutions that work best for every family, and is committed to treating every patient as if they are her own.
When not in the hospital, Dr. Joseph can be found at the beach, backpacking throughout the US, enjoying a glass of wine at a local winery, or spending time with her cat, Kylo.
Job Titles:
- Member of Our Specialist Team
- Neurology & Neurosurgery
Michael Higgins, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM, is a board-certified neurologist at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) in Ventura.
Dr. Michael Higgins as our newest member of our Specialist Team. Dr. Higgins is board certified in Neurology and completed his specialty training at Virginia Tech after obtaining his DVM from Ross University and clinical training at North Carolina State University. He also graduated with a Master's degree, studying oligodendrogliomas in dogs during his residency program.
Dr. Higgins loves all aspects of neurology, especially brain tumors, encephalitis, neurosurgery, and neuroimaging. He is passionate about building strong relationships with referring vets and having a positive, team-centered approach in daily practice. He has been practicing medical and surgical neurology in Vancouver, British Columbia for the past 12 years, and is excited to join VMSG and explore sunny California.
The Neurology service focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of medical and surgical diseases including paralysis, seizures and vestibular dysfunction. Veterinary neurologists have expertise and vast experience in dealing specifically with these conditions and can be very helpful in the management of challenging cases. Dr. Higgins looks forward to working with the referring vet community and providing several diagnostic options including CT scan imaging and MRI at VMSG Ventura.
Dr. Trevor Enberg is a board certified Veterinary Criticalist with over 20 years of emergency and critical care experience. He joins the Critical Care and Emergency Department to provide the highest level of care for patients in the ICU. Dr. Enberg works collaboratively with VMSG's other specialists and emergency veterinarians to ensure seamless care for each patient. Our Critical Care department receives patients as direct referral from local veterinarians, patients that come through our Emergency Department, or as internal transfers from other VMSG speciality departments.
When Dr. Enberg isn't busy saving lives at VMSG you will usually find him underwater - SCUBA, free-diving, marine life photography, and (now that he's a Californian) surfing. Dr. Enberg and wife also love to travel all over the world. In fact, their cat GG (Insta famous @ggenberg) has over 39 flights under her collar. Our community is so thankful that Dr. Enberg's travels have brought him to his new home at VMSG. VMSG is proud to welcome his expertise and compassion to the VMSG team.
Elizabeth Peck, DVM, is an emergency veterinarian at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG) in Ventura.
Dr. Peck grew up in the Silicon Valley playing as many team sports as possible before attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for her undergraduate degree in Animal Science. While at University, she served as vice president of the Honors Society, captained the women's polo team through consecutive West Coast Regional titles, and worked as a technician for a large animal veterinarian in Templeton, Ca.
After completion of her degree, Dr. Peck traveled around the world from Japan to Sri Lanka to Morocco and Europe, until settling in Grenada, West Indies. There she attended St. George's University and earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Summa Cum Laude. During veterinary school, Dr. Peck orchestrated One Health One Medicine community health clinics in the most rural communities of the developing nation.
It was at Cornell University during her clinical year that she deeply felt the trauma both of animal and family when they presented for emergency services. From those experiences came a fundamental drive to serve her community during the most vulnerable time of the human-animal bond by becoming an emergency veterinarian. After graduation, Dr. Peck completed an intensive, rotating internship at Advanced Veterinary Specialists, Santa Barbara Ca. Following her internship, Dr. Peck accepted a position at VMSG and has enjoyed every day of her career since.
Dr. Bruecker graduated from the University of California at Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1983. After one year of general small animal practice in Los Angeles, Dr. Bruecker completed an additional year of clinical internship at the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group. He received his master of science degree at the completion of a three-year surgical residency at Colorado State University and moved back to Ventura County in 1988 to establish specialty veterinary care. Dr. Bruecker is the Founder of the Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in Ventura, California. Dr. Bruecker provided regular surgical support for practices in the state of Hawaii from 1996 through 2011.
In 2017, Dr. Bruecker founded COVE (Continuing Orthopedic Veterinary Education) and is an invited speaker throughout the global veterinary community. He is an active participant in working groups on elbow dysplasia, shoulder injuries, advanced techniques in small animal arthroscopy, and cranial cruciate ligament repair. He has been an innovator in the development of many new surgical techniques and orthopedic implants. He holds a patent for the first locking Triple Pelvic Osteotomy plate used to treat hip dysplasia.
The first Board Certified Surgeon in California to also become Board Certified in Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation, Dr. Bruecker's primary clinical interests are spinal surgery, sports medicine, minimally invasive orthopedics, and advanced orthopedics. He is well respected for his expertise in arthroscopy, limb deformity, disorders of the knee, fracture management, and disorders of the spine. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters on Wobbler syndrome, treatment of intervertebral disk degeneration, spinal fracture management, and orthopedics.
Dr. Bruecker is a past program chair of Neurosurgery for The Annual Surgical Summit for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and a past program chair for The Annual Surgical Summit for the technician program for the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. He served as the orthopedics program director for The Annual Surgical Summit of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2004 and 2005. He was also program director for orthopedics, pain management, and anesthesia for the 2006 American Veterinary Medical Association annual symposium. He is the Co-Chair for the AOVet North America Sports Medicine and Traumatology course in 2019 and 2021. He was the Co-Chair for the AO Vet North America Spinal Surgery Masters Course in 2020. He is the past program chair for the Association for Veterinary Orthopedic Research and Education (AVORE) from 2005 through 2018. He is the Small Animal Orthopedics Program Chair for the Western Veterinary Conference from 2016 through 2022. He is a past Executive Board Member (2004-2007) and is Past-President (2014-2015) of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society. He is Vice-President of the Association for Veterinary Orthopedic Research and Education.
He is a member of the AOVet North America Education Committee and a mentor/coach for new AOVet faculty.
Due largely to his commitment to education and training, Dr. Bruecker was chosen as the Veterinarian of the Year by the California Veterinary Medical Association in 2004 and "Hand-On" Educator of the Year for Western Veterinary Conference/Viticus Group in 2022.
The Bruecker family owns and operates avocado and citrus farms in Ventura County. His personal interests are classic cars and a variety of outdoor activities.
It is easy to see that board certified veterinary cardiologist Nick Russell, BVSc, MVS, FANZCVS, DACVIM has a lot of credentials after his name - a sure sign of his extensive training and expertise. What you can't see is immeasurable - his compassion and gentleness. It is Dr. Russell's expertise combined with his filled-with-heart nature that makes his presence at VMSG so welcomed and valuable.
With VMSG's state-of-the-art advanced diagnostic equipment, Dr. Russell is able to extend the lives of patients through diagnostic tests and procedures such as echocardiography, electrocardiography, and 24-hour ambulatory ECG monitoring. VMSG hand picked Dr. Russell - and Dr. Russell hand picked VMSG - to form a collaborative partnership to assure out patients that every source is available to help our pets live a long and healthy life. Nick Russell can be seen on his days off running, participating in triathlons, and hitting the tennis court.