All Creatures Animal Hospital and Luxury Boarding Suites

Dr. Schiebert always knew she was going to grow up to be vet. "When I was just three years old, I lived in Westport Connecticut and I would find these dead field mice outside all the time. I would pick them up, cradle them in my hands and go knock on my front door waiting for my Mom to come to the rescue. I knew she was a nurse and I was certain she could save the flat mice. She would answer the door, scream, and make me drop the mouse. After washing my hands, we would then have a makeshift funeral for the mouse in the garden. We had quite the little mouse cemetery in the garden at the side of the house."

She worked hard to make that dream a reality: taking AP classes in High School, attending the summer college program at Harvard University, Graduating Magna Cumme Laude from LMU with a BS in biology in only three years and then being accepted to UC Davis Veterinary School on her first application. After graduating veterinary school at UC Davis, Dr. Schiebert worked as an associate veterinarian to learn the ropes but her dream of owning her own practice never died. She purchased Shadowridge Village Veterinary Clinic on April 17, 1997.

Originally established in 1987 as Shadowridge Village Veterinary Clinic, the vet hospital was purchased by Dr. Jenny Schiebert in 1997 and transformed into a state of the art medical hospital for small animals. Dr. Schiebert expanded the services offered to include advanced soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, high tech anesthetic monitoring, advanced dentistry, Root canal therapy, Laser surgery, Ultrasound examinations, and in house laboratory, and endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures. The name changed to Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital to reflect the full service nature of services.

In 2000, Dr. Schiebert created the first Luxury Pet Hotel in San Diego with all glass suites boarding pets in a cage free environment. Creature Comforts Pet Hotel offers luxury boarding with the most attentive and well-trained staff to care for your pet's every need. Your pet will be pampered while still maintaining the security of being under direct veterinary supervision at all times.

In 2003, Dr. Brad Steele and Dr. Sophie Steele joined the practice and the hospital was relocated to a brand new specially designed facility located just down the street on the corner next to Burlington Coat Factory. The new hospital consists of 4 exam rooms, an ultrasound suite, double surgery suite, expanded treatment area, hydrosurge bathing room, luxury pet hotel with enclosed play yard, and kids play nook to keep the little ones occupied when Mom and Dad need to speak with the Doctor. Dr. Schiebert bought the Steele's out of their share of the practice in 2005.

In July of 2006, Dr. Schiebert was given the opportunity to purchase Levitt Animal Hospital in San Marcos. Originally established in 1977, the hospital was owned and operated by Dr. Ira Abrams. Dr. Abrams decided it was time to focus on veterinary medicine and family life without the headaches of business ownership so he sought ought a veterinarian who would continue his vision for the practice. Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital was a perfect fit, dedicated to personal interactions and quality medicine.

Dr. Schiebert welcomed Dr. Jennifer Stewart, DVM as a minority partner in July 2006 as well. After working part time for a year with Dr. Schiebert, Dr. Stewart became the fulltime vet at San Marcos for 2 years. Dr. Schiebert purchased Dr. Stewart's interest in the practice in 2009 and Dr. Stewart left to spend more time with her family and run a housecall veterinary practice based in Oceanside, California.

Today, Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital represents the very best that veterinary medicine has to offer – a full service progressive hospital, with empathetic and dedicated nurses and staff, intelligent and compassionate doctors, utilizing state of the art equipment to provide excellent care for pets resulting in the best quality of life possible.

Clients come from as far away as Chula Vista, La Jolla, Temecula and beyond. The majority of our patients find us centrally located in the San Marcos and Vista areas where we service the surrounding communities of Discovery Hills, San Elijo, Escondido, Hidden Meadows, Oceanside, Carlsbad, La Costa, Aviara and Olivenhain.

Dedicated to Continuing Education

To keep up with the growing wealth of knowledge in veterinary care, our veterinarians and support staff participate in continuing education and training on a regular basis. Several times per year our doctors and staff travel to conferences to learn the latest information about patient care and medicine. Our hospitals close from 12-2pm every other Wednesday to provide for additional in hospital Continuing education on disease and care of animals as well advanced customer service training. We constantly adapt to the needs of our clients and even review ways to improve our interactions with clients, trying to identify issues of concern in client service before they become problems. As a result, we welcome any and all feedback because it is what helps to constantly strive to improve ourselves.

The hospital is a member of the American Animal Hospital Association. We will continue to strive to exceed AAHA's rigid standards to provide the highest quality medical and surgical care possible for your pet.

Meet Our Vets

Dr. Jenny Schiebert, DVM

Veterinary School: U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine 1995

After graduating magna cum laude from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Dr. Schiebert earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Schiebert worked as an associate veterinarian in private practice before deciding to fulfill her lifelong dream and open her own hospital.

In April 1997, Dr. Schiebert became the chief of staff and owner of Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital, transforming the 1800 square foot clinic into a state of the art full service veterinary hospital. In May 1999, Dr. Schiebert expanded to create the unique Creature Comforts Pet Hotel, the first full service luxury cage free pet hotel in San Diego County.

Dr. Schiebert expanded the practice once again in 2003, moving the practice across the street to a 3600 square foot building with an enclosed 6000 square foot yard designed to accommodate all the state of the art equipment and special needs of the ever growing practice.

As the elected President of the San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association in 2005, Dr. Schiebert helped organize numerous continuing education conferences for local veterinarians. Dr. Schiebert has been elected to the board since 1996 and continues to strives to stay current with the latest advances in veterinary medicine and treatments. She currently serves as a Delegate in the California Veterinary Medical Association representing San Diego County in the House of Delegates.

When not helping patients, Dr. Schiebert spends her spare time with her husband Gene and their two daughters, Allyse and Jessica. Their "family" of pets includes 2 rescue Greyhounds, "Hycote" and "Daffodil", and an exuberant Chocolate Lab named "Denali", who can be seen some days at the office. In addition, four cats, "Mimzy", "Charlie Brown", "Marie" and " help to keep the bed warm at night. Their at home zoo also includes a 90# African Spurred Tortoise ( or sulcatta) named Frankie that roams their property in Fallbrook.

Together, the family enjoys watching movies, swimming, riding mountain bikes, traveling, SCUBA diving and water skiing!

Dr. Lisa Leraas, DVM

Dr. Lisa Leraas graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles in 1996 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Art History.

She then earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2001, graduating with honors.

"My favorite part about being a vet is that I am able to not only heal animals, but help the owners who love them to feel better as well. I am amazed every day by the strength, power and beauty of the human-animal bond," Dr Leraas reports.

Past Job Experience: small animal veterinarian at ABC Veterinary Hospital in San Marcos 2002-2012. I took 2 years off to raise my two beautiful daughters full time, then I joined the Shadowridge team in November 2015.

My pets: Daisy- 19 1/2 year old chihuahua, Oscar- 16 year old lab mix, Tink- 10 year old dachshund, Dixie- 6 year old chihuahua mix, Tigg- 8 year old Ragdoll cat, Darby- 8 year old brown tabby cat, 7 chickens: several of which were named after members of the Shadowridge team: Nikki, Betsy Ross, Becca, Lilac, Rue, Peppermint and Splash.

Hobbies: Spending time with my two amazing daughters, Julianne and Olivia, attending church, running, cooking, reading and traveling.

Medical interests: dermatology, cardiology, internal medicine and surgery

Dr. Caroline Defresne

Dr. Caroline Defresne joins us from Europe to add an additional flair to our team. Born in Lanaken, Belgium, Dr. Defresne (pronounced De Fren), speaks Dutch, English, French, some Spanish and a little bit of Danish. She is from "Flanders" where the people speak Dutch but her grandfather was from the French speaking part of Belgium, hence the French sounding last name.

Dr. Defresne, or Dr. Caroline, graduated cum laude with a degree in Veterinary Medicine in June 2004, and then earned a Master in Lab Animal Science in 2006
From the University of Ghent, Belgium. The University of Ghent has ranked first place in Veterinary Science by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World University since 2017.

Dr. Defresne worked in vet hospitals in Belgium and The Netherlands with both companion and large animals in the Netherlands before moving to the United States several years ago. She met her husband, who is from Denmark, in Maastricht (The Netherlands) in our local softball club. Her husband was relocated to a biotech company in Carlsbad and they make their home here now.

Dr. Defresne volunteered and then worked at San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) as a vet tech while completing the program to obtain a USA / California DVM license. She has a special interest in care for very young kittens through this work and fostering for SDHS.

After completing NAVLE and ECFVG, Dr. Defresne earned her California license in April 2018. She then became an Associate Veterinarian at Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital where she brings her wealth of knowledge and experience to our team.

Caroline and her husband have a four legged child named Abby, a 13 inch Beagle or "Pocket Beagle", who is extremely loved and a tiny bit spoiled.

In her spare time, Dr. Defresne enjoys doing K9 nosework ("scentwork") with Abby and competing in NCSAW nosework trials, traveling, exploring nature, wildlife photography, and reading.
She has developed a special Interest in positive reinforcement training through training my own puppy/ young dog.

On her Bucket list: visit every single US National Park.

Meet Our Team

Gene, Hospital Administrator

Gene keeps the hospital working on a daily basis as a business and runs all aspects of accounting, bookkeeping, IT design and management, maintenence and repair, Human Resources, Accounts Payable and Web Page design and upkeep.

Gene has a BS in chemistry from UC Davis, AS in Digital Electronics, & AS in Electronic Communication and comes to us after working 7 years as a Research Chemist for Dow Corning and Nichols Institute. Gene grew up in the Sacramento foothills near Folsom Lake and moved down to the Southern California area in 1995 to work for Dow Corning/ Nichols Institute Diagnostics. Gene and Dr. Jenny met while taking a SCUBA diving class at UC Davis and he proposed to her on a beach in Cozumel during a Dive Trip.

Gene never really gets time off since he is married to Dr. Schiebert and they run both practices together. But when he does get to relax, Gene enjoys talking about Star Trek or any Science topics, riding mountain bikes, scuba diving and water skiing! Gene and Jenny raise two girls, Allyse and Jessica, in Fallbrook Ca. They have two Greyhounds named Hycote and Daffodil, a young Chocolate Lab named Denali, two cats named Charlie Brown and Mimzy, a 50# African Spur Tortoise named Frankie and the kids pets ( a water turtle named Nibbles and a Guinea Pig named Skunk).

Nikki, Practice Manager

When asked why Nikki chose Veterinary medicine as a profession, she answered "because these creatures love us unconditionally, this is the only way I know how to give back to them for that unselfish love". Nikki can be found hard at work behind the scenes at our Vista hospital most days, running the treatment room and making sure everyone is well taken care of. If you happen to call, you will immediately recognize Nikki by her southern manners on the phone. She is very helpful and polite and always tries her best to help clients in need. Nikki also handles our inventory which is an enormous undertaking that she tackles with her usual amplomb and amazing work ethic.

After Nikki's initial interview with Dr. Schiebert, Nikki sent Dr. Schiebert a thank you note stating that although she may not be the most experienced for the position no one would work harder or be more grateful for the opportunity to work at Shadowridge than she. In the many years that followed Nikki has completely lived up to and exceeded all of our expectations.

Nikki started out in an entry level nursing position with us and treated every task as though it is of the utmost important. It was this amazing work ethic as well as her aptitude for veterinary medicine and her deep understanding of the human animal bond that led to Nikki rising up the ladder very quickly. At every step, with every promotion Nikki has taken on the challenge as though the results are life and death. Which serves as a solemn reminder to the rest of us that although veterinary medicine can be very rewarding it is hard work. There is no task in the hospital that Nikki is not willing to do and she often stays late to help other departments finish their work before she leaves from her 10-12 hour work day.

Nikki is a contributor to American Pit Bull Terrier rescue and has a special place in her heart for the breed. Her home however, is ruled by a 4 pound Chihuahua named "Rue" who keeps her champion Blue Pit, Unique, in line.

Barbara, Pet Hotel Manager

Every pet staying with us at Creature Comforts Pet Hotel is fortunate to have Barbara looking after them. Her primary concern is always the pet's care and well-being. She likes to take care of the pets at Shadowridge because our smaller size allows her the opportunity to offer individualized care for each pet.

"I would never want to work in a large kennel or boarding facility where volume is the primary concern and all the pets are just numbers," says Barbara. "At Creature Comforts, I get to know each pet and can recognize early on when their behavior is a little off from past visits. It makes me feel good to help pets and make them feel at home while their parents are away".

She originally joined our team looking for a "fun job" after years of office work. She quickly fell in love with the pets and routinely recognizes repeat visitors by sight alone. She has a desire to learn as much as she can about pet care, enrolling in ROP veterinary assistant courses, attending pet care expos, grooming seminars, nutrition classes and online veterinary assisting classes.

With all this experience, Barbara has detected many illnesses in pets during their stay that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Her attention to detail also helped to catch a bloat (or GDV) in a Great Dane that was boarding before it became life threatening. And we like to joke that she has a nose for Bladder Infections – she can detect bladder infections in dogs just by smell and will notify the doctors. The doctors have learned that if Barbara says she thinks a dog has a bladder infection, then the urinalysis will usually prove her right.

If you have any questions or concerns about Boarding your pet, call Barbara at 760-727-7900. She will be happy to give you a tour of Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital and Creature Comforts Pet Hotel.

Kathy, Registered Veterinary Technician and Nursing Supervisor

All pets that come through Shadowridge are lucky to have someone like Kathy taking care of them. She has been a veterinary technician for many years and originally started working for Shadowridge Over ten years ago. She left us for a few years and earned her veterinary technician degree, or RVT. She has returned to lead our team and is responsible for all patient care and training and supervising nursing staff at our hospital.

Her kind manner and gentle hands help calm the most nervous patients. She is excellent at explaining things to clients and often can be found teaching clients how to care for their pets post-operatively or how to give insulin etc. We are so lucky to have someone with her compassion and level of skill caring for our patients.

In her spare time, she cares for her dog Banner, who can be seen running around Shadowridge Play yard during the day too.

Susan, Registered Veterinary Technician

After spending some time doing administrative duties for physicians in both Hospitals and private practice, Susan finally decided to pursue her passion of helping people and their beloved pets. In 2013, she completed her training in the Penn Foster veterinary technology program and passed her boards to become an RVT in California.

Susan shares her life with her Husband, her Mom, her Afghans – Ricky, Bob, and Fred, 2 desert tortoises named Bertha and Thurgood, and Elmo the Emu. She is a volunteer at Project Wildlife in San Diego. Susan is also a member of the San Diego Desert and Tortoise Society and Afghan Hound Club of America.

Susan enjoys biking at the beach, hiking, and knitting. Susan says "Most of all I really enjoy working at Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital with a great group of Veterinarians and staff, and look forward to my continued learning experiences as I work toward earning my RVT license." Mark that as done now!

Debra, Pet Care Assistant

Debra has been with Shadowridge for many years in our boarding department and has forged a bond with many of our long-term boarding clients and their 4 legged family members and they are always glad to see her when they arrive.

Almost any time you come into our Vista location you will see Debra's smiling face waiting to take back her charges for their stay in our luxury pet hotel and get them settled in for the duration. Due to her extensive experience with boarding pets Debra has a special knack for knowing when one of our four-legged guests are not feeling well and makes sure that they get medical attention in the most efficient way possible.

Debra has a deep love for animals and is especially enamored with small dogs and kitties. She cares for her own animals with love and respect and we are happy to have her as part of our Pet Hotel team.

Betsy, Veterinary Technician & Lead Nurse, San Marcos

Van, Veterinary Technician

Devinne, Veterinary Technician

Juanita, Veterinary Technician

Evan, Veterinary Technician

Loren, Veterinary Technician

Jaclyn, Veterinary Technician

Shante, Reception

Mitch, Veterinary Technician

Ashley, Veterinary Technician

Ross, Pet Hotel & Veterinary Technician

Lori, Pet Hotel & Veterinary Assistant

Interns

At Shadowridge Veterinary Hospital, we are dedicated to help train new students entering the field or wishing to persue a career in the veterinary profession. We offer unpaid internships and accept externs from local high schools, veterinary technology programs, ROP and RVT schools.

The interns and externs shadow our nurses and learn everything about how to take care of patients from cleaning the hospital and doing laundry to restraining to prepping for surgery.

All Creatures Animal Hospital and Luxury Boarding Suites

Source: https://shadowridgevet.com/about-us/