Meet The SVS Team
Jose D. – Jay Dee
HEAD VETERINARY ASSISTANT
Jay Dee grew up in a vet clinic, tagging alongside his dad, who has been a veterinary assistant for 38 years. Early on, Jay Dee knew that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and began working as a vet assistant himself in 2009. After gaining experience at multiple animal hospitals around LA, Jay Dee joined the SVS team in 2017 and is now our Head Veterinary Assistant. Jay Dee’s meticulous attention to detail is bar none and a reason why he is invaluable to the SVS team. Jay Dee is also a proud father of 4 children and his Pitbull, Venus.
Raul C.
VETERINARY ASSISTANT
Raul has been in the veterinary field for 20 years. He played a large roll in the development of ACCESS, one of California’s premier specialty animal hospitals, where he gained extensive hospital management experience. Raul has a passion and talent for innovation, a key reason why he was attracted to SVS philosophy of practicing small animal surgery in a non-traditional way. Raul has been on the SVS team since 2019 and continues to help us streamline our process. In addition, Raul’s calm and compassionate character is unmatched when handling our patients and prepping them for surgery. At home, Raul enjoys spending time with his wife, his 2 kids and their 2 dogs, Brandy and Chucha.
Alma H.
PHYSICAL REHABILITATION SPECIALIST
Alma has always had a passion for animals, growing up with all sorts of pets – from cats and dogs to rats and reptiles. She stared working in veterinary general practice in 2014 and has assisted clinics throughout the Los Angeles area. Her talent has not gone unnoticed and SVS was thrilled to welcome her onto our team. Working as Dr. Simon’s Veterinarian’s Assistant, Alma effortlessly adapts to our high-pace atmosphere and can anticipate the team’s next moves to keep us all on track. During her free time, Alma likes to skateboard and go hiking, often brining her cat Chappy on the trail with her. She also has 2 other cats, Kurama and Memow.
Nathan R.
PRACTICE MANAGER
Nathan has 15 years of experience working with small businesses and financials. He believes in providing a high quality product at a reasonable price. His business philosophy mirrors that of Simon Veterinary Surgical, so when he joined the team, it was a perfect match. Nathan works closely with our clients to explain the consultation, surgery, and aftercare process so that each client knows exactly what to expect before booking their pet’s surgery. Being an animal lover himself, Nathan knows the importance of having consultation access regarding your pet’s health. For this reason, he made a point to make sure SVS offered the best customer service possible. And of course, outside of work, Nathan loves to play with his rescue Pitbull, Stoopy (which is short for “Stupid Happy” and perfectly sums up her personality).
Luke C.
VETERINARY ASSISTANT
Luke quickly made a big impact once joining the SVS team. He began by working with us as a relief staff, during which, our team began to depend on him more than we realized. Soon, it was time to call a spade a spade and ask Luke to join us full time – and what a game changer it was! Like a sponge, Luke absorbs information and seamlessly applies it to the SVS process. Of course, working with animals is nothing new for Luke. Thanks to his mom’s affinity for animals, Luke has been surrounded by pets his entire life. At the moment, he currently shares a home with 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 birds, and a turtle.
Gabrielle S.
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Growing up as a younger sister to Dr. Simon, Gabrielle took a slightly different direction with her animal science career. After obtaining her Masters in Animal Biology, with a focus on Animal Behavior and Welfare, Gabrielle worked for a non-profit farm animal welfare certification organization. In this position, Gabrielle wrote science-based animal welfare standards and supported farmers and ranchers as they became certified to the program. As such, Gabrielle has experience communicating technical information in a simplified manner. Gabrielle joined the SVS team as our Marketing Director to help us engage with our community, allowing the rest of the team can focus on providing the high quality medicine. She also has one sassy cross-eyed cat named Kevin.
Mara G.
ASSISTANT PRACTICE MANAGER
Bio coming soon