Departments & Doctors Overview

Internist

Internal Medicine

Dr. David Bruyette received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the
University of Missouri in 1984. He completed an internship at Purdue University
and a residency program in internal medicine at the University of California at
Davis. He was a staff internist at the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group
and a member of the Department of Comparative Medicine at Stanford University.
Dr. Bruyette was an Assistant Professor and Head of Internal Medicine at Kansas
State University and Director of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at Kansas
State. In addition to his duties as Medical Director at VCA West Los Angeles
Animal Hospital, Dr. Bruyette practices internal medicine and specializes in
endocrinology. He is recognized as one of the leading specialists in
endocrinology in the United States. Dr. Bruyette has special interests in
oncology, endoscopy (intestinal, bronchoscopy, cystoscopy) and ultrasonography.
Dr. Bruyette is a clinical professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at
UCLA. Dr. Bruyette joined VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital in 1996. You may
e-mail him at David.Bruyette@vcamail.com. Dr. Bruyette's assistant is Renee
Pearson, and she can be reached at extension 222.

Dr. Todd Tams received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from The Ohio State
University in 1977. He completed his internship at VCA West Los Angeles Animal
Hospital and a residency program in internal medicine at Colorado State
University. After working at Tufts University/Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in
Boston from 1981-84, Dr. Tams returned to the VCA West Los Angeles Animal
Hospital and served as Medical Director until 1996. A majority of his time is
now spent in his position as the Chief Medical Officer for VCA.

Dr. Sean Yoshimoto received his DVM degree from the University of California-Davis.
After an internship at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, he completed his
residency in internal medicine at UC-Davis. Dr. Yoshimoto is a Diplomate of the
American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. His special interests are in
respiratory disease in dogs and cats, endoscopy, and ultrasound. Dr Yoshimoto is
available for consultation and referral Wednesday through Saturday.

Dr. Natalie Mitescu received her BA from Yale University and her DVM degree from the
University of California, Davis. She completed an internship at VCA West Los
Angeles Animal Hospital and then worked as a general practitioner prior to
starting a residency in Internal Medicine. Dr. Mitescu is available for
consultation and referral Sunday through Wednesday.

Dr. Karen Eiler received her DVM from Western University of Health Sciences in
2007. She completed a one year small animal rotating internship at VCA West Los
Angeles Animal Hospital. After completing her internship Dr. Eiler started a
residency in internal medicine in 2008. Dr. Eiler's special interests include
endocrinology and neurology. Dr. Eiler is available for consultation and referral Wednesday evenings through Friday evenings and Saturday day.

Surgery

Dr. Tina Owen received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State
University in 1992. She completed an internship at Kansas State University and a
residency program in surgery at Purdue University. Dr. Owen joined VCA West Los
Angeles in 1997. Her areas of interest are in both soft tissue and orthopedic
surgery. Dr. Owen is available for consultation and surgical appointments by
calling Dr. Owen (at externsion 251), Referral Coordinator Zowie Vasquez (at
extension 254) or the front desk at (310) 473-2951.

Dr. Maureen Maureen received her DVM from Purdue University and completed an internship in
Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Washington State University. Dr. Mueller
just completed her surgery residency at the Animal Medical Center in New York.
Maureen's areas of interest are in soft tissue surgery. Dr. Muller is available
for consultation and surgical appointments by calling Dr. Mueller (at externsion
271), Referral Coordinator Zowie Vasquez (at externsion 254) or the front desk
at (310)473-2951.

 Dr. Nicole Buote attended Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and received her doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. She completed a 1 year rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts and then pursued a surgical internship at Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center in Dallas, Texas. In 2009 she completed her surgical residency from the Animal Medical Center in New York City, and was awarded Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2010. In addition to specializing in soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, including minimally invasive surgery (for example laparoscopic biopsies, ovariectomy, gastropexy, pericardectomy, and arthroscopic procedures), Dr. Buote has a strong interest in clinical research and has published in the field of small animal surgery, on topics including gallbladder disease, cruciate (knee) stabilization, and laparoscopy. Dr Buote is available from Sunday to Wednesday and will be available for appointments, consultations and surgeries.

Dr. Denise Bierens received her DVM degree from Ross University School of veterinary
medicine, and then completed her clinical year at the University of Missouri.
She then pursued general practice and emergency medicine in New York. In 2005
Dr. Bierens started a three-year surgery residency program and completed the
program at VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. Dr. Bierens' areas of interest
include both soft tissue and orthopedic surgery.  

Oncology/Radiation Oncology

Dr. Johnny Chretin received his DVM from Colorado State University and completed an
internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at North Carolina State
University. Johnny then completed a 3 year residency in Oncology at Tufts
University in 2002 prior to joining VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. Dr.
Chretin's interests are in novel chemotherapeutics and strategies to minimize
their toxicities.

Dr. Trina Hazzah was born and raised in Washington DC. She attended Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine where she earned her DVM in 2006. She completed her small animal internship at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in New Jersey and a 3-year residency in medical oncology at the Veterinary Oncology and Hematology Center, in Connecticut. Dr. Hazzah has successfully passed her oncology certifying exam and is pending board certification once her manuscript has been accepted. Dr.Hazzah's area of interest is in urogenital tumors and she has appointments available Wednesday thru Saturday.

Ophthalmology

Dr. Michael Chang received his DVM degree in Taiwan and received his ECFVG certificate
from Purdue University. He completed an internship at the VCA West Los Angeles
Animal Hospital and then a residency in Comparative Ophthalmology at Purdue
University. Michael is available for consultation and referral for medical and
surgical ophthalmologic cases.

Radiology

 

Cardiology

Dr. Lynette Tsugawa received her DVM degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. She completed an internship at the University of Guelph, Ontario Veterinary College, and a residency in cardiology at the California Animal Hospital. Dr. Tsugawa's special interests include cardiac ultrasounds (echocardiograms) and the treatment of congestive heart failure and arrhythmias in dogs and cats. Dr. Tsugawa is available for consultation and referral Monday through Wednesday on an appointment basis. 

Behavior

Dr. Karen Lynn C. Sueda attended veterinary school at UC Davis and went on to
complete a one-year internship at the Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in
Ventura, California. She returned to UC Davis and recently completed her
residency in Clinical Animal Behavior before joining VCA West Los Angeles Animal
Hospital in August of 2006. Dr. Sueda's special interests include feline
behavior, the human-animal bond and evaluating client compliance. She was born
and raised in Hawaii where her family continues to reside.

Dermatology

Dr. Lisa Reiter received her DVM degree from The Ohio State University in 2005. She
completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at VCA West Los
Angeles Animal Hospital, and a three year residency in dermatology at the
University of Minnesota. Dr. Reiter offers total management of allergies
including skin testing, serum testing, and allergen-specific immunotherapy, as
well as diagnoses and treatment of autoimmune skin diseases, alopecias and
chronic or recurrent pyodermas, and otitis.