Top Veterinary care given at all times. Professional evaluation and attention to detail are always given at every visit. The mobile vet van is clean and well equipped. Dr. Ginny’s care of my senior agility dog (Koda) has been nothing short of phenomenal. He is healthy and able to fully enjoy life in his senior years despite having a potential life altering infection to his lower spine. He is on a maintenance program prescribed by Dr. Ginny that keeps him fit, healthy and strong. At age 10 1/2 he is still competing in agility and goes hiking with us in the Sierra.
Our Staff
GINNY CARLSON
DVM, CCRT, CVA, CVSMT, CVBC
Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist (CCRT)
Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist (CVA)
Certified Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapist (CVSMT)
Certified Veterinary Botanical Consultant (CVBC)
Dr. Ginny Carlson graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 and has been working in small animal practice throughout her ongoing veterinary career. She was born and raised in El Dorado County and graduated from the local El Dorado High School. In her younger years she participated in 4-H and found a true passion for the animals and their care. In 1994 she became an active participant in dog agility (including local and national events) and enthusiastically embraced the sport. Ultimately, she wanted to apply veterinary medicine to pursue her passion in dog sports and conditioning, however, her involvement ceased shortly before she entered into veterinary school due to a car accident.
In her formative years following veterinary school she strove to become the best small animal veterinarian she could. In 2011, she restored her passion by engaging in the sport of dog agility once more and has been enjoying every moment since. During an agility camp, she had a brief encounter with a veterinarian who specialized in veterinary rehabilitation. This experience rekindled her dreams in sports medicine and rehabilitation, so she set her sights towards furthering her education.
She started with her certification in Veterinary Medical Acupuncture at the CuraCore facility in Colorado (>130 hours). Inspired, she continued her educational endeavors enrolling in a certification course (>104 hours) for rehabilitation at the Canine Rehabilitation Institute in Colorado which included a forty hour internship; a portion of that time spent at the Veterinary Orthopedic Sports Medicine Group (VOSM). Seeking more, she enrolled in a certification course (>226 hours) for spinal manipulation at the Healing Oasis Wellness Center in Wisconsin. She also completed a certification course (>110 hours) in a Botanical Medicine course. All of these certification courses combined required almost 600 hundred hours of rigorous coursework in addition to hands-on training and testing. She rounded out her educational addendum by completing Aquatic Therapy in Canine Rehabilitation and Business of Canine Rehabilitation courses. She is a member of COAC (College of Animal Chiropractors) and IVAS (International Veterinary Acupuncture Society).
After satisfying her educational goals, she sought to create a specialty center where these skills could be utilized, developed, and perfected. Her love of her hometown cultivated a desire to practice her skillset in her local area. She remains fascinated with many aspects of the veterinary profession and will continue to regular small animal veterinary medicine.
She has used her rehabilitation knowledge to help her own pets as well: An orange tabby (Thomas) with a congenital handicap, a Pit Bull Terrier (Bourbon) with a partial achilles tendon tear, and her Border Collie team mates (Pixie and Trouble) with any conditioning or rehabilitation needs as her agility partner. She is now using it to help rehabilitate her newest family member, Duke, who has severe hip dysplasia requiring total hip replacement.
In her personal time she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two rescue dogs (Duke and Pixie). She particularly enjoys working with Trouble, her newest agility partner, maintaining a competitive, yet fun edge in agility and other activities. She enjoys traveling with her husband, hikes in the woods, taking long drives, searching out good breweries and good food.
She plans to maintain her proficiency in rehabilitation and sports medicine and looks forward to future courses, workshops and conferences to further her knowledge and skill.
