Dr. Grace F. Bransford, D.V.M.

Overview:

Fulfilling Her Dream:

Additional Professional Accreditations and Recognition:

• In 2008, Dr. Bransford was the only practicing veterinarian selected by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to serve on the Admissions Committee to select the class of 2012. Working closely with the school's top faculty and administration, she reviewed and helped select the 131 candidates offered admission, out of over 1200 applicants.
• Dr. Bransford funded an annual scholarship award given to the most promising UC Davis vet school student specializing in oncology.
• She has been actively involved in both state and national veterinary organizations, including: member of the AVMA Leadership Conference Planning committee, chairperson of the AVMA Council on Public Relations committee, and Chairperson of the CVMA Public Relations/Human-Animal Bond Committee.
• Grace performs volunteer work for the Marin Humane Society and serves on its Board of Directors.

Personal Background:

Maria has been with Ross Valley Vet for years, both as a client and as one of our friendly staff. She brings a warm and welcoming ambiance to Ross Valley Vet with seasonal decorations and information boards and her calm and helpful manner.

The boards she creates inform clients of seasonal considerations for pets. For instance at Christmas time, clients will find tips for keeping pets comfortable when the home is busy with guests and a list of foods not good for or dangerous to pets. Maria wants all our patients to be well, and the information boards is just one of the ways she can help accomplish this.

Maria is originally from Miami and moved to Marin County in 2005. Before becoming a Practice Manager for Ross Valley Veterinary Hospital, she worked for eight years as a Banking Officer at an international bank in Florida. Maria has always had a love for animals and feels like she has been blessed to be able to work with them every day.

Maria's hobbies include hiking, traveling, yoga, pilates, reading, and spending time with her animals. Maria has two pets. One is a 3 1/2-year-old Catahoula dog named Waveland. His mom was rescued from Hurricane Katrina and brought to Marin County where she had her puppies; Maria was fortunate to have rescued him. Her other pet is a 15-year-old cat named Felix the Cat.

I was born in San Francisco, California. Having lived in scenic Marin County since age three—and we always had pets when I was growing up.

I've grown to appreciate the beautiful kingdoms of plants and animals we've been blessed with—here and worldwide.

I've been working at Ross Valley Veterinary Hospital since August, 1993.

Although I'm new to this location, I bring to Ross Valley Veterinary Hospital 24 years of varied experience in the Veterinary field including specialized training and certifications in Dentistry, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Ophthomology, Soft-tissue and Orthopaedic Surgical Nursing, Emergency and Critical Care, and of course, General Veterinary Nursing and Surgical Assisting.

One of my passions is passing on the multitude of experiences, and training that I've acquired in the above disciplines to the Nursing teams that I have managed. In addition to the countless Animal patients, and Nurses that I have served in the private sector, I have also been the Program Director and Managing Instructor for the San Jose Campus of Western Career College's Veterinary Technology Program for the past 3 of my 24 years in this fascinating field.

My other passion is the 2 Boston Terriers that own me and allow me the pleasure of caring for them, Harlee and Stella.

Pete grew up in Fairfax CA and attended University of California at Davis with a major in Avian Science. At the Ross Valley Veterinary Hospital, he is gaining experience that will help him get accepted to veterinary school.

He also volunteers at The Marine Mammal Center where he helps rehabilitate sick and injured seals and sea lions.

Interests of Pete include animal medicine, technology related to animal health, parasites, animal behavior, and ecology.

When he is not working with animals he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, playing piano, spending time with his parrot, playing computer games, watching movies, gardening, and running.

Megumi is originally from Osaka, Japan, and has lived in the US for the past 19 years. Before becoming a Veterinary Technician, she taught Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arrangement. She is also a Reiki Massage Practitioner. She trained at the Marin Humane Society in 2005 as a Certified Consultant/Instructor.

She has four kitties and three dogs and lives in Santa Rosa. Her favorite animals are wolves, tigers, and dolphins.

She has always dreamed of working with animals. Besides working with animals, she loves to snow board and surf and enjoys reading.

As receptionist, Christian works to make each client's experience as enjoyable and effortless as possible.

Prior to joining the Ross Valley Vet team, Christian worked as consultant and organizer on numerous social change campaigns related to sustainable agriculture and U.S. foreign policy.

He is grateful for the opportunity to work with RVVH and share his life-long love for animals with its wonderful community.

Working at Ross Valley Veterinary Hospital is such a pleasure for me because I truly can say I love what I do. I have always been an animal lover and am now taking that love and turning it into a career for myself. I am currently on the road to applying to vet school, with the hopes of starting in the fall of 2010. I have my degree in Psychology which I find will also be quite useful in a field were you deal heavily with people and their concerns over their pets.

I have a miniature dachshund named Kilbasa who is the best little man in my life! We are hoping to expand the family soon with an additional of a sister for Kilbasa, another miniature dachshund of course!

I love anything outdoors, from hiking, to biking, to river rafting; basically anything that gets the adrenaline pumping!

I look forward to many more years of compassionate care for all the wonderful animals I come into contact with every day.