SURGERY

Jeff D. Brourman, DVM, MS, DACVS
Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon
Chief of Staff

Dr. Jeff Brourman is the owner and chief of staff for WestVet Animal Emergency and Specialty Center. His efforts, combined with the vision of local veterinary practitioners affiliated with the AERCI, brought the first full time small animal veterinary specialists to the state of Idaho and began Idaho Veterinary Specialists. On July 1, 2005, Idaho Veterinary Specialists acquired AERCI to become WestVet Animal Emergency and Specialty Center.

Dr. Brourman knew he wanted to be a veterinarian at age twelve, when he began volunteering for a local veterinary hospital in Pittsburgh. He continued to work in the field of veterinary medicine as he attended The Ohio State University for undergraduate and veterinary school training. During this time, he joined a veterinary specialty hospital in Columbus, Ohio as an assistant and began research with The Ohio State University Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. While in veterinary training, Dr. Brourman performed preceptorships at the Animal Medical Center in New York and Colorado State University.

During veterinary school, Dr. Brourman received the Ohio State University Excellence in Small Animal Surgery Award in 1997. After completing veterinary school, Dr. Brourman pursued a small animal internship at Michigan State University where he earned the Intern of the Year Award in 1998. He then returned to Ohio State for an intensive three-year surgical residency where he earned the Ohio State University Hospital Service Award and the Graduate Resident Award for Excellence in Clinical Research. During his residency training, Dr. Brourman also earned a Master's of Science degree. Following residency, Dr. Brourman began work at one of the largest private veterinary referral hospitals in the country and passed his board examination to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2003. During his residency and two years in private practice, Dr. Brourman performed extensive research and gained clinical experience in the fields of cardiothoracic and microvascular surgery.

He has been published as a principle and coauthor in several veterinary journals and one human medical journal. He is one of the only people in the state of Ohio to perform a feline kidney transplant and one of few people in the country to perform open-heart surgery on animals using cardiopulmonary bypass. Dr. Brourman has extensive experience with spinal, orthopedic, oncologic, and soft tissue surgery.

Dr. Brourman was recently awarded Idaho's Top 40 under 40 Award from the Idaho Business Review for the accomplishments of WestVet. He currently lives in Boise with his two dogs, Scrappy and Shadow.

Back to Top

SURGERY

John C. Chandler, DVM, MS, DACVS
Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon

Dr. John Chandler joined the WestVet team after completing his surgical residency training at Colorado State University. He brings many years of expertise in arthroscopy and other minimally invasive surgical techniques to WestVet. Dr. Chandler's interest in veterinary surgery also began at a young age when he started working as a veterinary assistant in New Mexico. While completing his Bachelor of Science at Colorado State University, Dr. Chandler worked as a small animal surgery technician at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. In 2000, Dr. Chandler graduated from Colorado State University as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

Following his graduation, Dr. Chandler completed a one-year internship at Washington State University in small animal medicine and surgery and a one-year surgical internship at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston. There, he trained with the authors of the first and only small animal arthroscopy textbook. Dr. Chandler returned to Colorado State University to complete a three-year surgical residency and received his Masters of Science. During his residency, Dr. Chandler completed training in general and orthopedic surgery as well as surgical oncology at the CSU Animal Cancer Center.

Dr. Chandler has earned the Outstanding Small Animal Resident Award, and authored several publications on topics including postoperative anti-arrhythmic therapy, feline orthopedics, tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, and stifle arthroscopy. In 2006 Dr. Chandler passed his board examination to become a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Dr. Chandler lives in Meridian with his wife Tracy and their two dogs, Sage and Murphy. He enjoys the many outdoor recreations that Idaho has to offer including hiking, camping, skiing, and playing baseball.

Back to Top

SURGERY Sean Murphy , DVM Practice Limited to Small Animal Surgery

Dr. Murphy completed his doctor of veterinary medicine at Colorado State University, moving into a one year small animal internship at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital and Denver Veterinary Specialists and finally completing his small animal surgical residency at the University of Wisconsin before joining us this August. 

While at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Murphy’s research focused on arthroscopic and MRI findings in canine shoulder disease, CT guided tumor ablation in dogs with osteosarcoma and minimally invasive billiary surgery.

Dr. Murphy has enjoyed both private and academic veterinary settings.  He understands the necessity of a collaborative relationship between client, primary care veterinarian, and the specialist through detailed and timely communication practices.

Dr. Murphy lives in Boise with his wife Rachel and two beautiful daughters. He enjoys many outdoor activities but tends to favor fly fishing above all.

Back to Top

PHYSICAL THERAPY

Rebecca Paulekas, DVM, MPT

Dr. Becky Paulekas has over 20 years of physical therapy and veterinary experience and is one of only 3 individuals in the country to possess both DVM and MPT credentials. She obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University and her Masters in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California. Dr. Paulekas then continued her training by becoming certified in Veterinary Manual Therapy and Veterinary Medical Acupuncture through Colorado State University. Services offered by Dr. Paulekas include post-op rehabilitation, geriatric fitness, hydrotherapy, strength/endurance training, acupuncture, electro acupuncture, and therapeutic management of chronic pain, muscle weakness/atrophy, osteoarthritis, and obesity.Dr. Paulekas works in partnership with Dr. Brourman and Dr. Chandler to develop customized post-operative programs for surgical patients in need of therapy during their recovery process. When she is not at WestVet, she also provides equine chiropractic and acupuncture services or enjoys camping and horseback riding with her husband and two sons.

Back to Top

FELINE MEDICINE & BEHAVIOR

Hazel C. Carney, DVM, MS, DABVP

Dr. Carney is graduate of Colorado State University where she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1981. She also has a Master's degree in Physiology and Biophysics. In 1982, Dr. Carney opened the thirteenth registered cat only practice in the U.S. where she was the senior clinician for thirteen years. In 1986, she became an adjunct professor of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and was a founding member of Louisiana Veterinary Nuclear Medicine group which provided I-131 therapy for veterinarians in Louisiana and Mississippi. Dr. Carney is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and is a specialist in Canine and Feline Clinical Practice.
Dr. Hazel Carney's vast experience and knowledge of feline medicine and behavior enables our practice to continue to expand our services to clients and primary care veterinarians. Because Dr. Carney limits her practice to just cats, she has a very specialized scope of services for treating feline behavior problems such as aggression and eliminating outside of the litter box. Dr. Carney has been treating hyperthyroidism in cats with I131 (radioactive Iodine) for over 20 years. As a fellow of the Academy of Feline Medicine, she was one of 8 people to co-author the 2005 Feline Behavior Guidelines and is now a consulting editor for the upcoming Censensus Report on Bartonella Henselae (Cat Scratch Disease) to be published in the summer of 2006. Dr. Carney also shares her findings and expertise through national conferences. She refers to herself as "one of the oldest living cat doctors left in captivity" and is a featured speaker at many continuing education conferences for regional veterinarians. Dr. Carney specializes in treating hyperthyroid cats with I-131 radiation therapy and also offers kitten kindergarten socialization classes.

Back to Top

EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

Sara D. Liddell, DVM
Emergency Department Chair

Dr. Sara Liddell is the Emergency Department Chair for WestVet and has been setting the standard for critical care at WestVet since joining the practice in October of 2003. She has extensive training in critical care and is one of a limited number of people in the country to have had the opportunity to pursue a critical care residency in small animal veterinary medicine.Dr. Liddell grew up in Boise, Idaho and has had experience with large and small animals since a young age. She obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Washington State University and moved to Colorado where she performed two years of a critical care residency program.

Back to Top

EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

Dan L. Gillis, DVM

Dr. Dan Gillis has been providing emergency services here for over 5 years. He grew up in Montana before moving to Oklahoma to obtain his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Gillis puts a personal touch on every patient and client that he interacts with. Dr. Gillis lives in Nampa and operates a horse breeding farm with his wife Katie. He enjoys hunting, acting, and horseback riding.

Back to Top

EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

Tami Olson , DVM

Back to Top

EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

Laura Lefkowitz, DVM

Dr. Laura Lefkowitz grew up in New York, New York and obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1993. Dr. Laura worked as a general practitioner for 8 years in Massachusetts before moving into emergency medicine 4 years ago. Dr. Laura enjoys challenging medical cases, imaging and opthalmology. Before moving to the Boise area in 2002 with her 3 cats, 2 birds, 1 dog and 1 horse, Dr. Laura completed a 1 year around the world bicycle trip. In her spare time she enjoys skiing, hiking, equestrian activities, oil painting and the occasional shorter bicycle ride.

Back to Top

EMERGENCY & CRITICAL CARE

Nell Dalton, DVM, MS

Dr. Nell Dalton brings a diversity of experience to WestVet including previous work as an emergency veterinarian in Virginia, mixed animal private practice in Minnesota, consulting veterinarian for Pfizer Animal Health, and over 5 years of small animal private practice in Idaho and Oregon. In addition, Dr. Dalton has served as an adjunct professor for the University of Minnesota and has 14 years of experience as a veterinary technician.Dr. Dalton completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999 and was awarded her Master's of Science degree in 2000 from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.She lives with her husband and two children in Caldwell. Dr. Dalton also enjoys teaching swimming lessons and has been involved with team penning and polo.

Back to Top

Back to Top