VCA Veterinary Specialists of Northern Colorado

Susan Wight

Dr. Wight has been with VCA Veterinary Specialists (emergency service) since 1996, almost since its inception. She graduated from Colorado State University in 1985 with a BS (high distinction) in microbiology, biomedical concentration. She went on to earn a DVM degree from CSU in 1989. From 1989 to 1997 she worked in a mixed practice in Estes Park, CO. She gained extensive experience in all aspects of veterinary medicine, and saw a large variety of animal species, including llamas, horses, cattle, pocket pets, ferrets, rabbits, birds, dogs and cats (of course) and the odd turtle, frog, and snake. The practice handled its own emergencies, so Dr. Wight became quite familiar with her passion of emergency medicine. Dr. Wight has many interests outside the hospital, including cycling, hiking and camping, photography, canoeing the Boundary Waters, and she is an avid birder. The other members of her household include Chris, husband of many years, and Flounder, a cat adopted from the Larimer County Humane Society. And too many guppies to count, which are available for adoption to loving families_.

Wendy Fleischman

Dr. Fleischman is very much a cool Coloradan on the outside wrapped around a to-the-point New York filling. Originally from New York, Dr. Fleischman received her Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University. After a year of traveling abroad, she pursued her life-long goal of becoming a veterinarian and received her DVM training and degree from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. From New York, she moved to California where she completed a one-year Internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego. Upon completion of her internship, Dr. Fleischman realized a second long-time dream by moving to the great state of Colorado, where she practiced emergency medicine at an emergency veterinary hospital near Denver. After two years, she returned to New York where she completed a rigorous two-year residency program in Internal Medicine at the prestigious Animal Medical Center in New York City. . Once finished with her residency, Dr. Fleischman could not wait to return to Colorado. She joined the team at VCA VSNC in 2007. Dr. Fleischman completed the requirements set forth by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, which include, in addition to completion of an approved residency program, passage of two sets of extremely difficult board exams, and publication of a peer-reviewed manuscript. She achieved her board-certified diplomate status (Dipl. ACVIM) in 2009. Dr. Fleischman served as Director of the Internship Program from 2008 - 2012, overseeing the rigourous training of bright new veterinarians, in the same way she was once rigorously trained. In 2011 Dr. Fleischman became the Medical Director of VSNC. As such, it is her mission to ensure that the medical care offered at VSNC is of the highest quality and that it is provided with compassion and respect for our patients and their families. . As an internist, Dr. Fleischman is often charged with diagnosing complex or mysterious conditions or managing patients with multiple concurrent problems. Areas of particular interest include hematologic (blood cell) diseases, immunology (immune system diseases), endocrinology (hormonal diseases), oncology (cancer), and imaging studies (x-rays, ultrasound, CT scan). She is also very interested in the art and science of communication and utilizes a variety of measures to ensure her patients' families feel informed, educated, and empowered regarding their pet's care. . Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Fleischman is an avid mountain and road biker, skier, and scuba diver. She loves to cook and likes to garden, though success at the gardening arts varies wildly from year to year. She loves to travel with more recent trips taking her to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Argentina, and Chile. She is a rabid Allman Brothers fan and could have been a roadie had she just been born a decade or two earlier. Dr. Fleischman shares her Colorado home with her husband Josh and their three naughty cats, Sweet Pea, Rattie, and Nosey Kitten. .

Ronald Bright

Dr. Bright is a graduate of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and completed a Master's degree at Colorado State University. His residency training in small animal surgery, completed at the University of Missouri, was followed by an appointment as Assistant Professor in small animal surgery at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. After five years at Purdue, he accepted an appointment at the University of Florida as an Associate Professor and Head of Small Animal Surgery at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tennessee. He was appointed a Distinguished Professor his final five years at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Bright joined Veterinary Specialists of Northern Colorado in December of 1999. Dr. Bright received twelve teaching awards during his faculty appointments with various universities. Two of these were the prestigious Norden Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1993, he was honored by his alma mater, the Ohio State University, with a Distinguished Alumnus Award. That same year, he received a Fulbright Scholarship that supported a year-long sabbatical at the veterinary school at Cambridge University in England. Dr. Bright became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) in 1980. He subsequently became a member of the Board of Regents of the College and, in 2002, completed a 3-year appointment as President and chair of the ACVS. Dr. Bright helped with the establishment of the credentialing and testing protocol for our sister organization in Europe, the European College of Veterinary Surgeons. He was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the North American Veterinary Conference. Dr. Bright has published over 150 articles in the veterinary literature and over 27 chapters in 10 veterinary textbooks. He is the editor of one book and as associate editor of the 4th edition of Morgan's Handbook of Small Animal Practice that was published in 2002. Dr. Bright has given over 150 invited lectures both nationally and internationally to include Western and Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Canada, South America and his native USA. He was also a visiting professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr. Bright's clinical and research interests have focused primarily on gastroenterology, reconstructive surgery, surgical oncology, and respiratory disorders. He has also worked extensively with congenital liver disorders in dogs and cats that are amenable to surgical correction.

Education: MS

Jean Rifkin

Dr. Rifkin hearkens from a diversely cultural background. She has lived abroad in Israel and Italy, and stateside in Florida, Vermont, New York, Georgia, and Texas before moving to Colorado in 2011. Dr. Rifkin attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts with her clinical fourth year completed at The University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Following graduation, Dr. Rifkin completed a small animal rotating Internship at Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists in Long Island, New York. Dr. Rifkin completed a rigorous two year Residency in Internal Medicine at The Animal Medical Center in New York City. Prior to joining the Internal Medicine Department at VSNC, Dr. Rifkin worked as an internist at The Animal Diagnostic Clinic in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rifkin moved to Colorado with her husband and joined the VSNC team in the Spring of 2011. She achieved her board certification in Internal Medicine in 2013. She has particular interests in immune-mediated, infectious, gastrointestinal diseases and anemia. . Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Rifkin enjoys spending time with her beautiful baby Elly, husband Jon, and 4 pets - Murphee, Rhileigh, Winston, and Sofi. Dr. Rifkin also enjoys all things fashion and interior decorating and she is definitely a foodie.

Michael Green

Dr. Mike Green is a Colorado native and is lucky enough to have grown up in Gunnison where fishing and hiking were amongst favorite activities. Following graduation from CSU Veterinary College in 2006, he did a rotating small animal internship at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. He followed this with a surgical internship at Sage Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Centers in San Francisco, California where he subsequently remained for a three-year surgical residency. Mike joined the team at VSNC in September of 2011. We congratulate Mike for having received his ACVS board-certification this winter. His special interests include orthopedic and reconstructive surgery although he is adept in all disciplines of surgery. Mike complements the Surgery Service at VSNC with an enthusiasm for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of orthopedic ailments and works in collaboration with our fully-equipped Physical Rehabilitation Department to provide comprehensive peri-operative and post-operative patient care. Mike's outside interests (besides being a good husband and father to two beautiful girls) include fly-fishing, bird-watching, photography, football, hiking, and traveling the back roads of Colorado. Mike brings to VSNC a wonderful sense of humor, compassion, and an uncompromising respect for his patients, clients, and other staff members. Dr. Green is available for consultation and surgery Monday through Thursday at VSNC. He partners with the other surgeons to provide emergency surgical services 24 hours-a-day, every day of the year.

Nicole Van Gurp

Dr. Nicole Van Gurp grew up in a small town in upstate New York. She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science in 2006. Having always wanted to attend veterinary school, she accepted the offer to stay on at Cornell for another four years, graduating in 2010 with her degree in Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Van Gurp ventured out to Colorado in 2010 to complete a small animal rotating internship at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital just outside of Denver. During her internship year she fell in love with emergency medicine and critical care. She comes to VSNC as a veterinarian with practice limited to emergency medicine. Dr. Van Gurp currently lives in Longmont with her husband and Maine Coon cat, Orion. She loves Colorado and in her free time she enjoys hiking, skiing, distance running, and cooking.

Amy Komitor

Dr. Amy Komitor is a Colorado native and a 2008 veterinary graduate of Colorado State University. She followed her graduation with a rotating internship at the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital. She then moved with Murray, her yellow lab, to Columbia, Missouri where she completed a three year residency in neurology and neurosurgery at the University of Missouri. During her residency, her research centered on developing biomarkers for the evaluation of patients with degenerative myelopathy. Amy returned to Colorado following her residency and joined the staff of VSNC. She will be sitting for the extremely difficult Neurology Board Examination this summer after which time we anticipate that she will achieve her board certification in this discipline. . While she enjoys all aspects of neurology, areas of particular interest include seizure management, treatment of encephalitis, and spinal and brain surgery. She has a vast amount of training and experience in using MRI as a diagnostic tool. Amy is always present when her patients undergo MRI to ensure an excellent quality study is obtained and to perform a CSF tap where indicated. Like all other types of imaging, the quality of the study matters for making the appropriate diagnosis. If you have questions regarding the indications and application of MRI as a diagnostic tool, feel free to give Amy a call. Outside of work, Amy enjoys spending time with her family and friends, enjoying the 4 wonderful seasons Colorado has to offer, and running and hiking with Murray.

Shana ODonnell

Originally from eastern Washington, Dr. O'Donnell graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor's degree in Animal Science with highest honors in 2006. She went on to receive her DVM degree from Washington State University in 2010. From Washington, Dr. O'Donnell moved to Denver Colorado where she completed a year-long rotating internship in medicine, surgery, and emergency at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital. Following her rotating internship, she moved to Dallas Texas and completed a year-long surgical internship at the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center. During her surgical internship, she also worked at a fast-paced 24-hour emergency hospital where she was able to gain additional experience. With her advanced training in hand, Dr. O'Donnell was very excited to return to Colorado and pursue her interest in emergency medicine. She joined the VSNC Emergency Department in 2013. Outside of veterinary medicine she enjoys exploring the outdoors, going to concerts, skiing and spending time with her Maine Coon, Remy and his feline friend, Loki. .

Jessica Barrera

Originally from western Montana, Dr. Barrera received her undergraduate degree from the University of Miami. She then returned to the west and obtained her DVM from Colorado State University in 2006. Enjoying living in new areas, Dr. Barrera then completed a rotating internship at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center in Los Angeles, CA, followed by a surgical internship at Oregon State University. She then returned to Colorado State University to complete a residency in small animal surgery, followed by a rigorous one-year fellowship in Surgical Oncology at Colorado State University's Animal Cancer Center. Dr. Barrera has presented and published articles in the areas of endocrine and minimally-invasive surgery. Jess complements our present staff by bringing a strong interest in soft-tissue minimally invasive surgery including laparoscopy and thoracoscopy, surgical trauma, and endocrine surgery. Jess is thrilled to remain in Colorado with her husband John and their swimming English bulldog, Carter. For fun, she enjoys travel, climbing 14ers, backpacking, cooking, mountain biking, and reading. Jess's sense of humor and enthusiasm makes her a wonderful new addition to the team of VSNC. She is happy to make herself available to you to discuss cases and review radiographs - give her a call!. Dr. Barrera is available for consultations and surgery Wednesday through Saturday at VSNC. She partners with the other surgeons to provide emergency surgical services 24 hours-a-day, every day of the year.