VCA Animal Emergency Hospital Southeast

Bios

• T. Godwin

  DVM

  Dr. Godwin received his DVM from Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1968. He was one of nine founding members of Animal Emergency Clinic Southeast in 1973 - at that time, the second emergency clinic in the nation and the first in the State of Texas. He has served as hospital medical director at both emergency practices since November of 1988. Dr. Godwin also maintains a full time practice at VCA Animal Medical Center of Pasadena. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association, Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society, Texas Veterinary Medical Association and is a current volunteer for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He is a cattle rancher and enjoys doing outdoor activities with his family, which includes his wife, 2 children and 7 grandchildren. Dr. Godwin has a special interest in orthopedics.

• G. Klein

  DVM

  Dr. Klein graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1983. For the next two years he was an associate at a small animal practice in northern Illinois. His interest in emergency medicine ans surgery was fostered by the fact that an emergency facility to refer after hours calls to was not available. This inspired Dr. Klein to move to Houston in 1985 to begin his emergency medicine career. The next four years he practiced at an emergency clinic on the west side of Houston. During this time he also performed relief work in numerous small animal hospitals. He left that emergency practice in June 1989 when a coveted position became available at Animal Emergency Clinic SE which later became known as VCA Animal Emergency Hospital SE. While initially working at both the Edgebrook and Calder facilities, he eventually restricted his time to Edgebrook. In June 2014 he celebrated 25 years at this practice. Over the years he has developed a strong interest in soft tissue surgery but also enjoys medicine cases. Dr. Klein is a member of the American Veterniary Medical Association and Texas Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Klein lives with his wife and children in Sugar Land. They have 3 daughters and 2 sons. They also share their home with 3 dogs, 3 cats and a tortoise. During his free time, he enjoys taking his family and their camping trailer to the many state and national parks that are available. Dr. Klein looks forward to continuing to assist pets of clients and referring veterinarians with their health problems from the most mundane to the most challenging medical or surgical cases. Dr. Klein welcomes phone calls from your referring veterinarian regarding cases he has seen.

• M. Rubash

  DVM

  Dr. Rubash began his veterinary career in 1975 as a technician at an animal hospital. He graduated with honors from Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1981 and has practiced in emergency and critical care medicine since that time. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 1995. He has served on the ACVECC examination committee, as a journal editorial consultant and a reviewer for the the International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society. In his free time he enjoys hiking with his wife and labrador "Tipps," enjoys the company of their four grandchildren, birdwatching and wilderness areas. Dr. Rubash's clinical interests lie in multiple aspects of emergency medicine and surgery, including shock resuscitation, toxicology and trauma.

• D. Palm

  DVM

  Dr. Palm graduated from Texas A&M University of Veterinary Medicine in 1993. He began his career in companion animal medicine full time at practices in LaPorte and Sugarland while working part-time at the Animal Emergency Hospital. Dr. Palm completed a Master's of Business Administration degree from University of Houston-Clear Lake in 1997, and began working full time for the emergency hospital. In his free time, Dr. Palm can be found ranching near LaGrange, where he raises Beefmaster Cattle. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinary Medical Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and a lifetime member of Beefmaster Breeders United. He is also a lifetime of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and serves on the Veterinarian committee.

  Education:

• K. Head

  DVM

  Dr. Head received his veterinary degree from Texas A&M University in 1992 after receiving baccalaureate degrees from Texas A&M in Animal Science in 1986 and Veterinary Science in 1990. Immediately following graduation, Dr. Head joined the laboratory animal medicine faculty of the University of Texas Houston Health Science Center (UTHHSC), reaching the rank of Assistant Professor. He left UTHHSC in 2001 to accept the position of Director of Laboratory Animal Care at the Texas Heart Institute, where he worked until Dec. 2003. Dr. Head has worked part time for the Animal Emergency Hospital since 1993 and joined full time in 2003. He is married and enjoys his two sons and 3 step-children. Dr. Head's special interests are anesthesia, analgesia and post-operative care.

• J. Long

  DVM

  Dr. Long received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Texas A & M University in 2001. She received bachelor and master of science degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1996 and 1997 respectively. She has worked with large and small animals as well as exotic pets. She is currently a partner in an AAHA accredited small animal hospital in Clear Lake and has worked part time at VCA Southeast since 2003. She is an active AVMA, TVMA, TAVP, HCVMA and AAHA member. She also is a life time member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo serving on the veterinary committee.

• T. Dobson

  DVM

  Dr. Dobson graduated in1976 from Texas A & M University. He joined the emergency hospital staff in 1978. In 1980 Dr. Dobson along with Dr. Jacob formed Veterinary Emergency Practioners, Inc. They became responsible for staffing the emergency and critical care doctors for emergency hospitals. They also own a daytime hospital in Missouri City, Texas. Dr. Dobson is married with three children. He enjoys gardening and raising American Quarter Horses.

• Stephanie C.

  DVM

  Stephanie Coffey Johnson graduated from Texas A&M University with her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in May 2010 after receiving her Bachelor Degree in Biology with a minor in Biochemistry from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. She joined VCA Animal Emergency Hospital full time in June 2011 after working partime for a year while working full time in a local day practice. Her interests are in small animal internal medicine and emergnecy. She is married and together they have two dogs, a cat and last, but not least, a hedgehog. In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors, hunting and fishing when she can, and curling up with a glass of wine and a good murder mystery novel.

• Tara Prezioso

  DVM
• J. Pirela

  DVM

  Dr. Pirela graduated from Ross University with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2012 after receiving her Bachelors Degree in Biology from Cornell University. Immediately after veterinary school, she completed a small animal rotating internship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Pirela joined VCA Animal Emergency Hospital in January of 2014. Her interests include cardiology, orthopedics, and emergency medicine. In her free time she enjoys taking long walks with her lab mix "Lexi".

  Education:

• H. Mariott

  DVM

  As the youngest daughter in a military family, Dr. Holly Mariott was born in Washington State but has already lived on both coasts and in six different states. She received a Bachelors Degree in Animal Science from Colorado State University in 2006. During her time at Colorado State she competed on their equestrian team and participated in animal assisted therapy with her dog Hannah. During her stay in Colorado she met and married her husband Wesley, a Texas native. They decided to make Texas their home in 2007. Dr. Mariott completed a Masters Degree in Biomedical Sciences in 2009 at Texas A&M University. In 2012 she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Texas A&M University. She received the Patton W. Burns award during her third year for excellence in physiology, pharmacology, and toxicology. Dr. Mariott is also a member of the Phi Zeta Society. Nutrition is a passion of hers and she enjoys using nutrition to prevent and treat medical conditions. Her interests also include preventative care, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and surgery. After the birth of her son, Dr. Mariott decided she wanted to become more involved in emergency medicine and she joined our team in November of 2013. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband, their new son Luke and their other "kids" Hannah, Linus, and Spookers. As a family they enjoy hiking, camping, and exploring the great outdoors. She also enjoys swimming, cycling, and hopes to complete a triathlon some day.

  Education: