Dr. Maria Zayas, DVM
I graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts after completing clinic rotations at Louisiana State University. An animal lover from infancy like most vets, I’ve been working jobs with a wide variety of animals since I was a preteen and have followed my passion on from there.
When I moved onto sunny St. Kitts for veterinary school, I pursued research in aquatic health for tilapia and spent school nights performing nesting patrols for the Sea Turtle Monitoring network for nesting leatherback sea turtles and weekend mornings tagging and examining juvenile sea turtles off the coast.
While I love exotics and aquatics, after veterinary school I took a position at a low cost, full service and also spay/neuter/shelter clinic to continue my passion of advocating for and aiding vulnerable populations of animals.
After a year of "veterinary bootcamp" I returned to my home state of New York where a perfect set of circumstances came together leading me to fall into a job I had never thought to pursue, house call appointments for dogs and cats. I quickly realized the limitless possibilities for an improved veterinary visit for the pet, owners, and staff.
Following through on this passion, I moved to Denver with my three dogs, Iris, Oualie, and Kipper, so they can have the outdoor life they couldn't have in New York City, and my two cats Boots and Rascal. You can find us hiking or at dog parks, or always seeking out anything to do with water (even my cats swim).
Aspen Dornburg,
Vet Asst
I’m from Arizona and only recently moved to Colorado. I’ve known that I wanted to work with animals since I was 5 years old when I was first exposed to animal rescue and my family started to talk about all my special bonds with animals of all types.
After high school, I started working as a veterinary technician and learned on the job honing my skills and pursuing my passion. For the past 3 years I’ve worked at a high volume spay and neuter/full service clinic where I met Dr. Zayas (we call her Dr. Z).
I’ve spent the last 6 years building my skills as a veterinary assistant and am currently attending Penn Foster to achieve my dream of being a Certified Veterinary Technician. I am also pursuing certification in hospice and palliative care to better provide for my patients.
I moved to Colorado with my wonderful boyfriend/adventure partner, Adrian, and my two dogs, Kush and Rajah. In my spare time I enjoy hiking and spending time near water with my dogs (see why Dr. Z and I got along so well?). I can’t wait to adventure all around to see what Colorado has to offer.