We, the staff at VCA Elk Grove Animal Hospital, are committed to providing quality care by treating our patients with compassion, love, and kindness, as if they were our own. We are also committed to providing our patients with the best medicine by continuing our education and implementing the newest, most beneficial treatment, procedures, and preventatives available. We treat every patient and family as individuals, and are committed to educating our clients with the knowledge to make an informed decision regarding the care of their pets. Our overall goal is to treat our clients and our patients as we would want to be treated.
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Dr. Van Riper received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from UC Davis in 1993. She then completed a one-year internship in small animal medicine and surgery with the Sacramento Animal Medical Group in 1994. Dr. Van Riper has had the pleasure of working with an amazing team (more like family) at VCA Elk Grove Animal Hospital since 1994. She has one cats, three dogs, one box turtle, one husband and two adult daughters. Her special interests lie in surgery, rabbits and working with dogs, although her original interest in veterinary medicine was due to a love of cats. Dr. Van Riper is also Feline Fear Fr...
Rachelle has worked in the animal field for over 20 years including time spent working for Guide Dogs for the Blind, East Bay SPCA, Berkeley Humane, and numerous veterinary hospitals. She has an animal science degree from UC Davis, where she also played rugby for four years and served as the team's captain and president.
Rachelle lives with her wife, Sara, their three children, and their yellow Lab, Fenway, in Elk Grove, CA. She enjoys skiing, hiking, and playing tennis as well as wine tasting, road trips, and finding random adventures.