Dr. Carley Saelinger
Dr. Saelinger is the founder and CEO of Cardiac Vet, Inc., a teleconsulting service for interpretation of cardiac diagnostic studies and a mobile echo service for veterinarians.
Her clinical interests include medical and surgical treatment of arrhythmias. She is one of two cardiologists in the United States who specialize in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) surgery, programming and defibrillation. She also customizes pacemaker programming for individual canine patients. She has vast experience and a long-time special interest in the pathophysiology & treatment of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC) of Boxers and English Bulldogs. You can reference her publications on this topic and others below.
Dr. Saelinger spoke at the AVMA conference in 2019 on cardiac emergencies and provides regular CE locally and nationwide. Her commitment to education is also reflected in the cardiology internship program she has directed since 2012, securing cardiology residencies for 92% of her interns.
Dr. Saelinger is a graduate of The Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University. She obtained her veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. She then completed a one-year rotating internship at the University of Florida in Gainesville, followed by a cardiology internship and cardiology residency at Louisiana State University from 2008-2012. In 2012, she successfully completed the ACVIM exams and the Cardiology specialty boards to become a Diplomate (Board Certified Cardiologist) of the ACVIM in the specialty of Cardiology.
When Dr. Saelinger has free time from keeping pets’ hearts healthy, you can find her doing the same for people. Dr. Saelinger is passionate about fitness and is a certified Spin and Body Pump instructor and favorite hobby is long distance cycling. See her personal website: thevetwhosweats.com for more information.
Dr. Saelinger was previously department head of cardiology at the Animal Specialty and Emergency Center (ASEC) in Los Angeles, CA. She maintains a part time position at ASEC involved in the training of veterinary students and interns and practicing clinical cardiology.
Social media:
Pariaut R. Saelinger C. Cardiovascular disorders chapter 8, Clinical Medicine of the Dog and Cat, Fourth Edition, edited by Michael Schaer, Frederic P. Gaschen and Stuart Walton, Dec 2022.
Wiggens K, Saelinger C. Isorhythmic atrioventricular dissociation, JAVMA, Feb 1, 2019, Vol:254(3):pages 350-352.
Vila J, Moise S, Oxford E, Fox P, Reynolds C, Saelinger C. Structural and molecular pathology of the atrium in boxer arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. JVC, February 2017, vol: 19(1):57-67.
Pariaut R. Saelinger C. Cardiovascular disorders chapter 7, Clinical Medicine of the Dog and Cat, Third Edition, edited by Michael Schaer and Frederic P. Gaschen, July 2016.
McMahon P, Saelinger C. Reversal of echocardiographic right-sided heart pathology in a dog with severe pulmonary hypertension: a case report. Veterinary Medicine Research and Reports. June 2015, vol 2015(6):211-218.
Rademacher N, Pariaut R, Pate J, Saelinger C, Kearney MT, Gaschen L. Transthoracic lung ultrasound in normal dogs and dogs with cardiogenic pulmonary edema: a pilot study. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2014 Jul-Aug;55(4):447-52.
Pariaut R, Saelinger C, Strickland K, Vila J, Reynolds C, Beaufrere H. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) in dogs: reference values and impact of pulmonary hypertension, JVIM, September 2012, vol: 26(5):1148-54.
Pariaut R, Saelinger C, Vila J, DeForge W, Queiroz-Williams C, Reynolds C, Beaufrere H, Zimmerman M. Evaluation of shock waveform configuration on the defibrillation capacity of implantable cardioverter defibrillators in dogs, JVC 2012, vol:14(3):389-398.
Pariaut R, Saelinger C, Queiroz P, Strickland K, Marshall C. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator in a German shepherd dog with ventricular arrhythmias, JVC, September 2011, vol: 13(3):203-210.
Le Roux A, Rademacher N, Saelinger C, Rodriguez D, Pariaut R, Gaschen L. Value of tracheal bifurcation angle measurement as radiographic sign of left atrial enlargement in dogs. VRU, 2012: Jan-Feb;53(1):28-33.
Ratterree W, Geiger T, Saelinger C, Pariaut R. The Value of Echocardiography and Electrocardiogram as Screening Tools Prior to Doxorubicin Administration: 101 Cases (2000-2009). JAAHA 2012; Mar-Apr;48(2):89-96
Saelinger C, Estrada A, Maisenbacher H. ECG of the Month-The Brody Effect.JAVMA, 7/15/08, Vol:233(2):231-234.
Saelinger C, Lewbart G, Christian L, et al. Prevalence of Salmonella spp in cloacal, fecal, and gastrointestinal mucosal samples from wild North American turtles JAVMA, 7/15/06, Volume 229(2):266-268.
*Board-Certification in a specialty of veterinary medicine indicates that the individual has received and completed post-graduate specialty training in an approved residency program and passed a certifying examination.
Chelsi Bush
Chelsi Bush, RVT, is the Director of Operations and a cardiac sonographer/technician of Cardiac Vet, Inc.
Chelsi is a San Diego native and later attended the University of California Santa Barbara, on a full-ride athletic scholarship. After injury ended her athletic career, she began pursuing her love of animals by working in a fast pace, small animal, private practice, while simultaneously furthering her education in veterinary medicine.
From 2005-2017, Chelsi worked as an intricate part of a successful small animal, private veterinary practice in West Los Angeles. There she was responsible for managing anesthesia during surgical procedures, in addition to coordinating and obtaining all laboratory diagnostics including biochemistry and imaging.
In 2017, Chelsi joined Dr. Saelinger’s cardiology team in West Los Angeles. As a cardiology supervisor, she is responsible for aiding in training specialty interns and technicians in echocardiography, interpretation, and managing anesthesia for cardiac related procedures (i.e. pacemaker implantation, balloon valvuloplasty, PDA occlusion).
When Chelsi is not in the hospital or out performing echocardiograms, she is likely at the beach or hiking with her dog.
Dr. Nicole Culwell
Nicole Culwell, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Cardiology) grew up in New York and received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 2003.
She completed a rotating Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Internship at Oklahoma State University in 2004. In 2007, she completed a 3-year residency and earned a Master of Science degree in cardiology at The Ohio State University.
She served as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences from 2008 to 2011. Following her move to Texas in 2011, she was employed as a full-time clinical cardiologist at a private practice until 2021. In 2021, she left clinical practice to pursue a consulting career.
Her clinical interests include echocardiography, client education, patient quality of life, and medical management of chronic heart disease.
She currently lives in Texas with her husband and dogs. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, cross-stitching, traveling, cooking, watching hockey, and spending time with her family.
Dr. Scott Forney
Scott Forney, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) was raised in Martinez, Georgia and currently resides in Boulder City, Nevada. He graduated from the University of Georgia with an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. He went on to obtain his veterinary degree at the University of Georgia in 2004. The following year he completed a rotating internship at North Carolina State University followed by a 3-year cardiology residency at the California Animal Hospital in West Los Angeles, CA. He obtained his board certification in 2009 and has been a clinical cardiologist in Las Vegas since 2008. Dr. Forney opened his own cardiology practice in 2023, Animal Cardiology Specialists of Nevada where he continues practice clinical cardiology.
Dr. Forney’s clinical interests include medical management of chronic heart disease, echocardiography, and client and veterinarian education. Outside of work he enjoys golf, tennis, live music, and all things related to sports (Go Dawgs, Braves, Falcons, and Golden Knights!). He has two sons that he loves to geek out with at the comic book store and a wife of over 17 years that he loves traveling with as much as possible.
Dr. Logan Funk
Logan Funk, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) spent his formative years in northeastern Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the duration of his undergraduate and veterinary medical studies. He completed an emergency and critical care internship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as a specialty cardiology internship in Los Angeles, California. In July of 2019, Logan began a cardiology residency at the University of Missouri. He finished the program in July of 2022 and contemporaneously received board-certification from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in the specialty of cardiology.
Dr. Timothy Hodge
Dr. Timothy Hodge grew up in Central California and currently resides in Southern California.
He attended UC Davis for undergraduate studies. He earned his doctorate from Purdue University. He then completed a rotating small animal medicine and surgery internship at the Animal Medical Center of New York, followed by a cardiovascular research fellowship in Columbus, Ohio. He continued his training with a cardiology residency at North Carolina State University and passed his specialty certification examination in 2013 to become a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology). Dr. Hodge currently works as a clinical cardiologist for the University of California in San Diego. Dr. Hodge has particular interests in arrhythmia management, minimally invasive interventional procedures, and myocardial diseases.
Dr. Hannah Hodgkiss-Geere
Hannah is British and graduated from the Royal ‘Dick’ School of Veterinary Studies (RDSVS), in Edinburgh, in 2006 with Distinction. During her veterinary degree she intercalated and undertook a full time Master of Science by Research in virology. Upon qualifying Hannah entered full time mixed practice in rural Staffordshire where her interest in Cardiopulmonary medicine initially developed. Following mixed practice she entered small animal practice prior to returning to the R(D)SVS and Roslin Institute to undertake a PhD in Canine Adult Stem Cells with a particular interest in Cardiac and Mesenchymal stem cells. Following the PhD she became a Resident in Cardiopulmonary medicine, following the ECVIM-CA Diploma in Cardiology.
In 2014 Hannah joined the University of Liverpool as Lecturer in Small Animal Cardiology and gained her European Diploma in March 2015. She was appointed Senior Lecturer in Cardiology in December 2015 and Professor of Veterinary Cardiology and Education in Spring 2023. Hannah obtained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in May 2018 and Senior Fellowship in summer 2022. She became a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Autumn 2022. Hannah is Director of Undergraduate Recruitment for the Veterinary School and Deputy Head of Department for Small Animal Clinical Sciences. She enjoys teaching students, seeing cases and undertaking research. Her main areas of interest are
- Cardiac and Mesenchymal Stem Cells
- Canine pericardial disease
- Cardiac interventional procedures
- Heart rate variability
- Effect of obesity on heart disease
- Pedagogic research
- Student outreach and Education
- Widening Participation
Dr. Rima Kharbush
Rima Kharbush, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) is originally from the Midwest, having been born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. She attended Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota for her undergraduate education, then received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin in 2016. After pursuing rotating and cardiology internships in Albuquerque and Los Angeles respectively, she completed her residency training in cardiology at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. She obtained board certification in 2021. She currently works as a clinical cardiologist at the Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota.
Dr. Kharbush’s clinical interests include treating cardiac emergencies, performing minimally invasive interventional procedures to treat congenital and acquired disease, and the clinical utilization of echocardiography. She has a particular interest in the advancement of feline medicine, as well as working together with owners and veterinarians to optimize chronic heart failure therapy and maximize quality of life in her patients. When she is not at work, Dr. Kharbush enjoys reading, playing soccer, watching Packers games, and taking advantage of local cuisine and breweries. She also spends a significant amount of time spoiling her dog, a little chihuahua mix named Dobby, who she adopted as a resident after surgical repair of a heart defect.
Dr. Eva Larouche-Lebel
Eva Larouche-Lebel, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) is originally from Quebec City, Canada. She obtained her veterinary degree from University of Montreal in 2011. She then completed a one-year rotating internship at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic (VEC) in Toronto and went on to practice general and emergency medicine in Toronto, Laval, Montreal and Philadelphia over the following years. In 2017, she started a research internship at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a cardiology residency. During her residency, Dr Larouche-Lebel participated in multipleresearch projects and co-authored numerous scientific papers on various topics including echocardiography, diuretic resistance, microbiome and neurohormonal mechanisms of congestive heart failure.
Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her cats, hiking with her dog Wil, running, yoga, traveling, and enjoying the Quebec winter. She also loves cooking and sharing a good meal with her husband and friends.
Dr. Stacey Leach
Stacey Leach, DVM, DACVIM (cardiology) graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2003 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2007.
He completed both a small animal rotating internship and cardiology residency at the University of Missouri. He achieved board certification in cardiology in 2012, and subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Missouri, serving as the chief of cardiology and the cardiology resident program director from 2012 to 2024.
He has co-authored numerous peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters and his research has been focused on canine cardiomyopathies. Outside of work he is an avid weight lifter, enjoys and keeps busy with his two standard schnauzers.
Jessica Martinez
Jessica Martinez, RVT is the manager of the Cardiac Diagnostic Imaging Division and a cardiac sonographer/technician of Cardiac Vet, Inc.
Jess is a Los Angeles native, born and raised in sunny SoCal. She attended Mount St. Mary’s University where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology. During her college years Jess volunteered at a local veterinary hospital where her love for veterinary medicine evolved.
Since 2014, Jess has been growing in the field and advancing her skill sets in quality veterinary medicine. In 2016 she joined a fast growing Cardiology department within West Los Angeles and fell in love with the field. Here is when she began to expand her skills into obtaining cardiac ultrasound imaging and interpretation, managing anesthesia in cardiac compromised patients, and aiding Dr. Saelinger in training new cardiology interns in echocardiography.
In her free time, Jess loves to solo hike the Sierra Nevada Mountains, play tennis recreationally and play in her amateur billiards team.
Dr. Nekesa Morey
Nekesa Morey, BVM&S, MRCVS, MS, DACVIM (Cardiology) grew up in Nairobi, Kenya before obtaining her veterinary degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She moved to the United States where she completed a rotating internship in Denver at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital and a cardiology specialty internship in Seattle at Seattle Veterinary Specialists, Blue Pearl. Following this, she moved to Columbia, Missouri where she completed her cardiology residency and obtained board certification in July 2023. Nekesa currently lives in the United Kingdom and works at the Royal Veterinary College in London in the cardiology department. In her free time, she enjoys being outside, walking, hiking and biking with her partner, Paul and cooking delicious food for friends and family.
Dr. Keaton Morgan
Keaton Morgan, BVSc(hons), DACVIM(cardiology) is originally from Auckland, New Zealand. He completed his veterinary degree with honors from Massey University, New Zealand in 2016.
Once graduated, he completed two small animal rotating internships; one in New Zealand at the Veterinary Specialist Group and the second at the University of Guelph, Canada.
Keaton then completed his veterinary cardiology residency at the University of Minnesota where he was awarded the resident award of excellence before returning to New Zealand to establish a veterinary cardiology service.
Outside of work Keaton enjoys spending time with his young family, drinking freshly ground coffee from a local New Zealand café and competing in endurance events.
Sandra Pruneda
Cardiac Diagnostic Imaging Technician
Dr. John Stack
Jon Stack, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) was born in Illinois and currently resides in Sacramento. He completed vet school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigin 2012, followed by an internship at Purdue University. From there, he worked as an emergency veterinarian outside Washington, DC, then accepting a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford to focus on research. He then moved back into clinical medicine, accepting and completing a cardiology residency at the University of Illinois and working as a board certified cardiologist in private practice since then. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the outdoor activities available in northern California, as well as going to local sporting events (go River Cats!). He lives with his partner Sunny, and their furry quadruplets: two dogs, Ellie and Quinn, and two cats, Momo and Katsu.
Dr. Simon Swift
Simon is an experienced cardiologist who has been working in specialist cardiology practice for over
20 years and is an RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology.
Simon graduated from Cambridge in 1986 and rapidly developed an interest in cardiology passing
the certificate in 1990. He joined Woodcroft Veterinary Group in 1990 becoming a partner in 1993.
However, the drive to improve his cardiology knowledge led him to move to Liverpool in 2005 where he passed the Diploma in 2009. After working in private referral practice in the Northwest, he
moved to the University of Florida in 2014 helping to establish their open heart surgery program for
mitral valve repair. He was able to indulge his passions of helping pets and teaching residents and
students. He returned to the UK in 2021 working in private referral practice.
Simon was the cardiology adviser to the Cavalier King Charles Club for over 20 years, helping them
improve the heart status of the breed. He regularly lectures nationally and internationally and is
currently president of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology. He has co-authored numerous peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters and his research has been focused on degenerative valve disease.
When not in work, Simon enjoys time with his wife, obsessive border collie, idle cat and new granddaughter. To relax, he builds science fiction models and drinks far too much red wine.
Dr. Carl Toborowsky
Carl Toborowsky, MS, MA, VMD, DACVIM (Cardiology) is an assistant clinical professor of cardiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has a Master’s degree in Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics from the University of Missouri in St. Louis, and a Master’s degree in primatology from the University of Texas at Austin. He completed his veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania, a rotating internship at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, DC, followed by a cardiology specialty internship at BluePearl in Southfield, Michigan. He completed his cardiology residency at the University of Georgia, and is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in the specialty of Cardiology.
His interests include interventional cardiology for both congenital and acquired cardiac diseases, novel therapies for the management of congestive heart failure, management of right-sided heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, mechanisms of overcoming diuretic resistance, and modulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.
Outside of the office, Dr. T enjoys road cycling, getting lost in new cities, cocktail making, trying new foods, and playing and seeing live music.
Ross Feldgreber
Ross Feldgreber, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) is originally from Chicago, Illinois. He obtained his veterinary degree from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2015. He then completed a one-year rotating internship with BluePearl in Northfield, Illinois, followed by a cardiology specialty internship and residency with Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Fall, New Jersey. Following residency, he became board certified by American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in specialty of cardiology.
Dr Feldgreber enjoys all aspects of cardiology, especially working with pet owners to help them understand their pet’s condition. His particular clinical interests including interventional procedures for congenital heart disease, treatment of congestive heart failure, diagnosing/treatment of arrhythmias and management of pulmonary hypertension.
Outside of work, Dr Feldgreber enjoys spending time with his family including his wife, two daughters and sheepadoodle. He love to play/watch/attend sporting events, exercising, exploring new places and restaurants and visiting his former overnight camp in Eagle River, Wisconsin, Camp Menominee.