Our Medical Director, Dr. Johnson, is a California native born in San Jose and then raised in Santa Cruz. From a young age, she always knew she would be working with animals. As a child, she developed strong bonds with her family's dogs, rabbits, and parakeets, and this instilled in her a passion for animal care. As a teenager and young adult, she volunteered at animal shelters in both Santa Cruz and Hawaii. She also volunteered at Native Animal Rescue in Santa Cruz where she treated injured wildlife including pelicans, seagulls, cormorants, songbirds, squirrels, rabbits, opossums, and much more. Additionally, Dr. Johnson spent a summer in Mexico helping with sea turtle conservation and a month in the Cook Islands to provide low-cost veterinary care to animals in need [citation].