Vets
Susan Kelleher, D.V.M.
Dr.
Kelleher is originally from Buffalo, NY. Don’t worry Dolphin Fans, she
doesn’t know football well and roots for anybody who scores! She received
her Bachelor’s degree with a dual major in Chemistry and Biology from Alfred
University in 1990 and went on to veterinary school at the University of Tennessee
College of Veterinary Medicine.
While in high school and college Dr. Kelleher volunteered at the Buffalo Zoo and gained extensive experience by working closely with the bird keepers. Throughout veterinary school, she was very active in the avian, exotic and wildlife program and spent a lot of time volunteering at the Clinch River Raptor Center. Towards the end of her senior year of veterinary school, she spent two months working with Dr. Jeff Jenkins in San Diego as a student extern.
After graduating from veterinary school, Dr. Kelleher fulfilled her dreams of being warm in the winter by moving to Florida in August of 1995. She spent her first 3 1/2 years in small animal practices in South Florida. As time went on and her following of avian and exotic pets grew, she decided to “take the plunge” and start her own practice. The result…Broward Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital. This has been a dream come true: a quiet atmosphere where Dr. Kelleher can focus all her attention on the special needs of unique pets.
In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Kelleher enjoys spending time with her daughters Elba and Claire, her son, Myles and husband Greg as well as the family's furry, feathered and scaly pets. Her pets include two dogs: Loretta and Friday , a cat, William, an 90lb African Spur Thigh tortoise named Durda, Xander a Blue and Gold Macaw and her bunnies Reuben and Hilde, an English Budgie, Nathaniel, and a 40 year old box turtle, Lady (sorry, no partridge in a pear tree!) She also enjoys baseball, gardening, reading, knitting, biking, geocaching and sewing. She hosts veterinary students from both the USA and abroad for externships at the clinic and is a well known lecturer at both national and international veterinary meetings.
Many
of you who have been clients here for a long time may have noticed that somebody
is missing....Maggie. Maggie was Dr. K's constant companion. She
came to the clinic daily with Dr. K and enjoyed both giving and receiving attention. Maggie
was with Dr. K since June 26, 1990. She helped children get over their
fear of dogs, helped with "grief counseling", keeping tired toddlers
occupied while their parents focused on their pet's needs as well as keeping
people company when Dr. K got behind in appointments. Maggie passed away
February 23, 2007. She was just 7 weeks shy of her 17th birthday. She
is greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.
Dr. K is available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for appointments and consultations.
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Santiago Díaz, D.V.M.
Dr. Díaz is originally from Colombia but came to the United States seven years ago to pursue his dream of becoming an exotic/wildlife veterinarian. In Colombia he volunteered at two different zoological institutions and a rehabilitation center for wildlife. In the United States, he attended Florida Atlantic University for his undergraduate studies and worked with us for two years as a veterinary technician.
Then he moved up to Gainesville to start veterinary school at the University of Florida. During the summer of his first year in veterinary school, he conducted a research project with a scholarship that he obtained from the Morris Animal Foundation which is only given to 25 students from veterinary schools around the United States. With the help of his mentor he developed a serology test to detect tuberculosis in captive Asian elephants. He went to the Merck Merial conference in July of 2008 and to the Morris Animal Foundation conference in May of 2009 to present the results of his project. At the latter conference, he was awarded third place in the wildlife category. Besides the prestige of earning an award and receiving much needed scholarship funds, these conferences were of great benefit to him additionally by introducing him to experts in the zoo medicine field and in building great contacts for his future professional career.
Throughout vet school, Dr. Díaz was deeply involved with the wildlife club, he held the wetlab coordinator, speaker coordinator and club’s president positions. He was also the vice-president for the Reptile and Amphibian club, the Lafeber student rep, and the founder and president of the Anesthesia club.
At graduation he was awarded the Treasure Coast Exotic Bird Club and the Kaytee Avian & Special Species award for his interest in exotic and wildlife species and his involvement with these species during veterinary school.
Dr. Díaz is fluent in both English and Spanish and likes to spend his free time with his animals which include a dog, Mateo, a ball python, Matú, A leopard gecko, Eragon and his two pet rats, Ramón and Pedro.