Giselle G.
Veterinary Assistant
Hi, my name is Giselle Garcia, and I am a Veterinary Assistant at Neighborhood Vet Hospital of Peñasquitos. I am passionate about providing high-quality care and helping my patients feel comfortable and confident in their treatment.
Personal Hobbies and Interests
I love spending time with my family, which means plenty of travel since they live in a beautiful town in Mexico, as well as visiting new countries. I also enjoy taking my six-year-old chihuahua on adventures around San Diego and working in my backyard. At home I have Helena, a fifteen-year-old gray tabby and a bit of a cranky kitty who has trained me to follow her as she yells for treats and demands to be lifted onto her feeding table. Then there's Mayo, my six-year-old chihuahua named after the native people of a town in Sonora, Mexico where he's from—he thinks he's the boss, but it's really Helena who runs the house.
Favorite Part of My Job
What I enjoy most is getting familiar with our patients and their families, watching pets grow, and seeing them sometimes get excited to see us too.
Why I Chose This Profession
The love for animals first drew me into the veterinary field, and what has kept me here is the gratification of helping patients heal. I also find deep meaning in being able to help families say goodbye to their fur friends peacefully—something that is always hard and never easy.
Education
I completed my schooling at Colegio de Bachilleres de Baja California in Mexico. I am currently working toward my RVT license through Platt College.
Professional Background
I find surgery fun and dental cleanings satisfying—there's nothing like returning a pet's pearly whites. But what I enjoy most is internal medicine: working directly with a patient, monitoring vitals, medicating, and seeing them recover.
Work History
I began my career in a general and ER facility in the Coachella Valley, where I worked alongside a large team and learned a great deal. I then moved to Escondido to work at a hospital treating both small animals and exotics, partnering with rescue organizations such as Sky Hunters, Project Wildlife, and a lab rescue. At Valley Animal Medical Center's ER services, I worked mainly in the laboratory—running cultures and performing cross-matching for blood transfusions—before moving into a technician and then assistant role, where I learned to work with exotics and drew blood on cockatoos, hawks, and even a bearded dragon. In Valley Center, where there were no nearby ER hospitals, we treated our fair share of rattlesnake bites, coyote and hawk attacks, and I worked through the COVID era. A good friend then told me about my current practice, where I have been very happy and will mark my sixth year at the end of this year.