Meet our newest extern, Rikki!

Rikki joins the team at Craig Road Animal Hospital as part of our extern program. Currently, Rikki is pursuing her D.V.M. degree at Colorado State but her journey to becoming a veterinarian started here in her hometown of Las Vegas, NV.

At first, Rikki was torn between caring for humans or animals, “I was really interested in the science of medicine, but when I was shadowing doctors in hospitals it never really clicked with me that this is what I want to do.” A few weeks later, she had visited an animal hospital for a tour and immediately realized that veterinary medicine was what she had been looking for all along.

Rikki aspires to gain more experience with surgery and emergencies as she shadows Dr. Koenitzer during her externship. While at Craig Road, she is most excited to see her book learning turn in to hands on practice. Ultimately, she would like to gain the experience in order to care for large breeds and exotic animals.

Throughout her life Rikki had plenty of pets to care for ranging from ferrets and snakes to common household pets like gerbils and dogs. However, she now focuses her efforts on her only pet, a Siberian-Husky named Jade. In her spare time Rikki enjoys hiking, golfing, climbing, and pretty much everything involving the outdoors, she says she plans on making sure to visit Mt. Charleston during her externship.