Meet Our Staff

Dr. Gary Haver is the founder and owner of Surfside Animal Hospital. He started working in animals hospitals at the age of 14. His career as a veterinarian started in 1996 when he graduated from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from State University of New York at Stonybrook in 1992.

Since graduating from Ross University he has worked in New York, Maryland, and California as an associate veterinarian, medical director, a relief doctor, provided service for the county animal shelters here in San Diego, and currently co-owns Peaceful Passing, an in home pet euthanasia service. Dr. Haver currently resides in Carlsbad with his wife Dana and their 3 dogs, TJ, Mickey, Powder and Charlie the cat. In his spare time Dr. Haver enjoys traveling, SCUBA diving, fishing, sailing, and martial arts.

Dr. Michele Greer grew up in upstate New York. She received her Bachelor’s degree in biology after attending the State University of New York at Buffalo and San Diego State University. After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1998 with her doctorate in veterinary medicine, she practiced at large multi-doctor practices in Costa Mesa and in Del Mar.

She later decided to do relief veterinary work and pursue interests in holistic medicine. She attended Parker Chiropractic College in Dallas for animal chiropractic care and trained in veterinary acupuncture through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society in San Diego. Dr. Greer’s other special interests include preventative medicine, dermatology, and dentistry.
Dr. Greer resides in Oceanside with her mixed breed border collie, Mindy Sue who is now retired from doing agility. Dr. Greer can be found riding her frisky grey Arab, Juliet whenever time permits.

Born in Lanaken, Belgium, Dr. Caroline Defresne (pronounced De Fren), speaks Dutch, English, French, some Spanish and a little bit of Danish. She is from “Flanders” where the people speak Dutch but her grandfather was from the French speaking part of Belgium, hence the French sounding last name.

Dr. Defresne, or Dr. Caroline, graduated cum laude with a degree in Veterinary Medicine in June 2004, and then earned a Master in Laboratory Animal Science in 2006, both at the University of Ghent, Belgium. The University of Ghent has ranked first place in Veterinary Science by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World University.

Dr. Defresne worked in veterinary hospitals in Belgium and The Netherlands with both companion and large animals before moving to the United States several years ago. She met her husband, who is from Denmark, in Maastricht at their local softball club. They relocated to Southern California for her husband’s work and after spending some time looking for the perfect property, they have made Valley Center their home.

After first having volunteered and fostered for the San Diego Humane Society (SDHS) in Escondido, she then worked for SDHS as a vet tech while completing the ECFVG program to obtain a USA / California DVM license. She has a special interest in care for very young kittens and puppies through her shelter work, and in positive reinforcement training through training her own puppy/ young dog.

Dr. Defresne and her husband have a four-legged child named Abby, a 13 inch Beagle or “Pocket Beagle”, who is extremely loved and a tiny bit spoiled. In her spare time, she enjoys doing K9 nosework (“scentwork”) with Abby and competing in NCSAW nosework trials. She also loves traveling, exploring nature, wildlife photography, and reading. On her Bucket list: to visit every National Park in the U.S.

Bio coming soon!

Jesse Jennings is the co-owner of Sky Canyon Animal Hospital and a long time RVT of veterinary services. He’s the acting manager of Surfside Animal Hospital and Classy K9 Clips in Oceanside. This is his first ownership role in animal care after earning his necessary certifications and serving hundreds of hours medically caring for animals.