Dr. Anne-Marie Reikes is a native of Southern California. She has always had a great love of animals and at a young age earned her Girl Scout Gold Award for organizing an animal adoption event. She pursued her undergraduate studies at both UC Davis and Loyola Marymount University, then in 2007 was part of the inaugural graduating class of Western University of Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, she worked in small animal general medicine for over 13 years, building lasting relationships with her clients and patients. Starting in 2016, she began working part time with Hearts and Halos, but in 2021 she left general medicine to focus fulltime on assisting pets in having a peaceful end-of -life experiences with Hearts and Halos.
In her spare time, Dr. Anne-Marie Reikes enjoys spending time with her family outdoors camping, hiking, skiing and surfing. She enjoys spending time with her many family pets including her dog, Hunter, two cats, Queen Jillian and King Jet, a bearded dragon named Spike, a Russian tortoise and a snake.
Dr MJ was born and raised on the east coast of Canada, in beautiful Nova Scotia. She went on to attend veterinary school at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island. In 2006, after enduring many chilly Canadian winters, Dr MJ decided to move herself down to an even more beautiful place - Hawai’i! Dr MJ spent 9 wonderful years working at clinics on both the west side and east side of Oahu. She then discovered her passion for shelter medicine when she started volunteering at the Hawaiian Humane Society. Seeking new opportunities, Dr MJ moved once again to Los Angeles where she landed her dream job helping shelter pets and other animals who need the most care, in the heart of the city. Through the twists and turns of life, MJ eventually found herself working for Veterinary Public Health, exploring yet another side of veterinary medicine.
Dr MJ also loves to travel, spend time at the beach, add to her crystal collection, and spend quality time with her two sweet boys, her hubby, three dogs (“Yoshi” the Mini Schnauzer, “Cali” the Pit Bull mix, & “Coal” the Irish Wolfhound), bearded dragon (“Jean-Luc”), and a school of lovely fish! She is honored to be a part-time veterinarian with Hearts & Halos, helping beloved pets transition in the most peaceful and serene way, surrounded by positive energy and love.
Dr Melissa Lucas fell in love with veterinary medicine in high school when she worked as a groomer for a small animal clinic. At every opportunity she helped out the veterinarian, soon working her way up to become a veterinary assistant. After high school, she was thrilled to be accepted into the pre-veterinary program at Cal Poly Pomona. While in college, she worked as a student assistant to the campus veterinarian. During this time, she helped to wrangle everything from cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs to cats, dogs, and exotics. She graduated from Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Veterinary Medicine in 2007. After completing a residency in Comparative Medicine at UCLA, she spent three years working as a veterinarian for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2012, she transitioned into private practice, working as a general practitioner for many years.
Dr Melissa’s professional interests include end-of-life care, hospice, and management of chronic conditions such as kidney disease, osteoarthritis, and poor mobility in senior pets. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, horseback riding, and spending time with her husband, two young daughters, two Standard Poodles, and two horses.
Born and raised in Southern California, Dr. Susan grew up with a bevy of doggy siblings ranging from her family’s huge Doberman to the even larger German Shepherd to the fiercest leader of them all, the Pekingese (who routinely showed all who was boss).
Dr. Susan started her journey towards veterinary medicine at UC Berkeley where she graduated with a degree in Molecular Cell Biology and Economics. Over time, she made her way back to Los Angeles where she rediscovered her love for animals. This became the foundation for her career in veterinary medicine as she elected to attend Western University of Health, School of Veterinary Medicine. For many years after graduation in 2012, Dr. Susan had the privilege of helping families and their pets in small animal general medicine.
In 2021, Dr. Susan began to focus on helping families bring comfort and a peaceful passing to their beloved pets at home. She recognized that being present to witness the depth of the human animal bond during this time is a true honor.
In her spare time, Dr. Susan enjoys spending time with her family, baking treats for her sugar-loving kids, and engaging in a battle of wills with her entirely too smart, troublemaking dog.