Sara Redding Ochoa, DVM was raised in north Louisiana.
She knew since she was a little girl, she knew she wanted to become a veterinarian.
She grew up in the country where she had many different types of animals range from dogs and cats to chickens and turkeys.
She always loved caring for these animals. She always took time to spend some of her summer vacation at a local vet clinic helping walk dogs.
During undergrad she started working as a kennel assistant at a veterinary clinic and quickly advanced to a veterinary assistant and eventually a veterinary technician.
Her time spent at the veterinary clinic solidified her dreams of eventually going to veterinary school.
She graduated in 2011 from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana with a Bachelor’s degree in animal science. She was accepted into St George’s University in Grenada, West Indies during her senior year of undergrad.
After completing undergrad, she moved to Grenada for veterinary school with her dog Ruby.
During her time in veterinary school she was able to learn from some of the most well-known veterinarians from all over the world.
Being in a different country allowed her to learn about many different cultures and she was able to fully immerse herself in and learn about the Caribbean way of life.
She spent time in Grenada helping with sea turtle conservation and even learned to scuba dive.
During her summer vacation she would volunteer her time helping at spay and neuter clinics in Honduras as well as working at a local veterinary clinic.
While being so far away from home studying a very hard subject was very hard some days for Dr. Ochoa. Many days were spent in a classroom studying but Dr. Ochoa did like to spend her time enjoying her life on a tropical island. She visited Coco plantations, waterfalls, and the beach.
Dr. Ochoa has many fond memories and friendships that she built during her years living in Grenada.
These are some of her best friend that she still visits often and discusses difficult cases with.
After being away from home for so long Dr. Ochoa completed her clinical year at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
This allowed her to be closer to her family. She graduated in 2015 from St. George’s University with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.
The few months after veterinary school Dr. Ochoa took time to relax and take a few vacation trips.
She visited New York City for her graduation ceremony, spent time working as a veterinarian in Honduras and visited Portland, OR.
Since veterinary school she has been working at a small animal and exotic veterinary clinic in east Texas, where she has experience treating all species that walk in the hospital.
Dr. Ochoa has developed a relationship with most of her clients and they all love her taking care of their pets. Dr. Ochoa treats all the animals that walk in her clinic as part of the family and often refers to them as their babies.
Dr. Ochoa professional interest include surgery and exotic animal medicine. She loves seeing all the different species of animals. She has done surgery on many different animals ranging from primates, to snakes and lizards to rabbits and guinea pigs. She has even done surgery on a fish. She really enjoys spending time with clients teach them about the proper care for their animals. She loves being able to help the “fur-kid” return to a happy and healthy life.
During her time in undergrad, she fell in love with exotic animal medicine which lead her to make sure that she included exotic animals in her veterinary practice. During undergrad Dr. Ochoa got two rabbits of her own. By owning rabbits, she learned all about the care and maintenance of these animals and has even come to be known as the rabbit expert at the vet clinic. This is one species of animal that Dr. Ochoa loves helping new rabbit owners learn about so that their rabbits too can live a long and healthy life.
Dr. Ochoa loves being able to teach pet owners about different disease that their pets may have. She also helps teach and lead younger generations of students all about the aspects veterinary medicine that she enjoys.
Dr. Ochoa volunteers her time with the local high school and veterinary technician and veterinary school student instructing them in a clinical setting. The students gain valuable experience work with Dr. Ochoa and gaining first-hand experience working with and treating exotic animals.
When Dr. Ochoa is not at the clinic treating animals, she likes to spend her free time with her husband Greg.
They love to travel the world and see new places that they have never been. They enjoy hiking and spending time in the great outdoors enjoying the nature. On rainy days you can often find them in the kitchen cooking delicious meals and bake yummy desserts. Recently Dr. Ochoa has learn how to sew and how to make a quilts. In her off time you can find her in her sewing room making a quilt. She loves to spend her off time being very creative. Dr. Ochoa and her husband love to spend their down time with her 4-legged fur kids, two dogs Ruby and Bug a cat named Oliver James who commonly is referred to as “OJ”, and a tortoise named Monkey-Man.