Helping vet students achieve their dreams

1^st Pet helps many students get practical experience in the real world of veterinary medicine.

Danielle is a 4^th year veterinary student doing a 3-week externship in Internal Medicine, Critical Care and Surgery with 1^st Pet.   

Krista is a Veterinary Technician Practicum student doing 200-hour externship with 1^st Pet. 

Externships help the veterinary students decide which path they want to go on in their veterinary career. These unique opportunities allow the students to discuss with the doctors what their treatment plans are in caring for pets in real life situations.

We have an amazing team of doctors and technicians that enjoy teaching students about the world of veterinary medicine.

Rummpy's Life Saving Surgery

Rummpy is a 5 year old male Akita and has been happy and healthy until recently his owner came home to find with labored breathing.  The owner scheduled an appointment the very next morning with Dr. Stanton.  Upon physical examination the doctor found Rummpy to be breathing fast with increased effort.  He also had pale gums, poor pulses, and his heartbeat was difficult to hear.  These were all signs that Rummpy was in a state of shock

Dr. Stanton quickly diagnosed  Rummpy with collapsed lungs (pneumothorax) after taking X-rays of his chest.  Dr. Stanton needed to tap some of the air from Rummpy’s chest to stabilize him and allow him to breathe more efficiently, however, as quickly as the air was removed, it came back.  But why did Rummpy suddenly have collapsed lungs?  Despite the cause, Rummpy needed to have emergency surgery to fix the problem.  Dr. Stanton quickly consulted surgeon, Dr. Dan Guastella, and Rummpy’s owners were also consulted and updated. 

The decision was made to take Rummpy to surgery.  A median sternotomy (chest exploration through the sternum) was required to be able to examine all of Rummpy’s lungs to identify the problem.  During surgery, Dr. Guastella found Rummpy to have a “leaky” lung, therefore, that part of his lung needed to be removed to “plug” the leak. Once that was found, Rummpy’s condition stabilized and he recovered from surgery.  Rummpy had a chest tube in place after surgery, but it was removed the following day and Rummpy was back home in just a few days. 

The biopsy report from Rummpy’s lung revealed that he had emphysema in that small section of his lung.  This is a rare problem in dogs, but it does occur.  While this condition could certainly be caused by second hand cigarette smoke as in people, it is not typical in dogs, and was also not the case with Rummpy.   

We are happy to report that two weeks later, he is back to his normal self, although his sternum still needs time to heal. 

Meet Dr. Keith Joyner

Dr. Keith Joyner has been involved in veterinary medicine since he was in high school, starting as a kennel attendant, and worked his way up until he became a veterinarian in 1969. 

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Joyner obtained his DVM at Colorado State University and practiced originally in Oregon before relocating to Arizona.  

With the lack of specialization present in the 70’s, he learned to perform a wide variety of surgeries needed to care for his patients. 

After running his own general practice for some time, he joined 1^st Pet Veterinary Centers in 1995 and has been here since!  

He now enjoys the availability and assistance of a variety of specialists we have here including a surgeon, internal medicine specialist, and a criticalist.  

He is married to Michel Ann and together they have 2 daughters and 3 sons.  He enjoys photography, art, reading, movies, and a variety of outdoor activities.  

While always having great love for his furry patients, Dr. Joyner admits to developing attachments to the ‘parents’ as well. 

Seeing the owner’s happy face at a successful outcome, or being a supportive friend during the tougher times, Dr. Joyner is committed to providing dignity and comfort to all. 

Get to know Darci!

Meet one of our Technician Supervisors- Darci Hoefer.  Darci is a native Arizonan (yes they do exist!).  She continues to reside in the valley with her husband and two children, as well as 3 dogs (Blaze, Princess, and Penelope), and a cat (Simon).  

Darci has over 14 years experience in the veterinary field and is a Certified Veterinary Technician.   She has been with 1^st Pet since 2010 and has enjoyed the diversity of cases seen in emergency medicine.   

Darci readily gets attached to her patients and cares for them as if they were her own.  One of her most memorable cases was a Labrador that came in with heatstroke.  Not only did the Lab have heatstroke, but also burned all four paws and a sunburn severe enough to cause her skin on her back to slough.  

This patient spent many days in the hospital and required intensive care- but it was worth it to see her walk out of the hospital a happy dog with no long-term issues!  When Darci is not at work she enjoys spending time with her family camping, hiking, boating, and playing sports of all kinds. 

 We are so glad to have such a skilled and caring Technician as Darci on our team here at 1^st Pet!