by Becky Yates, MS, DVM

About Her Story

"Eventually, everyone knew Kachina and her traveling vets. But the first time we took her to the small animal clinic for X-rays, the owner seemed a bit alarmed—maybe he hadn’t heard me say over the phone that the patient was a bear cub."

About the Author

Rebecca A. Yates spent her early years tending to small creatures like birds, lizards, tortoises, and insects in Los Angeles. She received her bachelor's degree at Humboldt State University, her master’s of science at California Sate Dominguez Hills, and her degree in veterinary medicine at University of California Davis. After finishing vet school, Dr. Yates briefly cared for cats and dogs until discovering her true passion in zoo animal and wildlife medicine. She spent nearly ten years working with a variety of wild animal species—including native wildlife—at the Wildlife Waystation near Los Angeles, California. She moved to the East Coast to work as staff veterinarian for two years at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and then returned to California, resuming part-time work for the Waystation while she pursued a career in teaching. She currently teaches full-time for the veterinary technology program at Pierce College. Dr. Yates can often be seen riding her off-road unicycle up steep canyon roads.