Barbara  Tomaras , Staff Veterinarian

Dr. Barbara Tomaras was born in Porto, Portugal. As a very young girl, she developed a strong interest for and bond with animals. She even bred parakeets and rabbits and sold them to the local pet shop at age 9! With her house full of different exotic animals and her eyes set on becoming a veterinarian from those very early ages, Dr. Tomaras never even considered any other career path.

She graduated from the University of Porto with a degree in veterinarian medicine in 2008. After finishing her studies, Dr. Tomaras spent 18 months doing externships around the world and working with different species, ultimately leading her down the path to Exotic Animal medicine.

Dr. Tomaras' sister, who lives in Florida, was instrumental in keeping her here, and a good mix of luck and diligence led Dr. Tomaras to meet Dr. Don Harris. She began an externship at Avian & Exotic Medical Center in 2007, further cementing her commitment to exotics. After being invited to stay, she decided to move to the US.

In 2012, Dr. Tomaras completed the arduous task of licensing her educational and professional credentials here in the United States, and at that point began working as an Avian & Exotic veterinarian. The next step on her journey was to take over an Avian & Exotic house call practice in Broward County called Exotic Pet Vet, a job that she held for almost three yrs.

Dr. Tomaras established her own practice, Exoticare Veterinarian Services in 2014. She ran Exoticare full time for four years as primarily a house call practice exclusively working with Avian and exotic animals. By the time she joined VCA she had seen more than 1500 patients just through her practice!

Dr. Tomaras' husband is a professional photographer and they have a two year old son, a very lazy dog. and a Quaker parrot. She loves to go to the beach, read and spend time with her family.

"I love to feel that my clients and patients are an extension of my family and I couldn't be happier doing anything else!"