Kiefer Hazard, Staff Veterinarian
I did not know that I wanted to be a veterinarian until well into my undergraduate education. After spending a year undeclared I took a summer of introspection to find a path that better suited me. Growing up I always had lots of animals of all kinds. Budgies, snakes, geckos, insects and of course cats and dogs. I loved them all. When I realized that my favorite thing was caring for these animals and watching them grow this career suddenly seemed obvious.
Growing up, my family moved around with my father’s career. I was born in Seattle but we eventually moved to Edinburgh, Scotland and then Washington D.C. for high school. I attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas for my undergraduate education where I met my wife. After graduating with a bachelors of science in biology and a minor in chemistry I was accepted to Midwestern University here in Glendale, Arizona.
If I were forced to choose, dogs would be my favorite animal; however, I have always been fascinated by exotic companion animals. I find the unique requirements of each individual species, especially related to habitat management and nutrition, to be both intriguing and rewarding to research. Because this exciting field of medicine requires such specific knowledge, I made sure to fill my veterinary education with as much exotic animal medicine as possible to prepare myself for the challenge of providing them with high quality medical care. I am very excited to offer the community veterinary care for furry, scaly and feathered companions.
In my free time, I am a novice woodworker and enjoy making projects specially designed for my exotic pets. I also enjoy hiking with friends, scuba diving, skiing, racquetball and relaxing on the couch with my wife and our animals.
Personal pets:
We currently have one beautiful, sweet American bulldog with terrible knees named Ivy. In 2017, we decided to adopt a relinquished umbrella cockatoo named Bianca. Caring for her is a new adventure every day, and has helped me learn how to council other parrot owners about the needs of those amazing animals. Finally we have a bearded dragon named Melon, who loves sunbathing and munching on salads.
Education: