Debra Scheenstra, DVM

In 2015 our much-​loved 16-​year-​old dog, Deke, was diagnosed with cancer, and by January of the New Year he stated failing fast. We were beside ourselves. What do we do? Do we take him somewhere? If so, when and where? What about his best friend, our younger dog, Henry? How is he going to handle the sudden disappearance of the alpha dog? A friend told up about Dr. Debra Scheenstra. We had never used her services before and it felt odd to call someone we did not know to help up with such an important decision.
We have marveled ever since at how lucky we were to have Dr. Debra for what was a very painful time for us, saying good-​by to our incredible Deke. She treated Deke and Henry with respect and concern, talking to both of them throughout the procedure. Feeding them both treats, allowing Henry to be apart of everything that was going on.
She worked slowly and explained everything, letting us know what Deke was experiencing and most important diagnosing the cause of his recent problems. This was so important because it assured us that we were making the right decision.
We have been grateful everyday since that we had Dr. Debra Scheenstra with us that day to see our beautiful Deke go. We will never use another vet but Dr. Debra again.

I was the first person to write a review regarding Dr Debra Scheentsra and I am so happy to see how many others have stepped up to the plate and written about her since then. And I wanted to add to my review. Dr Scheenstra just spent almost fifteen minutes on the phone with me discussing my pigeons and she did not charge me for her time. This is a full office visit in many clinics. But again, and most importantly, I have worked in the veterinary field for over fifteen years. There are many vets who get rave reviews simply because they are charming or less expensive but no one within the business would ever go to them. Do you actually know if your own Doctor is good? I like to hope mine is, I certainly like her, but I have no idea what her reputation is within medical circles. I truly wish Unilocal would create a «jury of your peers» section where people working within a given field could comment on others in that same field. But what I want to say about Dr Scheenstra is that her reputation as a doctor and as a human being (I knew her book keeper) is excellent. Do not go to her simply because of her overwhelming generosity of time or because she is one of nicest people you’ll ever meet but because she is an excellent Veterinarian. And if you are lucky enough to be the human companion of one of the more «exotic» species of pet please do not consider going to anyone else.

She is the only vet in the area that knows about chickens in my experience. It has been hard to find quality pet care for my chickens. Many vets say they take chickens then don’t know the first thing to do when examining them. Once I had to show another vet how to hold the chicken. I would highly recommend Debra Scheenstra to anyone who has chickens and am confident in her expertise in birds.

I would add another star if I could! Debra is an excellent vet and one of the most kind and loving people I have ever met. She has taken care of our 8 year old rabbit and several guinea pigs in the years we have known her. We are now having her make a house call to check on one of our chickens. It’s not easy to find a chicken vet! Debra cares deeply for all of the little critters in her care, follows up after visits and is always delightful to work with.

Dr. Scheenstra is just the best avian DMV
We love her and so does the beaksquad on twitter.

Dr. Scheenstra was my avian veterinarian until I moved to South California. She always did an amazing job with my birds, from songbirds and gamebirds to raptors. In addition to her care of my captive birds, I also took a wound management class from her at a local wildlife rehabilitation center. This was when I learned that she donates some of her time and expertise to helping some of the most injured wild animals in Marin County. She is an amazing doctor and I highly recommend her.

We absolutely adore Dr Debra. She has been taking care of our rabbit for about a year now and done both surgeries and abscess drains on her and Jackie always come back happier (post-​recovery). She’s extremely skilled both as a physician and surgeon. We’ve received great care at UC Davis as well but what I really like with Dr Debra is that she doesn’t push for surgeries, she looks at the situation and what can be done to improve life quality which to me, is more important. Her approaches aren’t crazy creative like UCD (once my Jackie came home with a tube stitched to her face), they are more gentle but just I’d say just as efficient. And she is just very loving toward her patients. She’s by far, the most skilled vet for exotic animals I’ve ever encountered.

Dr. Debra Scheenstra is an excellent veterinarian and an even better person. I’ve trusted her completely with the care of my rabbits for many, many years. She cares for and is kind to her patients and their people.
She willingly discuss options for care and testing plus quality of life. She is somewhat strict, but not unreasonable, about animals maintaining their best weight.
I highly recommend her as your small companion animals’ vet, no matter their species!

Dr. Debra has been my vet for over 10 years. She has come to my home to take care of chickens, geese, cats, cockatiel and dog. Many of whom lived long lives and have passed away. I had a «psycho» (so named by my friends) cat who looked cute and pretty but would lash out at strangers that tried to pet her. Debra had no problem examining her and even clipping her nails (I couldn’t do that). Other vets wanted to put her under anesthesia just for an exam. I love Dr. Debra Scheenstra and hightly recommend her.

I met Dr. Scheenstra yesterday for the first time. She came on a house call to look in on three relatively new and young pet parakeets in the care of a rather shy boy (7^th grade) and his younger sister (5^th grade) who had never had parakeets before. I am a teacher and I know when I am in the presence of someone with a natural teaching gift. Dr. Scheenstra spent an hour interacting with the young people, letting them assist her in her examination of each bird, providing guidance on all sorts of parakeet subjects in a totally natural way: best ways to lay out the interior of the cage, best ways to handle the birds, special little dietary secrets, etc, and the brother and sister hung on her every word and were enthusiastically interactive and responsive. Even the birds seemed enthusiastic and responsive! My hat is off to her. Coming to the house lets her really take into consideration the home environment and is so less stressful on a pet. It was an outstanding experience for all involved! Bravo!

Dr. Debra Scheenstra is a wonderful, compassionate spirit who we just met yesterday. She was referred to us by Transitions Pet Care as someone who could do in-​home euthanasia.
Unfortunately we were losing our 14 year-​old kitty last night to heart and cancer complications. We called Dr. Debra earlier in the day with lots of questions about what to do, when to do it, which she answered with incredible patience and care. this all upon phone calls and never having met or consulted with us before. She had an opening in the evening and we agreed to have her come and do an in-​home euthanasia.
Our kitty was an amazing spirit, gentle, sweet, beautiful and kind. Dr. Debra came to our home and my beau met her in the driveway. As she was gathering her equipment, he came in to tell me «This is the sweetest woman, I’m so glad we chose her.» Dr. Debra saw our kitty lying on our bed and she got it by saying, «Oh what a sweet, beautiful child!» As my tears were streaming down my cheeks, she remained steady, yet incredibly empathetic and compassionate. She explained the process of euthanasia and walked us through it. She stroked him and loved him along with us.
I’ve never had to do anything like this and it was one of the most difficult experiences of my life thus far. She confirmed the necessity of it due to his condition and it is very much because of her presence that we have no regret about doing this for him. Our only regret is that he’s not still with us.
Dr Debra’s number which is not posted is 415−893−1554

Dr. Scheenstra has been our vet for exotics (parrots and a tortoise) since 1996. She has made emergency appointments, house calls. and has seen us through losses and critical care situations. She is a great bird vet – steady, caring, knowledgeable – and she keeps up with the latest research. Did I mention that she makes house calls? (and at a reasonable rate?)