Dr. Valerie Cardeiro, DVM
 Dr. Cardeiro knew from a young age that she had a strong interest in the welfare of pets. She first began working at an animal hospital    while attending junior high school. A native of California, she attended U.C.S.D. and received her bachelors degree in Biology in 1976.  Although academic achievements were taken seriously, she found time for extra-curricular activities including riding her horse over jumping courses, running along the shores of Del Mar beach, participating on the first women's intercollegiate rugby team in California, dominating in intramural water polo and cooking for fellow students.

 Following graduation from U.C.S.D., Dr. Cardeiro was employed at the VA Hospital in La Jolla to help research artificial kidney dialysis. She attended veterinary school at U.C. Davis, graduating in 1980. She spent her summers in the kidney research laboratory and worked for the Dermatology and Pathology Departments at U.C. Davis. She entered small animal clinical practice in northern California in 1980 and developed special strengths in surgery, radiology and cytology. Missing the southern California beaches and weather, Dr. Cardeiro moved back to San Diego in 1983. She was hired at an emergency clinic and was scheduled as a relief doctor for about 75 different practices over the next six years. She continued her interest in physical fitness by becoming involved in weight training. She traveled to Australia, New Zealand and several Caribbean sites to enjoy scuba diving. She also attended many veterinary conferences to keep her medical and surgical knowledge advancing. Dr. Cardeiro continues to be a very dedicated veterinarian.
 
Dr. Cardeiro started her family in 1988. Her sons attended Sacred Heart Academy.  Her older son, Manny, has special interests in physical fitness and acting; he enjoyed some "lime light" at Mission Bay High School for his home movie comedies.  He will be playing intercollegiate baseball for Point Loma Nazarine University for the next two years. Her younger son, Jonathan, is active in martial arts; he recently received his first degree black belt from United Studios of Self Defense. He was the editor-in-chief of the Point Loma High School newspaper and actively writes publishable poetry. He is attending San Diego Mesa College, and plans to transfer to a four-year college to pursue his career interests in one day becoming a Walt Disney Imagineer.   Dr. Cardeiro shares her home with four kitties whose names are "Slinky," "Twinky," "Winky" and "Tobey"; they were all acquired through their need for veterinary care at the Point Loma Vet Clinic.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Nel (Ngoc) Chu, DVM

Dr. Chu is a 2010 graduate from Western University of Health Sciences with special interests in surgery, ophthalmology, and dermatology.  She was born in Saigon, Vietnam but fled her country with her family at the tender age of two.  Her father had great expectations to build their new life in Southern California where she has lived ever since, spending most her life in Los Angeles County.  She is a San Diego transplant after falling in love with the weather and people when she did her emergency rotation here in September 2009.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from University of CA, Irvine in 1998 and worked in various jobs from banking, real estate, sales, behavior consultant with autistic children, training coordinator, human resources, and finally discovering the wonders of the human-animal bond.  She rigorously went back to school to take all the prerequisites for veterinary school at Mt. San Antonio College and Cal Poly Pomona.  During that time, she worked for two veterinary clinics as an assistant and volunteered for an equine hospital and other pet adoption organizations.  During veterinary school, she was very involved in the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) promoting business management education for veterinary students. That is where she met so many great people and learned her passion to own and run a hospital in about 5-10 years. 

 

Dr. Chu lives with her two Malteses, “Munchies” and “Peony”.  Her 17-year-old calico cat, “Kiwi” lives in West Covina with her parents.  In her free time, she enjoys gardening, making jewelry and crafts, interior decorating, fashion design, reading, photography, playing tennis, biking at the beaches, traveling, cooking and baking, watching movies, community service, and rooting for the Lakers.