Our Team

Dr. Mattu grew up in a farming family with a special love and compassion for animals. He graduated with his Veterinary degree from Punjab Veterinary College in North India and then finished his internship at Iowa State University. To serve his patients better, Dr Mattu has attended and continues to attend various educational courses to enhance his skills in advance medical modalities like Ultrasound, Endoscope, Dentistry, Internal medicine and chronic skin and Ear problems.

Dr. Mattu believes that all pets have a special place in our lives, providing us with an irreplaceable relationship. He is very sensitive to the needs of this emotional link. He strives to preserve and enhance this bond for a lifetime. Dr. Mattu takes his time to understand each pet's health needs and their owners' innermost feelings about the care they want for their pet. He customizes each treatment plan, taking into consideration both the pet's needs and the owner's resources to ensure that each and every pet receives the care he or she deserves. Dr Mattu possesses a special skill to express each pet's medical condition in simple, understandable language so that every owner is in a position to make an informed decision for his or her pet.

Dr. Mattu's top priority is to maintain a high quality of life for pets in the Bay Area, and help people make good decisions for their pets, even when they get uncomfortable or difficult. Please feel free to call his Berkeley practice at 510-982-0766, where a staff member will be glad to help you answer any questions you may have about your pet's health.

David started in animal husbandry at the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society. After several years, he moved to Kensington Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary assistant. After two years there, it was time to move - this time to University Veterinary Hospital where he expanded his skills in general practice and developed new ones in the challenges of emergency medicine. Early in 2003 he took on a part time job at Special Veterinary Services, but enjoys retaining UVH as his primary workplace.

David has a variety of interests, from spending too much times playing with computers to white water rafting to medival / fantasy combat sports. His 3 cats (Armand who came from the Humane Soc. Sassy who was a feral kitten rescued by one coworker, and Spitz, another kitten rescued from a box of rat poison by yet another coworker) all greatly enjoy their frequent belly rubs.

David brings his hobbies to work - or maybe makes work his hobby. From writting custom SQl to run reports on patient care, to grabbing a screwdriver or hammer and fixing a doorstep, to stealing the occaisional kitten from a client and wondering off for fuzzy loves, or randomly giving coworkers bunny ears (in front of clients at times), David mixes bringing high level medical care with a playfull silliness. At least, while the coffee is in effect

From as far back as she could remember, Lisa always found refuge and friendship in what she affectionately refers to as the "triangular-eared creatures". Countless cats, dogs, fish, a guinea pig, a newt and a frog all have been a part of her life. She’s fostered cats and kittens for many years, plus volunteered with Fix Our Ferals, Hopalong Animal Rescue, and the Oakland Animal Shelter.

Lisa did not start her career path with animals. She began working with BOSS (Berkeley Oakland Support Services) and other various community based organizations. Although Lisa has always had a deep connection for people who are down on their luck, she always believed that her complete and total earthly purpose was to attend to animals, and their people alike. She attained her R.V.T. license in March 2002. After working for a General Practice in Alameda for about a year, she moved on to University Vet. During her time with UVH, she became efficient in emergency and critical care, while working the night shifts back in the days when we were a 24 hour hospital. It was also her honor to serve as surgical assistant to Dr. James F. Biggart, DVM, DACVS, renowned veterinary orthopedic surgeon. It was there that she was able to grow and excel in advanced surgical nursing, leaving her with a knack for detail and precision. Lisa also works hard to maintain and keep up with the latest techniques in veterinary medicine through continued education coursework and training.

By being with UVH for so many years, it's been a joy for her to know so many patients and clients throughout their journeys. Besides her vast experience and what seems to be an unfailing memory, what she offers to most is familiarity, trust, and a heart of gold.

On Lisa's off time, she lives amongst two couches with two giant holes in them... courtesy of two pit bulls named Daddio and Carebear. She also shares her life with two charismatic cats named Hennyboy and Chelse. Outside of work she loves to take the dogs out at sunrise; whoever thought she could be a morning person? She loves diversity and adventure, music and dancing, traveling and learning. But her biggest interest of all, is her loved ones and her babies.

Cassidy grew up in a houseful of animals: dogs, cats, various exotics, 3 sisters and a brother. As a child she knew she wanted to work with animals, and though she explored different professions, her heart always brought her back to veterinary medicine. She graduated from Western Career College in August of 2008, and passed her RVT exam in December of the same year.

Cassidy lives in Oakland with her 2 kitties, Bellu and Beanu, and her dog Henny. She loves summertime and taking Henny to the many beaches and rivers that the Bay Area has to offer. Cassidy is always interested in furthering her knowledge, and enjoys attending continuing education seminars to ensure she is giving your pet the best care possible.

We are glad to have had Cassidy at UVH since March 2008.

Tasha joined our team in October 2007 before working as a Customer Service Manager in an upscale pet boarding facility in Oakland.

Tasha’s furry sidekick is a Terrier Mix by the name of Chevy whom she adores for his eccentric personality. Tasha’s love for animals started when her family got their first dog Buckiss, a Rottweiler mix. From there her love and passion for animals grew immensely when surrounded by sixteen Rottweiler puppies at one time (her father use to breed them) to horses, iguanas, cats and rabbits.

Working with animals and people has always been a great pleasure for Tasha. By nature she is kind hearted, intelligent and really enjoys building relationships with everyone she meets. Whether she has known you for years or only a few moments you are sure to be engaged by a warm smile, goofy laugh and conversation that will make you feel like you’ve known each other for years.

Tasha LOVES her job! She finds happiness in expressing her passion and commitment to helping animals and serving people. Tasha is no stranger to the love for a pet and the bond that we create with our animals; she knows what it’s like to love a pet and to lose one. She understands the bond between a human and their pet and believes that it is one of the most beautiful bonds imaginable. This is exactly why Tasha commits herself to helping the animals that come in day and night to our hospital and making sure that their owners can put trust in her as well as her team at University Veterinary Hospital. It is very important to Tasha that owner’s pets become OUR pets too and strives to ensure that their pet is loved and cared for the same as they would at home.

Mirna's love for animals started very young, after an 8 week old chow chow by the name of "Lassie" came into her life and helped her over come her fears of dogs. (yes i was very terrified of animals!) Ever since her furry friend entered her life she knew she wanted to commit her life to helping and loving animals.

Mirna graduated from Western Career College with her Associates in Science and is currently studying for her RVT license.

Mirna is a very bubbly joyful personality who is very compassionate and loving, getting to know you and your pet is not only an honor but an amazing chance to build a relationship with new friends. "My new pit bull "Senorita" teaches me new things everyday and that's what i love about my job is being able to learn new things that can help me understand our beloved friends even more and help them!"

Kelly
Technician

Kelly comes from a family of animal lovers in California’s Central Valley. Growing up as an only child, Kelly always enjoyed a deep bond with her pets, and learned early that every pet needs a “forever” home. She moved to the Bay Area in 2005 to study at UC Berkeley, and fell in love with the East Bay’s pet-friendly lifestyle.

After completing her studies in Integrative Biology in 2009, Kelly decided to enter the field of Veterinary Medicine. She enrolled in the Veterinary Technician program at Carrington College, and is currently studying the latest techniques in providing care for your pets. Kelly first got to know University Veterinary Hospital during her clinical rotations, and was hired in July 2011. She now lives with her “babies,” two rescue terrier-mixes named Looney-Luna and Dexter.

“I look forward to meeting you and your family on your next visit!”

Hi, my name is Madeline. I was born in Berkeley and raise in El Cerrito and Albany. I am the 2nd oldest in a family of 10 (5 boys and 5 girls - Dad said he wanted to get it even!)

My parents brought home a Cocker Spaniel puppy almost the same time that they brought me home. My older brother, Bill, and I had many "adventure" with Freddy - mostly in the field across from our house which had a large creek running through it an 3 horses!

My love for animals kept growing through the years, and when I graduated from high school I started my first job as a receptionist at Berkeley Humane Society. What followed then was over 25 years working in several veterinary clinics in the Bay Area - including Albany Vet Clinic and Pet Emergency Treatment Service.

Then in 1991 I took a job with a local veterinary supply company as an inside sale representative. And while I really enjoyed working with a different veterinary clinics throughout the Western United States - I also missed working with people and their pets.

So when Dr Mattu offered me the wonderful opportunity to join his fine staff at UVH - I was thrilled to join them

Since November of 2011 I have met so many wonderful clients and their pets, and I look forward to meeting many many more.

Many of our clients have already had the pleasure of meeting the newest addition to the UVH family, Maui. In July 2009 Maui came to us with a severely fractured leg which would require extensive surgical repair. After much consideration, Maui's previous owners found that the surgery and aftercare were beyond their means and made the difficult decision to euthanize him. This, however, didn't happen. Instead of euthanizing Maui, his owners agreed to let us adopt him as our newest house cat. We, in turn, would give him the treatment and care that he required.

After the first of two surgeries, Maui was in a cast and had to be kept on bed rest. Once he had healed enough for his cast to be removed, he adapted very well to his new home, and quickly became the king of the hospital. In the morning Maui can be heard meowing and howling, not because he is hungry, or cold, or lonely, but just because he can. He loves all the different hiding spots that can be found around the hospital, and is always finding new things to play with, even if he isn't supposed to. Free to roam in and out of his cage, Maui wanders about trying to make friends with the boarding and hospitalized animals.

We at University Vet Hospital absolutely love this silly cat. He is always entertaining us by pawing at water from the faucet in the sink, turning his water bowl upside down, attacking anything that dangles such as leashes and ecg leads, crying for no apparent reason, and flaunting his flamboyant scarves. Find Maui on Facebook ("Maui UVH", or maui@uvhberkeley.com) and befriend him, he loves meeting new people!