2026 Veterinary Seaside Forum Speakers and Their Topics

Topic: Strategies to Manage Ocular Manifestations of Feline Herpesvirus-1

Dr. Peter Cho was born and raised in the Bay Area in Northern California. After receiving his DVM at Kansas State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, he spent a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico to complete a small animal rotating internship at VCA Veterinary Care Animal Hospital and Referral Center. His ophthalmology residency was completed at Purdue University, College of Veterinary Medicine. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, and spending time with his dog, Delilah. 

Topic: Pawsitive Relief: An Integrative Approach to Managing Osteoarthritis

Dr. Barrie Sands obtained her veterinary degree from Ross University in 1991. After graduation, she completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. After working in private practice, she came to VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Referral Center in 1996 working as a senior staff clinician in Emergency and Critical Care. In 2003 Dr. Sands became certified in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, and started her integrative holistic practice.

She believes in the integration of both Eastern and Western medicine to facilitate a global holistic approach to healing. In her holistic practice she incorporates many different healing modalities, such as acupuncture, massage therapy, rehabilitation, food medicine, Chinese medicinal botany, homeopathy, nutraceuticals, LASER treatments and various forms of bioenergetic medicine. 

Topic: Heatstroke in Dogs

 Dr. Ann-Mari Osgood earned her veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 2015. After returning to the United States, she worked briefly in general practice before completing a rotating internship at VCA CVS Carlsbad, where she stayed on to work overnight shifts the following year. She went on to complete her ECC residency at Texas A&M University and later chose to return to San Diego to be closer to family. Dr. Osgood has been part of VCA Animal Specialty Group since 2022. 

Topic: Seizures 

Dr. David Geiger earned his BS from M.I.T. (1999), DVM from Cornell University (2003), and completed a residency in veterinary neurology and neurosurgery at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (2009). He passed the ACVIM Neurology certifying exam in 2010, pending completion of his Master’s thesis. His training also includes a rotating internship at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego and advanced work in neuroimaging, neurosurgery, and critical care at Canada West Veterinary Specialists. Dr. Geiger founded San Francisco’s first veterinary neurology and neurosurgery service, leading similar departments across the Bay Area for over a decade, and helped launch New Mexico’s only dedicated veterinary neurology center. More recently, he has provided locum and consulting services to multispecialty hospitals nationwide, including VCA-ASG. 

Topic: Thoracic Surgery

Dr. Holly Mullen received her DVM degree from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985. She completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the Animal Medical Center in New York City where she received the 1986 Intern of the Year award. She completed a residency in small animal surgery, also at AMC. In 1990, she became a board certified veterinary surgeon and was appointed senior staff surgeon at AMC where she was also selected as the 1990 Teacher of the Year. Dr. Mullen joined our hospital in 1995. She has authored numerous scientific articles and professional book chapters. She lectures extensively at national and international seminars and meetings. 

Topic: Antimicrobial Stewardship 

Dr. Silene St. Bernard is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (DACVPM), which focuses on zoonotic and infectious disease, epidemiology, safety and public health. She received her Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University and also spent two years studying Biomedical Engineering and Business at the Master's level at Case Western Reserve University. She has over 25 years of experience in companion animal veterinary medicine and has practiced in OH, WA, MO and CA. Dr. St. Bernard designed, operated and sold a companion animal veterinary practice and during her career practiced both emergency/critical care and general medicine. Dr. St. Bernard is currently a Regional Medical Director for VCA Animal Hospitals in Southern California. Prior to her role at VCA, she worked as a Regional Consulting Veterinarian for Novartis Animal Health and then Elanco Animal Health helping to educate both internal and external clients on variety of disease states and products. Dr. St. Bernard spent two years as the Director of Veterinary Marketing for Veterinary Pet Insurance (now Nationwide) and spent 6 years with Bayer Animal Health in roles ranging from Field Veterinarian to Product Manager and Regulatory review. Dr. St. Bernard has a passion for service and is a member and former chair of the Board of Health and Human Services for the City of Long Beach CA and is a Past President of the American Association of Industry Veterinarians (AAIV).