Dr. Garcia was born in Tampa, Florida.  He graduated from the University of Florida in 1963, with an Animal Science and Nutrition Degree.  He taught school in Hillsborough County for one year.  In 1968, he graduated from the University of Auburn Veterinary College.  Then, in 1970 he established the Veterinary Medical Clinic.  Among his many special interest, he loves teaching and lecturing to Veterinarians and their staffs on client relations.  His lectures have taken him all over the United States and abroad.  Dr. Garcia is the proud father of two sons, one a medical doctor and the other an attorney.  He has a poodle, Ziggy.  Some of his hobbies are traveling, lecturing, golfing and reading.  Dr. Garcia is always involved in community projects. He was awarded the first ever Hillsborough County Animal Health Foundation Community Service Award. In 1995, Dr. Garcia was designated "Veterinarian of the Year" in the Southeastern United States by his peers and AAHA.  In 1997, he was chosen "Veterinarian of the Year" in the State of Florida.  In 1999, he was awarded the "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from Auburn University.  He served four terms as a member of Florida Board Veterinary Medicine and was the Governor’s appointee to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court Nominating Commission.

Dr. Wendelken was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She attended Texas A & M University where she graduated in 1972.  She has been an associate at the Veterinary Medical Clinic for the past twenty years.  Her special interest include: training puppies to be happy and "good citizens".  She is married to Gray Sample and has two dogs, a German Shepherd and a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  Some of her hobbies include:  gardening, quilting and the mountains.

Dr. Gray was born in Tampa, Florida.  She graduated from the University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989.  Her special interests include:  avian and exotic animal medicine.  She completed an externship in an exclusive Avian Veterinary practice and also in wildlife medicine.  Dr. Gray started working in the veterinary field when she was 16 years old. Dr. Gray is married and has three daughters, Lauren, Jenna, and Emily.  Her hobbies include:  being a mom, horses, music, literature, bike riding, camping, hiking, gardening, and pottery (when she can find the time!).

Dr. Swank was born in Palo Alto, California and grew up here in Tampa.  In 1990, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and then graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994.  In 1994-95 she attended LSU for an internship in small animal medicine and surgery.  Her hobbies are: jogging, aerobics, wind surfing, photography, movies, books, skiing, travel, etc.  However, she has five pets, two cats and three dogs.

Dr. Authement was born in Morgantown, West Virginia.  She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from the University of Florida in 1985.  She completed an internship at Louisiana State University in 1985-86.  She did her medicine residency at Tufts' University and Angell Memorial Animal Hospital from 1986-1989.  She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 1991.  Her specialties include Internal Medicine and Cancer patients.  Dr. Authement is married to Wyatt Authement,DVM and has two children, Matthew and Megan.  She has a Golden Retriever, three cats, one guinea pig and approximately twenty fish.  Her hobbies are gardening, bike riding and playing with the kids.

Dr. Dugas graduated from LSU in 2001. She has 3 children: Reese (a Lab mix), Dax (an Australian Shephard Mix), and Minnie (a vocal overweight cat. Her special area of interest is preventative medicine because animals don't talk - doing blood work and exams yearly helps to find problems early when they may still be treatable. Dr. Dugas is looking forward to meeting you and your family.