David Swalander, DVM

Dr. Swalander grew up in a small town in New Mexico and began working at the age of eleven as a kennel boy for the local veterinary clinic. He made his decision to spend his life helping animals as a young teenager and has never looked back. He did his undergraduate work in biology and chemistry at New Mexico State University and later received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University. He served his internship with the West Los Angeles Veterinary Medical Group, the second largest private veterinary hospital in the world at that time and practiced for a few years in Southern California before moving to the Truckee area with his wife, Larissa to raise their family. He owned a referral hospital in the late 1990s and, during his surgical residency there, he trained under the world renowned critical care and surgical expert, Dr. DT Crowe. During this time, he published papers in the Journal of the AVMA and other peer reviewed journals on epidural catheterization and the use of surgical lasers. These papers are still cited in veterinary textbooks today. Upon selling that hospital, he practiced at North Lake Veterinary Clinic in Tahoe City for nine years before jointing the staff at Sierra Pet Clinic about fifteen years ago. He has lived in the Truckee area for three decades now and is deeply involved in the community. He has been a Truckee Rotarian for over twenty years and sits on multiple local scholarship committees. He has volunteered his time as a high school wrestling referee, wrestling coach, and karate official in Nevada, California, and Oregon. He has coached football at Truckee High School for well over a decade now and has strong opinions on offensive line tactics. Don't get him started on football, beekeeping, martial arts, fly fishing, or backyard astronomy or he may never stop talking.