Dr. Olivia Brenner
I was born in Virginia but grew up in Northern Nevada. I moved to Oregon in 2009 to go to vet school at OSU. I received my DVM degree from Oregon State University in 2013 and because we loved Oregon so much, my husband and I moved to the Portland area after graduation. My first realization that I wanted to work with animals was when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade: I always went with my mom to “help” take our pets in to the vet, and I remember staring at the corkboard of pictures of some of the patients our vet had treated. I thought to myself “this must be the coolest job in the world!”.
My own pets include a black lab mix named Dante, and a cat named Virgil. My husband (who is allergic to both cats and dogs!) named the cat Virgil because in the work “Dante’s Inferno”, Virgil is the one who leads Dante through purgatory…and it couldn’t be a more accurate description of their relationship. We also have a 46-gallon freshwater fish tank with a collection of corydora catfish, guppies, platys, and mollies. My free time is often spent reading, hanging out with my husband and our son, and taking Dante to the dog park so he can burn off some energy and indulge in his favorite activity: rolling in smelly things. I love going to the coast and would live at the beach if I could (but would pick somewhere warmer than the Oregon coast!). On a rare night out, you’re more likely to find me at the local brewery than anywhere else.