Dr. Gaeto, Chief of Staff
Dr. Gaeto entered the veterinary world to combine her two passions, medicine and animals. Throughout her schooling, Dr. Gaeto volunteered at numerous animal shelters and programs to bring veterinary medicine into rural communities. Dr. Gaeto graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Animal Science program in 2010. In the fall she began at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. There she became involved in the HSVMA, class council, and the shelter medicine club as well as having a job at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in the Clinical Pathology Lab. Dr. Gaeto graduated with her DVM in May of 2014 and was pleased to return to her hometown of San Diego. Her areas of interest include surgery, oncology, and dentistry.
Dr. Gaeto enjoys spending time with her husband, Carl, and their two children. Her hobbies include running, reading, and knitting. Dr. Gaeto has loved being a part of the Helen Woodward community since 2014.
Dr. Olivia Garvey
Dr. Olivia Garvey grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before moving to upstate New York to complete her B.A. in Biology from Hamilton College. After working in the veterinary field in Boston, MA, she then moved to beautiful Southern California to attend veterinary school and earn her DVM from Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, CA. Dr. Garvey is very happy to call San Diego her home for the past 8 years.
While she loves many aspects of veterinary medicine, Dr. Garvey has special areas of interest in surgery, internal medicine, and geriatric care. Her favorite part of being a general practitioner is the relationships she gets to develop with both her patients and their families. She especially values taking the time to allow a patient to “warm up” to her – proceeding with diagnostics and treatment at the appropriate pace for the patient and client’s comfort – as well as spending the time needed to ensure that a client understands the treatment options and plan recommended for their pet. Dr. Garvey currently resides in Ocean Beach with her Dachshund-Chihuahua mix named Ringo, and cat Hazelnut. When she’s not at work, Dr. Garvey enjoys taking weekend trips camping, live music, perusing thrift stores, playing the cello, spending time in the garden, all day reading binges, and enjoying good food.
Dr. Lauren Oviedo
Dr. Oviedo graduated from the University of California Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science as the commencement speaker. She went on to Western University of Health Sciences to receive her doctorate in veterinary medicine. In vet school, she enjoyed volunteering with the Humane Society, fostering kittens, and researching animal welfare, for which she received the HSVMA Animal Welfare Scholar Award.
Working as a veterinarian for Helen Woodward Animal Center is truly her dream job. She loves taking care of her clients’ fur babies, she loves helping adoptable pets, and she loves teaching children at the center’s Vet Camp. Dr. Oviedo is originally from Laguna Niguel, but she now lives in beautiful Leucadia with her fiancé, John, and her perfect cats, Louie and Piper.
Dr. Hygan Baghoyan
Dr. Hygan Baghoyan was born and raised in Southern California. Like many aspiring veterinarians, her love for animals began from childhood. At an early age, you could find her in the yard, seeing appointments from a variety of her imaginary patients and her family dog. She was fortunate to experience the human-animal bond from a young age. It was these experiences from the outset which helped her understand the value animals brought into the lives of humans. It was her love for animals and science that motivated her outstanding academic performance in high school and a guaranteed acceptance to University of California, Davis.
She went on to earn her Bachelors of Science degree in Wildlife Conservation Biology with an emphasis in Wildlife Health from the University of California, Davis. She then moved back to Southern California an earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Western University of Health Sciences. Her training in veterinary school involved externships with many prominent Southern California specialty hospitals in a variety of specialties including cardiology, critical care, dermatology, internal medicine, neurology, radiology, and surgery. Upon graduating, she joined a 24-hour general and emergency practice where she had the unique opportunity to practice wellness and critical care each shift. She then spent several years in general practice in Los Angeles prior to moving back to San Diego. Dr. Baghoyan is excited to be reunited with the team at Helen Woodward’s Companion Animal Hospital, as she had spent summers volunteering and working here prior to becoming a veterinarian.
Dr. Baghoyan’s dream has merged into her practice. Her objective is to provide the best patient care possible, coupled with properly educating her clients. Away from the clinic, she enjoys traveling, yoga, cycling, and spending time with her fiance and their rescue pup, Pebbles!
Dr. Baghoyan is bilingual in English, and Western Armenian.
Dr. Giovanna Dowell
Dr. Giovanna Dowell graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University. When not in the clinic, Dr. Dowell enjoys spending time with her family and being active outdoors. Born and raised in San Diego, Dr. Dowell is so happy to have made it back home where she can serve her local community.
Chelsea Camacho, Hospital Manager
Chelsea graduated from Sarah Lawrence with a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and focus in pre-medicine. Chelsea has been at the Helen Woodward Animal Center since 2013. She is a San Diego native but has worked at hospitals in Seattle, Washington and Orange, California. She has specialty experience in avian, feline and wildlife medicine. Her passion for outreach has made her a key part of the growth and development of the Center’s Pets Without Walls program where they provide free veterinary care to San Diego’s homeless population and low income seniors from a mobile vehicle. She is also on the Center’s Emergency Response and Rescue Team. Her areas of interest include dermatology, dentistry, and virology. Chelsea enjoys reading books, open water swimming, scuba diving, and going on adventures with her rescue cat Star Fox.
