VCFA - our team of dedicated animal care professionals are here to help

What is a Specialist?

A Specialist is a veterinarian who has pursued advanced training in a particular field and has become certified by the American Veterinary Medical Association as having obtained a high level of expertise. The AVMA recognizes specialists in a variety of fields such as dermatology, cardiology, internal medicine, neurology, dermatology, surgery, and ophthalmology. Additional information about the ophthalmology specialty can be found at the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists at www.acvo.org. 

Board certification in the ophthalmology specialty requires: 

• A doctorate in veterinary medicine

• A one-year internship

• A three-year residency

• Publication in a peer reviewed journal

• Successful completion of a series of written and practical examinations

Only board-certified specialists are given the title "Diplomate" in their field of expertise. 

Mission Statement

Our Philosophy: Vision Care For Animals strives to provide our patients, pet families, and referral veterinarians with the best service and medical care to solve challenging ocular problems. We are pet lovers who share your concern for your pet's well being. Visiting a veterinarians office can be stressful for some but we'll do our best to make your furry loved one as comfortable as possible. Our team of exceptional nurses and support staff are caring individuals who's life's work is veterinary medicine.

Best Practices:  Our protocols are established by our highly trained team of veterinary medical professionals. In addition, we follow the recommendations of thought leaders in the field. For example, our anesthesia protocols follow industry recommendations established by AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association).  (J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2011; 47:377–385. DOI 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-5846) For more information on our anesthesia guidelines click here. While isoflurane gas anesthesia is perfectly safe & effective we prefer to maintain our patients on sevoflurane gas in order to provide our patients the most rapid post operative recovery despite the added costs.

Doctor Access: When your pet becomes a patient at Vision Care For Animals you have access (email, text and phone) to the doctor. This is the best way to provide the highest quality medical care to your pet and provide you peace of mind.

Environment: Our practice uses a state of the art practice management and electronic medical record (EMR) computer system (thank you Vetter Software!). This allows our office to be virtually paperless. Our "cloud" based EMR provides convenient text messaging or email appointment reminders. Importantly, this system allows for timely correspondence to your referral veterinarian providing your pets' diagnosis and treatment strategy.

Community: We are proud supporters of the annual National Service Dog Eye Exam event, providing free ophthalmic examination to qualifying service dogs. Vision Care For Animals is also proud to extend verified non-profit wildlife organizations and humane societies with discounted services to those animals requiring specialist eye care. 

Doctor 

Patrick McCallum, DVM, DACVO was born in a small town near Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the late 70’s, his family moved to the Bay Area. During his childhood and young adult life he has made a habit of keeping a variety of pets (from pocket pets to birds to cats and dogs) and was a regular equestrian trial rider. He received his bachelor’s degree with honor's in biology from the University of California Santa Cruz and earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of California Davis in 2001. Following two years of small animal general practice and emergency service in Sonoma Valley and San Francisco, Dr. McCallum completed a medical and surgical internship at the Animal Specialty Group in Los Angeles, California. In 2007 he completed his private practice residency training in ophthalmology with mentors Drs. Jennifer Welser and Kristina Burling. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists in 2008. He then joined Animal Eye Specialists in Campbell as an associate ophthalmologist. In 2014 he founded Vision Care for Animals in Palo Alto California. Dr. McCallum’s professional interests include medical and surgical treatment of glaucoma, eyelid modification and reconstruction, corneal grafting, and cataract surgery. 

Away from the office Dr. McCallum enjoys being a dad, road & mountain biking, swimming, hiking, snow boarding, sailing and home repair. Cats: Chocolate Pudding (featured on the website) & Brownie.

Nurse & Support Staff

Mariela Patterson, RVT . We are fortunate to have Mariela (aka Mari) join us having 9 years of veterinary ophthalmology experience. Mari is a bay area native with a great love for animals . Mari received her RVT license in 2006 from Western Career College (now known as Carington College). She enjoys spending her free time outdoors with her family and friends including her 8 year old Dachshund/Chihuahua mix named Jada. As a family they enjoy going to local parks, hiking and taking small day trips to local attractions.

We just celebrated Mari's 3 year work anniversary at VCFA ! Thanks to Mari for her exceptional hard work and dedication to patient care and focus on client service. 

Bryan Puentes, BS. I was born and raised in San Jose, CA. I recently graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Animal Science and minor in Spanish. I’ve had a board range of experiences from working with cattle at the UC Davis feedlot to studying the effects anthropogenic stress on sturgeon. I also volunteered providing free veterinary care and services to disadvantage communities in the Yolo and Sacramento counties. I am always eager to expand my knowledge and clinical skills in hopes of pursing a career in veterinary medicine. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, traveling, and watching movies with my beloved pug, Toby.

Client Services

Rachel Bolt, BS,  is our Client Services Representative, the person you are most likely to see and hear from first in the office. We are thrilled to have Rachel join our team!

Rachel grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and decided to move to California last year to chase her dreams of living on the West Coast. Rachel joins our team with 10+ years as an animal care-taker. Leaving her love of boarding and dog training back in Chicago, she has enthusiastically joined our team to replace the lost interaction.

Rachel attended Arizona State University earning her B.S. in Organizational Leadership. Currently she lives in Palo Alto with her roommate, Kaiser —her 75 lb. red nose American Staffordshire Terrier. In her free time, she enjoys live music, adventuring outdoors and making jewelry.