Larisa Tempero, VMD
University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Larisa Tempero, born in England, was inspired by James Herriot's wonderful tales set in the Yorkshire Dales. Becoming a veterinarian was the only career she ever considered. As a teenager, her family relocated to the East Coast and she lived on a sheep farm with her dog, five cats and two horses. It was her love of horses that drew her first to Cornell University, then on to New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with top honors in 1995, she pursued her equestrian interest in a mixed animal practice for a couple of years, but soon realized that she wanted to specialize in small animal medicine after all. Dr. Tempero really enjoys the relationships she develops with clients and their pets in a companion animal practice, and she especially enjoys the intellectual challenge of internal medicine, endocrinology and cardiology. In 2008, Dr. Tempero successfully sat for her ABVP boards, and she is now a board certified general practioner. Although horses remain a big part of her personal life, Dr. Tempero has spent over twenty years in general practice working primarily with cats and dogs. In 2003, she relocated from Boston to San Francisco with her husband and cat and four years later she joined VCA Madera Pet Hospital. Her free time is spent with her husband and four young children, and when possible riding horses and running.