About Our Doctors

Eduardo Acosta San Carlos Animal Hospital Veterinarian

Eduardo Acosta, D.V.M.

I hail from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. As a child, much to my mom's surprise (and initial disapproval) I traded my drum set for an Orange Wing Amazon parrot (named Duque, who is still alive today) and it has been history ever since. Good thing I have a very supporting and understanding mom because I am pretty sure that I am a much better veterinarian than I would have been a rock star. Taking care of Duque made me realize what I wanted to do with my life. I love working with the animals and the clients, and enjoy all aspects of veterinary medicine, especially the human-animal bond. I love how I am part of my client's and patient's life and they are a part of mine. It feels like I have the biggest extended family. I love seeing the puppies and kittens grow up and get older, seeing the kids that I have seen as children going out to college, some to pursue veterinary medicine and know that I may have a had a little influence on that. Of course, seeing those children go off to college does make me feel old, what can you do? I cannot envision a life not being a veterinarian and being involved in taking care of all of my clients' four legged and furry family members.

I graduated from UC Davis in 1996. I previously worked in Long Beach before moving down to San Diego and purchasing Sunset Cliffs Animal Hospital in 1998. Since then, I ventured off to acquire San Carlos Animal Hospital in January of 2014.

My family members are both furry and feathered: Lucas Oil, my stumpy tail Australian cattle dog, shares the ground level with my cat named Small. The air patterns are occupied by my five parrots. When not serving the needs of my four-legged friends, I am a huge outdoor enthusiast and I love relaxing in my cabin in Big Bear or going snowboarding, surfing, wake boarding, off-roading, mountain biking, sand dunning, rock climbing, and hiking or just walking around and enjoying the beautiful community that is Ocean Beach. If it is outdoors I like to do it. And I am lucky enough that I get to do all that with my beautiful wife Lisa, and now with our new addition, our baby boy Gavin.

Justin Altman San Carlos Animal Hospital VeterinarianJustin Altman, D.V.M.

I have had a love of animals ever since I was a child.  I would sit on the porch of my dad's house and hang out with the stray cats in the neighborhood.  As a child, at friends houses, I was more likely to play with their pets than the other kids in the house.  Immediately following high school , after a couple visits, I quickly fell in love with San Diego.   I moved here in 1995.  I completed my undergraduate degree at San Diego State University where I majored in Biology.  I received my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Ross University in 2008, with a year of clinical training at Michigan State University.  Since graduating, I have been practicing in small animal clinics as an associate veterinarian alongside Dr. Acosta.  My years have been spent getting to know many families in the community as well as their pets and building many strong relationships over the years.  I truly value the time I spend with each pet and their people.  I have been a vegetarian for many years and can recommend some of my favorite restaurants in San Diego.  I share my home with my wife Robin (our Hospital Manager and registered veterinary technician), our two dogs, Slim and James Woods, and a plethora of cats - Railroad Chicken, Cucumber, and Skitch. I am dedicated to strengthening the bond between pets and their families.  I am compassionate and have a genuine love of animals that drives me to provide great care and service to my patients.

Alice DAmore San Carlos Animal Hospital VeterinarianAlice D'Amore, D.V.M.

I have been caring for sick and injured animals, both domesticated and wild, for as long as I can remember. From the time I was five-years-old, growing up in eastern Pennsylvania, I can recall many rescue attempts made for in-need rabbits, birds, mice, squirrels, cats and dogs, which led me to early volunteer work with various wildlife rehabilitation organizations (I was vaccinated against the rabies virus by twenty-years-old!). Interestingly, I was also a voracious fiction-o-phile as a child, which led to a lifelong love of literature. I earned my B.S. in Biology and worked in a human microbiology and toxicology laboratory before returning to earn my M.A. in English from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 2003. While working on my doctorate in post-colonial literature and teaching at Purdue University in 2004, I began taking elective courses in veterinary and human neurology, histology, pharmacology and epidemiology in order to prepare myself for a doctorate program in veterinary medicine. Taking a “breather” from the English dissertation, I graduated from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2011 before completing a challenging medical internship at MSPCA-Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2012.

Most of my spare time is devoted to completing that dissertation, hiking, kayaking and traveling abroad as well as spending time with my husband Phil and our two dogs, a neurotic rescued pit bull named Daisy Mae and a rescued Labrador/Staffordshire cross named Casper (he’s a little less neurotic), and my six adopted cats (Creeker, Thomas, Frank, Ernest, Snowball and Leila, all of whom enjoy the outdoor “catio” that Phil has built for them). Like Dr. Altman and our office manager Robin, I lead a vegan lifestyle, and I am grateful that San Diego has such an array of wonderful plant-based foods to offer!

Stan Kus San Carlos Animal HospitalStan Kus, D.V.M.

Dr. Stan Kus has been a practicing veterinarian in the San Diego community for 26 years. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of California, Davis, in 1977. He then completed post-graduate studies at U.C. Davis, earning a Master of Science degree in Comparative Anatomy in 1979. Dr. Kus was awarded a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of California, Davis, in 1984. He was the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships during his training, and has several peer-reviewed publications in major veterinary journals.

Coming soonLaurel Nishida, D.V.M.

I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii which has forever made me intolerant to cold. I received my Bachelors of Science in Biology at the University of Hawaii and my Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University. Despite the drastic change in climate, I enjoyed my time in beautiful sunny Colorado. I escaped during winter breaks, though, to thaw out in Hawaii. After living on the mainland, Hawaii seemed too claustrophobic, so after graduating, I moved to San Diego where I've settled ever since. After all these years, I still love veterinary medicine with all of it's challenges and rewards. It's depply gratifying when I feel I've developed trust and rapport with my clients and patients.
During my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and step Chihuahua, exploring the many cultural events that San Diego has to offer, and trying to stay in shape. My husband and I occasionally dust off the tandem bike and take her for a ride. I am an active member of the La Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club, a community service organization. Once in a blue moon, I've been known to put on my old pair of dancing shoes to indulge my past passion of swing dancing.