Lindsey Hackett has always loved animals. At 6 years old, she remembers syringe-feeding two baby birds who fell from their nest. At 8 years old, she remembers seeing an injured turtle and her family taking the turtle to a family friend who was a veterinarian. Together, they nursed the turtle who went on to live a long, happy life.
“My entire life I’ve known that veterinary medicine is my calling,” Hackett said. “I’ve always been enamored by animals and drawn to medicine. Animals are my love and I really like their people too. As challenging as veterinary medicine can be, I cannot imagine any other career.”
Today, the Encinitas mother is the lead veterinarian and medical director of Tell Tail Moonlight Veterinary Urgent Care, which opened this week in the same beachside city.
A graduate of Colorado State University, Hackett moved to San Diego to fulfill an internship with VCA Emergency Animal Hospital and Referral Center. She now specializes in preventive care, dentistry, surgery, urgent care, and internal medicine (especially diabetes).
“Tell Tail Moonlight Veterinary Urgent Care has the perfect balance of expertise, technology, and compassion,” Hackett said. “We focus on walk-in appointments which means you can walk in and be seen the same day. We help support our community’s extraordinary family veterinarians as we understand just how integral they are to each animal’s health. They want to help every one of their patients but with a booked schedule, they can’t possibly fit them all in when they suddenly fall sick or become injured.”
Hackett is the proud mother of one son and a 20-year-old cat, so she knows first-hand how many of her clients feel about their pets.
“I want our clients to leave our office feeling supported, informed, and confident about the detailed plan we’ve provided to help care for whatever their furry family member is going through,” Hackett said. “For myself, often the most difficult part of having a sick family member or friend is the time spent not knowing what is causing the problem, what the treatment is, and if they will be OK.”
Now open, the hospital is addressing the gap between general veterinary practice and 24-hour emergency specialty veterinary medicine. Working together with local area veterinary offices, the hospital’s services include urgent care, ultrasound, in-house diagnostics and radiology, hospitalization and surgery, among other services.
For more information about Tell Tail Moonlight Veterinary Urgent Care, go www.moonlightvet.com.
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San Diego Moms is published on Saturdays. Have a story idea? Email hoaq@timesofsandiego.com and follow her on Instagram at @hoawritessd.
