Meet the Doctor

Dr. Gabrielle Ravina is a native New Yorker and developed her love of animals at an early age. It was no surprise to her family that by the age of twelve, she already knew she wanted to become a veterinarian. She attended Cornell University first as an undergraduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science in 1993, and then as a veterinary student, graduating from College of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. From there she went on to a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at the University of Georgia. She then headed West, landing quite by chance in Santa Cruz, where she began her career.

She has been a companion animal veterinarian in Santa Cruz and Los Gatos since 1998, including more than six years in the field of emergency and critical care. In October of 2018, she completed a sixteen-month certification in animal hospice and palliative care, earning the title Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Veterinarian (CHPV). She joins a small, but growing group of veterinarians worldwide, who have completed this certification.

Dr. Ravina believes one of the most important ways she can honor the human-animal bond is through compassionate end-of-life care for companion pets and their families. Over the years, she had the privilege of honoring special requests from friends and clients to euthanize their beloved companions at home and saw the difference between saying goodbye in a hospital, and doing so in familiar, comfortable surroundings. She established Peaceful Paws Veterinary Services in 2015, with a mission to provide support, understanding, and guidance through the end-of-life journey, as well as gentle euthanasia in the comfort of home.

Dr. Ravina is a member of the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Monterey Bay Veterinary Medical Association, the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative care, the Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians, the Association of Pet Loss and Bereavement, and the International Academy of Veterinary Pain Management. She shares her home in Santa Cruz with her partner, Hayden, their two children Dylan and Scarlett, and their two polydactyl cats, Rascal and Roo.