Experienced veterinarians & well-trained staff love pets

Doctors and Staff

Allan Berger, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ABVP (Canine & Feline) - Emergency/Critical Care

Dr. Allan Berger graduated as a veterinarian from Cornell University in NY in 1993, then stayed in NY to do veterinary research, teach pharmacology, and work part time in a small clinic. Allan moved to Iowa in 1998 to do research in the Internal Medicine department of the University of Iowa College of Medicine. He worked on the molecular pharmacology of cystic fibrosis for seven years. While he had initially planned to go back to a veterinary college to teach and do research, his clinical interests in emergency medicine took over.

Dr. Berger is a Diplomate with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Canine & Feline Practice). Allan’s current work at Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails is focused on emergency medicine and critical care. He has an interest in non-invasive diagnostics, including ultrasound and endoscopy.

Allan has a Great Pyrenees rescue who came with the name Bear.

Nadya M. Gonzalez, DVM

Dr. Gonzalez graduated from the University of Florida with a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 2014. She then completed a rotating small animal internship at a VCA specialty hospital in the Chicago suburbs.

Dr. Gonzalez moved to the North Liberty area two years ago with her cat Eva.

Her interests in veterinary medicine include emergency, pathology, and soft tissue surgery.

Dr. Gonzalez grew up in Puerto Rico and is fluent in Spanish. She completed her BS degree in Animal Ecology at Iowa State University in 2009. In her free time, she likes to travel, read, and collect vinyl records. She also enjoys training for 5k races and is certified in scuba diving.

Debra Conant, DVM

Dr. Conant was born and raised in Iowa and earned her DVM from Iowa State University.

She spent several years working in Oregon and then California, but moved the family back to Iowa to raise their three children.

As the kids are approaching college and beyond, she keeps herself busy with running, hiking, biking with her husband, and reading when the snow flies.

Becky Jana, DVM

Dr. Jana is originally from the Chicago land area and earned her doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois. In 2015, she moved to Iowa City to join the Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails team.

She has a special interest in canine medicine and has also discovered a hidden love of emergency medicine. She also thoroughly enjoys doing relief work for underprivileged areas with the most recent trip being to Honduras. She plans on doing more trips in the future to provide veterinary care for those less fortunate than her.

In her free time Dr. Jana’s hobbies include downhill skiing, jogging around the Iowa City area, obscenely long bike rides, and craft beer tasting. She shares her home with Bo, a Jack Russell Terrier mix and Neil the basset hound.

Melissa Lind, DVM

Dr. Lind grew up in Agency, Iowa. She went to Iowa State University graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. She then went on to attend vet school at Iowa State, while earning a concurrent Master's degree. Her thesis project while in vet school involved work on research projects at the USDA-NADC labs in Ames, IA.

After graduating in 2015 she worked at a small animal emergency clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, before starting a one year rotating internship position at a specialty practice in the suburbs of Chicago, IL. During her time in Chicago she worked closely with a number of specialists, learning more about emergency medicine and critical care, surgery, internal medicine, oncology and neurology.

Dr. Lind moved back to Iowa in the summer of 2016 and now lives in Iowa City with her spunky Corgi mix, Gabby. In her free time she enjoys just being outdoors- hiking, camping, kayaking or riding her horse whenever possible.

Sarah Gingerich, DVM

Dr. Gingerich received her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Purdue University in 2005. At Purdue, she focused on small animal medicine and regularly made the Dean's List. She was the president of Purdue's Student Chapter of the AVMA and was named the AVMA Auxiliary's Outstanding Senior Student.

Dr. Gingerich particularly enjoys internal medicine and dentistry.

Dr. Gingerich started her career in Chicago, IL and moved here with her husband, Fred in 2012. They have two young children and a very poorly behaved boxer dog named Goose. In her free time, Dr. Gingerich loves to cook and especially enjoys canning and preserving fruits and vegetables. She also spends a lot of time reading, and enjoying the outdoors.

Dr. Sarah Gingerich currently works part time, but is happy to accommodate clients requests to see her whenever possible.

Kristi Sandman, DVM, DACVS

Dr. Sandman is a small animal surgical specialist who works with us part-time.

Ryan Schroeder, DVM

Dr. Schroeder is an Iowa native, and a 2017 graduate of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He is excited to have started his professional journey at Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails in May.

His interests in veterinary medicine include the disciplines of Internal Medicine and Pathology. He is always excited to investigate the underlying mechanisms of both normal physiology and disease processes.

Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Schroeder enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter, 3 cats, and his dog.

Brandy Witte, DVM

Dr. Witte is originally from Nebraska, but completed her undergraduate education at Iowa State University then received her DVM degree in 2009 from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. She then extended her "California Adventure" with an internship at East Bay Veterinary Specialty and Emergency before returning to the Midwest.

Dr. Witte has professional interests in feline medicine and surgery.

She also enjoys hiking, reading, and Irish dancing.