Meet our Doctors & Staff | Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails Veterinary Hospital

Meet our doctors and staff!

Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails has three doctor-owners, 5 additional veterinarians, and approximately 15-20 veterinary technicians, assistants, receptionists, and managers.

Jennifer Berger, DVM

Dr. Jennifer Berger graduated from Cornell University with a DVM degree in 1998. Dr. Berger enjoys internal medicine, dentistry, and performance dog medicine.

Jenn is a part-time shepherdess in her free time. She currently has approximately 100 head of sheep with the goal of 200 ewes. She utilizes the help of her Border Collies to move them as needed (Jeep, Hazel, Ben, Fly, Billie). On occasion, she even gets to attend a Sheep Dog Trial and competes against other Border Collies and their owners.

Jenn also enjoys horseback riding and is hoping to do more now that Max (the one human child) is getting old enough to ride on his own. On the farm we also have a smattering of cats and chickens! Can't forget the three Livestock Guardian Dogs - a Great Pyrenees named Bear, a Meremma cross, Xena, and another Meremma cross, Forrest, that live with the sheep full time to protect them from coyote and bobcats. Bear was adopted through Great Pyrenees Rescue of Eastern Iowa.

Her son, Max, is the proud owner of Ham, a Chihuahua rescued from the Iowa City Animal Shelter.

Jennifer Brown, DVM

Dr. Jennifer Brown moved to the Iowa City area in 1998 after graduating from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Jen practiced in Solon for two years, prior to buying the Kolder Pet Hospital in West Branch. She merged the hospital with Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails in 2006 in pursuit of overnight care of her patients and a little more free time. In 2009 she got married, had a baby, and moved to NYC for her husband's fellowship. Jennifer is enjoying motherhood and hopes to move back to the Midwest. Her hobbies are Latin dance, horseback riding and reading.

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. He just learned his spouse can be called a part-time shepherdess, and together they moved to Iowa in 1998 so Allan could 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. He has also recently stepped up his training and begun to take on more orthopedic surgical cases.

Allan has a terrier named Dudley of unknown background beyond the description of scruffy, brown, 55 pounds, and enthusiastic. Dudley came from Mix-N-Match Animal Rescue in Iowa City.

Alinda Buckingham, DVM

Dr. Alinda Buckingham graduated from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008. She earned her BA in Biology from Coe College in 2004. Her interests in veterinary medicine include dermatology (particularly allergy cases), senior wellness, soft-tissue surgery and exotic animal medicine.

She currently lives just outside Iowa City with her dog, 3 cats, poison dart frogs and colony of crested geckos. In her free time she enjoys learning agility with her dogs, reading, and spending time outdoors camping, hiking and hunting.

Veronica Busick, DVM, CCRT

Dr. Veronica Busick graduated from Purdue University in 2008. She is a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist, certified by the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, and runs our rehabilitation and underwater treadmill program. She also has a special interest in internal medicine, ophthalmology, and feline medicine. Veronica just bought her first home with her husband Justin, who works for the government as a veterinarian. They share their home with two cats named Zoe and Charlie, a dog named Susie, and two quarterhorses named Socks and Wolf. In her spare time she enjoys horseback riding, gardening, cooking and sewing but unfortunately spends most of her free time fixing her house and barn.

Debra Conant, DVM

Dr. Debra Conant graduated from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1981. After graduation she moved to Oregon to work at a small animal hospital for 6 years. She then moved to Santa Barbara, California and worked in the Santa Barbara-Ventura area for several years. Dr. Conant was president of the Santa Barbara-Ventura Veterinary Medical Association in 1996.

In 2000 Dr. Conant moved back to her hometown of Tipton with her husband, Allan, and her 3 children to be closer to family and because the weather in California was just too nice.

Dr. Conant has an interest in orthopedics and endoscopy. She has attended seminars and wet labs to advance her expertise in both of these areas.

Her hobbies include woodworking, landscaping, skiing, reading and keeping up with her children.

Jack Hardy, DVM

Dr. Jack Hardy graduated from Iowa State University in 2006 with a degree in Animal Science. He then continued on and graduated from the Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine in May of 2010. Prior to working at BEBT, he spent nearly a year at an emergency hospital in New Hampshire. His interests include orthopedic surgery, soft tissue surgery, and emergency medicine.

Jack lives in Iowa City with his 2 year old pitbull mix, Ginny. When not at work Jack enjoys playing guitar, snowboarding (tough in Iowa!), and fruitlessly attempting to teach Ginny basic commands. As an Iowa State graduate he enjoys the yearly heartbreak that comes with being an ISU sports fan.

Wendy Miller, DVM

Dr. Wendy Miller graduated from the Iowa State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1998. She earned a BS degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University in 1994. Her interests in veterinary medicine include critical care, internal medicine, and soft-tissue surgery.

She lives in Washington, Iowa with her husband, two children and two cats. She is currently serving on the Washington County Board of Health as well as volunteering at her children’s school and family’s church. She enjoys gardening, decorating and reading.