Dr. Sergio B. Pereira
Dr. Pereira was born and raised in the Azores, Portugal. After visiting family in the US several times he decided to move to the US and finish his academic training. Dr. Pereira arrived in the US in January of 1999 and started his academic journey at Merced Community College in Merced California. He then transferred to UC Davis. Dr. Pereira attended St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine, in Grenada W.I. and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree on June 17th 2006. Dr. Pereira received his clinical training from Kansas State University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Upon graduation, Dr. Pereira started working for a Dairy Practice in the Central Valley in California. On January 1st of 2012, he started his own veterinary practice, Azores Veterinary Practice. Dr. Pereira’s main professional interests include bovine veterinary practice and general surgery.
Dr. Pereira is married to Dr. Maria I Rodriguez and they have a son, Sebastian and a daughter, Angela. Dr. Pereira and Dr. Rodriguez met while attending Veterinary School. When having some free time Dr. Pereira enjoys watching soccer, traveling back to the Azores and Puerto Rico and working on expanding his hobby farm.
Dr. Marco Valencia
Dr. Marco Valencia was born and raised in the beautiful and very noisy Mexico City.
He attended high school and veterinary medicine school at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
In 2017, he came to the US as a cow breeder for Genex and stayed on a dairy route for a year and a half. This is where he met Dr. Pereira. Afterward, he was promoted as the AI trainer for the west coast of the country for the same company. A year and a half later he left Genex and joined a dairy in Merced, CA, where he bred, did pregchecks and embryo transfer. Dr. Valencia then joined the Azores Vet team in January of 2021.
Dr. Valencia’s interests are reproduction assessment, breeding support and embryo transfer technology. On his days off he likes to play basketball and ride his motorcycle all around the bay.
Dr. Celso Koetz, PhD
Dr. Koetz graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul / Brazil, has a master’s degree in Animal Reproduction at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul / Brazil, and a PhD in Animal Science at the Londrina State University/Brazil and Postdoc at the Animal Science department at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul / Brazil.
His experience in animal breeding are on the following subjects: bovine reproduction, embryo transfer, ovum pick up (OPU), beef cattle genetic evaluation programs, bull reproductive potential evaluation using noninvasive tools like color Doppler ultrasound and infrared thermography, timed artificial insemination, and beef cattle production systems.
Dr. Krizia Lepiz
Doctor Krizia Lepiz Conejo was born in the beautiful tropics of Costa Rica. Growing up around her grandfather’s farm played a huge role in her decision to pursue veterinary medicine. She received her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. During her undergraduate career, Dr.Lepiz developed an interest for the dairy industry and took part in the Midwest Dairy Challenge.
She attended veterinary school at Ross University in Saint Kitts and completed her clinical year at Iowa State University. In pursuit to further her interest in dairy medicine, Dr. Lepiz scheduled an externship in California at Azores Veterinary Practice where she thereafter accepted her dream job as a mixed animal veterinarian. Dr.Lepiz splits her time between Azores Veterinary Practice and True Blue Veterinary Hospital.
On her free time, Dr. Lepiz enjoys traveling, exploring new places with her dog Nax, horseback riding, and cooking.
Dr. Rebecca Hernández
Dr. Rebecca Hernández is excited to join the Azores Family! She will be splitting her time with our sister practice, True Blue Veterinary Group.
She was born and raised in Oxnard, California but often visited her parents’ hometown in Jalisco, México where she grew to love nature and animals.
She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018 with a degree in Molecular Environmental Biology where she volunteered and worked in various clinics and at the Oakland Zoo. During her gap year she worked as a wildlife veterinary technician at the California Wildlife Center. She recently graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in London, England in July 2023.
During her free time, she loves to do outdoor activities, visit the beach, workout, bake and garden.
She’s looking forward to meeting all of you!
Dr. Patricia Koetz
Dr. Patricia Fávaro Koetz was born and raised in Brazil, she graduated in Veterinary Medicine in 2015 by University of Northen Paraná, Brazil. Right after Veterinary School, she started a Master’s Degree in Animal Science, researching about thermoregulation and US Doppler in bulls as well as sperm morphology, finishing the program in 2017.
During an externship at Azores Veterinary Practice, California-USA in 2018 she met Dr. Pereira. Back in Brazil she worked for a year with Equine Reproduction, one of her passions, until immigrating to the US in 2019. She lived in Oregon with her husband Dr. Koetz and their son Carlos for three years where she had the opportunity to work as an Embryologist in one of the biggest Bovine In-Vitro fertilization laboratories in the U.S.
Her major interest includes embryo and oocyte development and collection, advanced reproduction technology, equine reproduction, and dentistry. Always with an open mind, Dr. Favaro is willing to learn and get out of her comfort zone.
On days off, she enjoys traveling abroad with her family, hiking to the mountains or exploring wineries with friends.
Dr. Luis Guilherme Magon De Souza
Dr. Luis Guilherme Magon De Souza was born and raised in the vibrant state of Parana, Brazil. His passion for cattle began from a very early age working on his grandfather’s farms. He graduated from the University of Northern Parana with a degree in Veterinary Medicine in 2017. During his clinical year, Dr. De Souza completed a three-month externship at Azores Veterinary Practice and one month with Mid Valley Large Animal Service in California. For the last 5 years, Dr. De Souza has been gaining experience managing a Dairy Farm, and breeding cows with Semex.
Dr. De Souza’s interests are in advanced reproduction, breeding support, embryo transfer technology and surgery. On his free time, Dr. De Souza enjoys traveling, working out, playing sports, being outdoors and riding horses.
Dr. Vladimir Tadic
Dr. Tadić was born and raised in Alberta, Canada, by his family who immigrated from former Yugoslavia in 1995. In 2019, he received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Majoring in Animal Science from the University of Alberta. With being a recent addition to the team, he received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in May 2024 from the University of Calgary. After completing a month-long externship at Azores Veterinary Practice in February of 2024, he felt compelled to come back and work with the great team and continue making an impact in the food animal world.
He considers himself an agriculture advocate, or better yet an Agvocate as mainstream media calls it. He looks forward to servicing our existing clients while also expanding and making Azores Veterinary Practice a staple within the geographical area and beyond.
Dr. Tadić’s interests revolve around all things that are production animal related. This includes beef and dairy reproduction, goat, sheep and pig surgical procedures and medicine, herd data analysis and consulting, general equine medicine and lastly business advancement and entrepreneurialism. He also enjoys putting the great world of agriculture, and the life of a food animal veterinarian, on display for the world to watch on his YouTube and Instagram @DrVladTheVet. Follow along if you would like! He looks forward to meeting as many of you as possible and exploring what California and its great producers have to offer!
If you have any questions about our services, please contact us today at (209) 245-7477.