Since she was six years old, Dr. Rose Rakow knew she wanted to become a veterinarian. After hearing a veterinarian speak to her second grade class, she returned home with a clear vision.

"I went home and told my family that's what I was going to do, and I stuck with it," she says.

Dr. Rakow attended the local junior college for two years before enrolling in the Animal Science program at California State University Fresno and graduated in 1987. She attended Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and graduated in 1992.

In 1993 Dr. Rakow was working at our newly acquired sister hospital, North of the River Veterinary Hospital and joined the Stiern Veterinary Hospital team in 1995. She is interested in veterinary surgery, orthopedics, pocket and exotic pets, and being a general practitioner. She is a member of the American, California, and Kern County Veterinary Medical Associations, as well as the Veterinary Information Network and the California Ferret Association. She is Board President of the Bakersfield SPCA and is an adjunct professor at Bakersfield College.

She says watching pets heal and return to their healthy selves is the most rewarding part of her job. She enjoys being able to witness a puppy or kitten grow up and age along with their human families, and then seeing the next pet the family welcomes after experiencing a loss.

At home Dr. Rakow has six pets. Her canines range in size and include Linus, a Dachshund; Molly, a Walker hound; and Barney, a Saint Bernard. Her three cats are named Sam, Emily and Kai. In her free time, Dr. Rakow enjoys "trying not to kill the house plants and some crafty things like candle making, crocheting and knitting." She also spends time reading, going to the movies, deep sea fishing and racking her brain with puzzle games.