About Us

Who We Are

The Greater Buffalo Veterinary Emergency Clinic is 100% dedicated to the practice of veterinary urgent care and emergency medicine 24 hours per day, 7 days per week – including all major holidays. We recommend that you contact your regular vet for routine care and vaccines, but we are here for any unforeseen emergencies.

VEC has been providing top-notch emergency veterinary services in Buffalo for decades. Since 1978, our emergency care teams have responded to the urgent, concerned calls of pet owners whose animal companions experience veterinary medical crises. Because we are the only animal hospital in Western New York whose practice is dedicated 100% to 24/7 urgent care and emergency medical intervention, we can swiftly and decisively step in to diagnose and treat veterinary medical problems.

Our goal is to return your pets to your home with you, and follow up care with your family veterinarian is essential. Once our patients are stabilized, our seamless protocols enable us to return our patients to their family veterinarians with comprehensive reports on the nature of the emergency, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

What we do

Our History

The Greater Buffalo Veterinary Emergency Clinic was created by local veterinarians in 1978 as an after-hours practice to function as an extension of their own clinics. They recognized that more pets in crisis could be saved or started on the road to recovery sooner if comprehensive emergency intervention was available overnight and on weekends and holidays when their offices were closed. As of June 2016, the VEC has grown to provide 24 hour veterinary emergency services throughout Erie and Niagara Counties, and sometimes beyond.

We also simplified our name from Greater Buffalo Veterinary Services to Veterinary Emergency Clinic–much easier to remember, especially in an emergency.

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Our Team

Dr. Stephanie F. West

Executive Director

Dr. Stephanie F. West is a Cornell University trained veterinarian with management and teaching experience. She is the Executive Director at the Greater Buffalo Veterinary Emergency Clinic, with experience as the Director of Hospital Operations at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, a former tenured faculty member and Program Director of Veterinary Technology at Medaille College, and with many years as a practicing veterinarian at the Summer Street Cat Clinic. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Western New York Veterinary Medical Association and the Niagara Frontier Veterinary Society. She was a national finalist as Practice Manager of the Year from DVM360/Veterinary Hospital Manager’s Association. The New York State Veterinary Medical Society has honored her with an award for Outstanding Service to Veterinary Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys mentoring veterinary professionals and spending time with her husband and her two cats CleoCatra and Satina Negra.

Jennifer Butera, LVT, RLATg, BBA

Hospital Director

Jen joined the VEC team in 2017. She is currently working as the Hospital Director. Jen graduated from Medaille College in 2006 with an AS degree in Veterinary Technology and 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. Jen also enjoys international volunteer work through World Vets. In her spare time, she is an avid runner and hiker. At home, she has 2 cats (Leo and Sylvio) and a new puppy (Fiona). Jen also enjoys spending time with her 12 year old son.

Staff Veterinarians

Dr. Danelle Capobianco

Veterinarian

Dr. Kristina Doyle

Veterinarian

Dr Doyle is a Buffalo, NY native who received a Master’s in Public Policy at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and her DVM at the Ontario Veterinary College. With a background in bovine production medicine and small animal general practice, she is currently performing emergency medicine while continuing to pursue further education in planetary health, welfare and policy.

Dr. Kim Leys

Veterinarian

Dr. Jacqueline Miller

Veterinarian

Dr. Jacqueline Miller was raised near Austin, TX, and earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Texas. While in school, she worked as a veterinary technician at a local small animal emergency hospital. She then moved to Ithaca, NY to attend vet school and obtained her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 2016. She loved the nature and beauty of upstate New York and decided to move to Buffalo after her graduation. After a few years in general practice, Dr. Miller decided to return to her passion for emergency veterinary medicine. Her professional interests include anesthesiology, neurology, and pocket pet medicine. In her free time, she enjoys nature walks, bouldering, reading, and spending time with her husband, their two cats, and their puppy.

Dr. Muckenhirn

Veterinarian

Dr. Muckenhirn attended the US Air Force Academy in Colorado for 3 years before an injury led her to change of career. She then completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. She received her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada. She worked in general practice in Utah until making the move to New York.

Dr. Muckenhirn has multiple professional interests including behavior, emergency, exotic animal medicine and soft tissue surgery. She currently has three “fur-kids,” a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Tonks, a dorky young cat named Podrick and a very spunky cat named Kyra. Her hobbies include hiking and camping, watching nerdy movies and reading fantasy fiction.

Dr. Sarah Poltis

Dr. Sarah Poltis grew up in Buffalo and attended Canisius College for undergraduate studies. She then attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with her DVM in 2010. Dr. Poltis has prior experience in private practice since graduating. After completing many relief shifts at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic, she accepted a full time position in 2014. Her professional interests include emergency medicine, exotics, and some aspects of business management. During her time off, Dr. Poltis enjoys spending time camping, playing board games and photography. She has a dog named Dottie and two more that are shared with her family (Pickles & Jackson).

Dr. Carl Spielvogel

Veterinarian

Dr Ann-Marie Tierney

Born and raised in Buffalo. While completing her bachelor’s degree in physical anthropology at the University at Buffalo, she practiced as a Licensed Veterinary Technician (predominantly in emergency and critical care) locally for 13 years before pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. She went on to earn her veterinary degree from Ross University. Prior to joining the VEC in March 2014, she practiced in the area as a general practitioner for 7 years. Emergency medicine has always been a passion of hers, and she knew one day she would once again embrace that area of interest. Her goal is to join together with her colleagues and staff to practice progressive medicine while providing compassionate patient care for those animals in need. Her interests outside of practice include spending time with her four cats and two dogs. Her other interests include golfing, horseback riding, hiking, skiing, and spending time with friends.