Dr. Yaira (pronounced 'Jida') Rivera's love for animals began early on in her life. Due to her passion for wanting to help pets, Dr. Rivera worked in the veterinary profession as both a veterinary assistant and veterinary technician prior to graduating with her Bachelor of Science degree in Veterinary Technology from the University of Puerto Rico.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr. Rivera also had family in Wisconsin and she moved to the Midwest working with the Medical College of Wisconsin prior to pursuing her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Missouri.

Following her graduation from the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015, Dr. Rivera began working as an emergency veterinarian for an animal hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri. Wanting to relocate closer to family, Dr. Rivera and her family then relocated to Wisconsin where she worked as a primary care veterinarian. In 2023, Dr. Rivera and her family moved to Maryland to be closer to family, and we are so excited to have her join our team!

Dr. Rivera enjoys helping clients keep their pets healthy, and educating them on preventative and wellness medicine. She enjoys all aspects of emergency and general practice medicine and has special interests in immune-mediated diseases, diagnostics and surgery.

When she's not practicing medicine, Dr. Rivera enjoys ballroom dancing, reading, travelling, enjoying the great outdoors, acrylic painting and spending time with her husband, son and also her two dogs, Kate and Cloud—and don't forget her African Grey parrot named Jersey!