Dr. Shane Daigle
Dr. Shane Daigle was born and raised in Vinton, Louisiana, grew up on a cattle ranch, and knew from a young age that he wanted to be a Veterinarian. Dr. Daigle attended LSU in 1991 for his undergraduate Zoology degree then went on to attend LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in 1995. In 1999 Dr. Daigle graduated from LSUSVM. For 2 years after completing Veterinary School, Dr. Daigle practiced in Zachary, Louisiana at a mixed-animal practice just north of Baton Rouge.
In 1999 he moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and worked in a high-volume small animal practice just steps from the beach. Being a southern boy and wanting to raise a family he decided to move back close to home and settled in Austin, Texas. He moved to Austin in 2001 where Dr. Daigle worked in two different practices in Cedar Park and Round Rock. In 2003 he purchased the land that Premier Animal Hospital and Premier Pet Resort & Day Spa are now on and on May 10th, 2005 Premier Animal Hospital opened its doors! Dr. Daigle opened Premier with a vision of practicing the very highest quality of medicine and surgery all the while empowering clients to have “a say” in what their “kids” treatment, diagnostic and surgical plans would be!
In 2008, Dr. Daigle opened Premier Pet Resort & Day Spa which was housed directly behind Premier Animal Hospital. It’s an upscale luxury boarding facility as well as a grooming parlor and training facility. In 2010, he opened Emergency Pet Care of Round Rock, which is a full-service after-hours and weekend Veterinary Emergency Hospital. Then in 2012, he decided to open his very own specialized pet crematory, Precious Memories Pet Crematory, offering the utmost in professional, compassionate, and caring services at the end of your pet’s life journey. In late 2017, Dr. Daigle sold his businesses in town and decided to take his business knowledge, love of Veterinary Medicine, and desire to go back to his “roots” and practice in the rural community again. It was while searching for such a practice that he stumbled across Graef Veterinary Hospital in Taylor, TX.
Dr. Daigle, his wife Megan, two daughters Avery and Alexa and newest addition son Knox Shane, stay busy with the girls competitive dance, gymnastics, and three-day horse eventing! They travel the entire state of Texas year round watching them perform in their collective sporting events. Avery is headed to Texas A&M (Gig ’em!) and will hopefully be returning to help in practicing in the family business!
Dr. Daigle is looking forward to being back “in town” and continuing to provide care for all of his extended client family that has grown over the last two decades!
Dr. Leslea Spence
Dr. Leslea Spence was born in Houston and raised in Cypress, Texas. Throughout middle school and high school, she traveled all over Texas and the rest of the United States playing competitive soccer. Dr. Spence has always had a love for animals and decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine after working as a kennel and veterinary technician while in high school.
Dr. Spence attended Texas A&M University for her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Biomedical Sciences. College Station is where she met the love of her life, Blake, and they got married in 2012. After graduating from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 2017, they moved to Bertram, Texas where she has worked at a mixed animal practice for the past 5+ years.
In her free time, Dr. Spence enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends. She and her husband have 2 beautiful children, Brayden and Blakely. They have a variety of animals including a dog (Skye), 4 cats (Wyatt, Hope, Tom and Louise), a horse (Blue), and many pygmy goats.
Dr. Spence’s professional interests include general wellness and surgery, reproduction, and preventative medicine; however, her favorite part of being a veterinarian is being able to build long-lasting relationships with people and their furry companions. She is excited to join the Mercy Veterinary Hospital family and is looking forward to meeting and caring for the animals and people of Leander and the surrounding areas!
Dr. Tom Sutton
Dr. Sutton grew up in a ranching family in Lampasas, Texas before graduating from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 1978.
Over the years he has built and operated 7 animal hospitals, four of which were in the Austin area. After selling the last of his hospitals and a brief “retirement” he couldn’t resist returning to Veterinary medicine. He is excited to be able to practice with old friends at Mercy Veterinary Hospital.
In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, sailing and caring for his beloved classic cars and motorcycles.
Dr. Pete Kvarnstrom
(Dr. K)
Dr. Pete Kvarnstrom, better known as Dr “K” was raised throughout the rural central coastal region of California. While his friends all gravitated towards the ocean and surfing, he was more interested in working with animals, especially horses and livestock. He attended UC Davis as an animal science major and was a student Herdsman for the University farm. In 1994 he continued to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. His intention was to work in the Central California dairy industry but like so many other stories…he met a girl…and his life jumped to a parallel path of happiness!
After graduation, his Veterinary career started in Texas as a lab manager for TVMDL Toxicology Department located in College Station, but he soon returned to Orange County, California in 1999 to work with dogs and cats. There he worked in several busy hospitals until buying his own in 2005. Dr. K proudly ran Tustana Animal Hospital until 2020…when his life took another unexpected turn.
In 2019 an Army recruiter visited his hospital, and by 2020 he had sold it and joined the Army Reserves as a “64A” or field Veterinarian. For the next two years Dr. K balanced Army training and his Veterinary career before deploying to the Middle East. There he cared for military working dogs (MWDs) and was engaged in the Food Protection mission.
Post-deployment he and his wife moved to Texas. They had bought a ranch in Fredericksburg several years prior and decided to remodel the historic house on the property. There they plan to embrace all the wonderfulness the Texas Hill County has to offer!
Dr. K is married to his beautiful bride Stacy and has two children, Jackson and Abigayle, who attend college in California. The family is completed by two dogs Patsy Kay and Buddy Snuggles, who are adjusting to ranch dog life!
Dr. Christine Tripp
Dr. Christine Tripp received her Biomedical Science degree from Tarleton State University, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from St. George’s University, and completed her clinical rotations at Texas A&M University Small Animal Hospital.
She is a certified Veterinary First Responder, USDA accredited, and certified in: Fear Free handling, Basic and Advanced Life Support CPR, and as a Basic and Advanced Life Support Rescuer.
She brings over twenty years of experience as a handler in competitive dog sports. She has special interests in nutrition and behavior.
Dr. Morgan Goodman
Dr. Goodman and her husband recently welcomed their daughter, Rory, to the family. In addition, Dr. Goodman has two dogs named Remi, an Australian Shepherd, and Finn, a long-haired dachshund. She also has Nubian dairy goats and a guard Llama, named Dusty. Dr. Goodman’s special interests include soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, preventative medicine, and building strong interpersonal relationships with clients and their beloved pets. Outside of work,