College Village Animal Clinic

Dr. Jon Basler received his degree from Washington State University in 1985.  He has been with College Village Animal Clinic since 1990, becoming hospital director and assuming ownership of the clinic in 1998.  His initial career included three years of general small animal practice in Anchorage, then embarking on a three-year adventure as the veterinarian for the North Slope Borough in Barrow.  His duties ranged from traditional veterinary medicine to animal control and public health issues (water testing and restaurant inspections) and included travel several times yearly to remote arctic villages.  Dr. Basler returned to Anchorage and to College Village in February of 1990.  He has an active interest in both dogs and cats along with birds and caged pets.  He is a past president of the Alaskan VMA and sits on the board of directors of Pet Emergency.  He is married to Pamela Thompson Basler, a life long Alaskan, has three sons, Eric, Ryan and Jack, and a golden retriever, Ally.   When not in the office or busy at home, he enjoys adult volleyball, alpine skiing and staying  busy with Scouting and youth soccer.

Dr. Peter Nicholson was born and raised in the Midwest.  He spent the last twelve years living in New England and the eastern coast of Canada.  He attended the University of Maine for a bachelor’s degree in zoology, with plans of becoming one of three things: a veterinarian, a fish biologist or sea turtle researcher.  After several years of work with juevenile salmon, he was accepted to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, Canada.  At school, he followed his interests in small animal and exotic animal medicine, as well as wildlife rehabilitation. After four years, he graduated with a DVM and an overwhelming urge to move to Alaska.  His interests vary from small animal medicine and surgery to reptile and amphibian medicine.  He spends his free time enjoying Alaska with his wife, and his two sons Angus and Rowan.

Dr. Alice Velsko was born and raised outside of Homer, Alaska.  She attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Music.  Prior to starting veterinary school at Washington State University, she completed a marine mammal and bird rehabilitation internship at the Alaska SeaLife Center.  Her special interests include small animal surgery and exotic animal medicine; she took a variety of elective courses related to these fields during school, including an externship at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.  Her hobbies include hiking, camping, yoga, and playing clarinet and piano.  She has a cat, Leroy, and is engaged to her high school sweetheart.

Dr. Leslie McDaniel recently retired from College Village Animal Clinic after 26 years of fantastic service and is frequently found doing relief work for the clinic. She earned her degree from Auburn University in 1979.

Dr. Pamela Tuomi is the primary veterinarian working for the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.  Although most of her time is spent there, she continues to provide services for clients at our clinic once per month.  She also does relief work for our clinic.  She passed ownership of College Village Animal Clinic to Dr. Jon Basler in 1997 when she first accepted her position with the SeaLife Center.  She has considerable expertise in the treatment and care of caged birds and small pets.

Gabriella “Bre” Surles, LVT was born in December 1980 at Elmendorf Hospital in Anchorage.  She graduated from East High School in 1999 and shortly thereafter moved to Kailua, Hawaii where she pursued a career in Marine Biology.  After many years of working as a technician, she moved back to Alaska and obtained her license after passing the National Exam.  She has two children, one lab named Ruger, and a guinea pig named Toast.