Dr. Rebecca L. Gounaris is a small animal and backyard poultry veterinarian at Pleasantville Animal Hospital of Fallston in Fallston, MD. She is a 2016 graduate of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to her lifetime love for cats and dogs, she has a deep passion for birds and participated in externships at several exotic veterinary clinics during her senior year. She worked for many years at Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research in Newark, DE, where she formed the foundation of her career caring for birds in need. Dr. Rebecca acquired her first flock of chickens in 2019 and has completely fallen in love with backyard poultry. She now has close to 30 chickens (yes, they all have names) that live on her wooded property in PA, where she lives with her husband, Brandon, and baby boy, Ezra. One of her greatest ambitions is normalizing medical care for backyard poultry.
Dr. Scott Gounaris graduated from the University of Florida Veterinary School in 1982. His lifetime love for animals drove him to choose veterinary medicine as he wanted to help animals that could not help themselves. Dr. Scott Gounaris enjoys the teamwork that we and the pet owners employ to work together for the welfare of their pets. The greatest reward for him is a positive outcome for his patient and their owners. With over 40 years of experience in the veterinary field, Dr. Scott Gounaris has seen it all. Prior to opening Pleasantville Animal Hospital of Fallston, he worked for his father, who was also a veterinarian. Now the father of a recent veterinary school graduate, a current veterinary school student, and a college undergraduate, he has shared his love of the profession with the next generation of Gounaris doctor
"Dr Rebecca understands how much I love my chickens. They're never 'Just Chickens'. She listens to me and answers all of my questions." - A Lewis
"Dr. Rebecca is caring, knowledgeable, creative in finding solutions. We treat our flock as dear pets and bring our chickens and ducks in for wellness visits, as well as for more complex issues that require deep examination and solutions." - Kirsten S
"Dr. Becca has saved the lives of 3 of my ducks that have had complex issues (search Johnny the Duck on DuckDVM). She saved one of my girls after a threatening reproductive issue, and has helped heal a foot deformity issue with at her of my boys. She treats my birds as if they were her own, and is extremely personable and explains everything in detail, and calls to follow up, and calls even if she is not in the office. She truly cares about her patients and their well being. Her knowledge and care is amazing. " - Lori T
"Dr. Rebecca is wonderful and knowledgeable." - Rachel S
"Dr. Rebecca goes above and beyond. She often squeezes me in for emergencies with my chickens, spent hrs talking to me after hours (10 pm) to save my chicken attacked by a dog, takes calls when off duty to help, she offers all your options from more reserved to aggressive treatment and never waits for me to ask questions, she educates you as the owner to successful manage and care for your animals (taught us how to insert a tube to safely get meds in our chicken for egg yolk perontitis). " - Sarah M
"Dr. Rebecca is AMAZING. I am so lucky to have her as my veterinarian. I will drive my birds two hours (each way) to bring them to her instead of the 'avian and exotic specialists' 20 minutes away. It's not that I haven't brought my birds to them in the past, as I have and still do on occasion if Dr. Becca is out of town. However, I've never found them particularly helpful and often left feeling bad, like it was crazy of me to want to do whatever I could to save 'just a chicken'. Dr. Becca isn't like that. She cares about each and every patient. They aren't "just a chicken" to her. They are just as special as any dog, cat or any other animal she sees. She rarely suggests straight up "euthanasia" without exploring and discussing alternative options, procedures and support for terminal conditions. She understands how resilient these guys, how much we care about them and cares about them too! You honestly couldn't find a better vet." - K Marie
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