Dr. Mike Yackey grew up in a suburb of San Diego, CA. After graduating from UC San Diego in 1992 with degrees in Biochemistry and Psychology, he worked at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla studying neuroscience. He moved to Davis in 1994 to start veterinary school, bringing his 3 cats with him. While at UCD, he focused on small animal medicine with special interests in surgery, anesthesia, and radiology. He worked on a couple of research projects including one that sent him to Africa. He worked in Sacramento for 5 years before opening South Davis Veterinary Center with his wife, Dr. Bradley. Outside interests include surfing, snowboarding, kayaking, and backpacking- none of which he gets to do now. Dr. Yackey loves to cook and often shares his homemade artisan sourdough bread with SDVC’s staff and clients.

Dr. Cara Bradley was born and raised in Los Angeles. She went to UC Berkeley for her undergraduate education in English. She started vet school at UC Davis in 1992. Her focus was on small animal medicine with special interests in internal medicine, radiology, and ultrasound. She worked for 7 years in a progressive practice in San Ramon while it grew from 4 doctors to 11. She is very excited to work at her own practice in Davis. Her hobbies include kayaking, gardening, hiking, and reading.

Dr. Taylor Phillips grew up in San Diego, and went to college at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania where she earned her degree in Biology and Mathematics. During her time in undergrad, she spent a semester abroad in Tanzania where she studied wildlife management. During her time in veterinary school at UC Davis, she worked as a technician at South Davis Veterinary Center which pushed her to pursue general practice after graduation. Dr. Phillips enjoys the relationships she can create with clients and their pets, and seeing them grow throughout the pets life. Dr. Phillips earned her Fear Free Certification during veterinary school, meaning that she has additional training to minimize stress for patients in the hospital setting. She has special interest in behavior, dentistry, and soft tissue surgery. When not at work, Dr. Phillips spends her free time with her husband, and their two dogs, Zephyr and Suzy. They enjoy fishing, making sourdough, and playing board games. 

Emmy joined the SDVC team in 2007 and received her RVT license in 2009.  She has lived in Davis most of her life and is proud to call herself a townie. When she’s not at home reading a good SciFi book or tending to her garden, she is often out hiking or on the water with her paddleboard. Emmy and her husband Ethan share their home with two Calico kitties, Teeny and Camilla and a cockatiel named Sir Peppermint Waddlesworth.

Emmy is a Cat Friendly Veterinary Professional and the primary Cat Advocate at West Davis Veterinary Center

Nicole earned her Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from UC Davis and has lived in Davis ever since.  After several years in a different career, she decided to follow her true passion, which is working with animals.  She began working in the veterinary field in 2007 and earned her RVT license in 2015 after studying through the Veterinary Allied Staff Education program.  Nicole loves helping pet parents with their four-legged children and strives to create a strong, trusting relationship with both here at South Davis Veterinary Center.

Nicole shares her life with a silly 6 pound male chiweenie named Sue, named after the Johnny Cash song, and a handsome, sweet tuxedo kitty named Leroy Brown, named after the Jim Croce song.  Nicole can often be found at the local dance studio where she trains and performs with a contemporary dance company.  In addition to dance, she loves gymnastics, travel, nature, music & the arts, and visiting family.

Katie’s passions in life have always been animals, nature, and family. She grew up in the South Bay Area with her mom and two older sisters, moving to Davis in adulthood to receive her B.S. in Animal Science at UC Davis. Pursuing her love of animals, at 18 she began volunteering at a cat rescue in the East Bay, which quickly transitioned to a veterinary technician job at the hospital the kitties were seen at – cementing her interest in animal medicine. When not helping all of our adorable animals, Katie spends her time hiking, playing with her doggy Faron and kitty Loki, and enjoying the local restaurants around Davis. 

Pete has been passionate about animals and of pursuing veterinary medicine ever since he was a child. He grew up with his mom, dad, and four siblings in the Bay area and would often visit their childhood ranch where he would care for the horses, sheep, and chickens they had roaming around which is where his love of animals stems from. Pete began volunteering at the Hayward Animal Shelter when he was sixteen and says felt so extremely rewarding to have a dog or cat find their forever home. He moved on to work as a veterinary assistant in 2019 along with attending community college where he was able to gain clinical experience and get a taste of vet med. Pete continued to pursue his education and transferred to UC Davis where he received a Bachelors in Cell Biology in May of 2024. Pete’s goal is to eventually attend vet school and pursue a career as a small animal veterinarian! 

Ant graduated form UC Davis 2021 with a degree in Animal Science. She hopes to apply to vet school in the near future to pursue a career as a small animal veterinarian. 

In her spare time, she enjoys visiting art museums, fashion, Disneyland trips, collecting anything Nightmare Before Christmas related, and karaoke.