Dr. Carlyn Zylstra is a native of Washington state and had dreamed of being a veterinarian since kindergarten. She attended Washington State University and earned a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience before moving on to veterinary school at the same university. After graduating in 2012 she entered an intensive one year internship at the Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle. During her internship she worked extensively with specialists (including surgeons, internists, neurologist, dermatologist and cardiologist) while also honing her skills in emergency medicine and critical care. She loved the ER so much that she opted to stay on board at Veterinary Specialty Center working on critical cases and instructing the next several classes of interns. While she loved teaching and the rush of an emergency, she also missed sleeping at night and seeing her family on holidays so she made a shift to general practice in 2016. Her current interests include behavior, wellness care and preventative medicine, care for geriatric pets and neurology. 

Dr. Zylstra is incredibly excited for life in New York City and to explore the east coast. She made the move with her one-eyed, mostly toothless cat, Gumbo, and her old dog, Stella. When she's not working, Dr Zylstra can be found running, attempting to track down the greatest nachos around, enjoying coffee (she is from Seattle, after all) or a good IPA and planning her next adventure.