Meet our Team

Dr. Bob Fuselier is a 1982 graduate of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. His childhood interests in nature, animals, and science evolved into a desire to be a veterinarian. His career has included farm animal medicine and surgery in western North Carolina, public health work in rural Honduras, vascular research in Louisiana, and small animal medicine and surgery in Louisiana, North Carolina, and New Mexico. He has shared his career with his wife and fellow veterinarian, Susie Park Fuselier. Drs. Bob and Susie joined the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos in 1993.

Dr. Bob’s interests in and beyond veterinary medicine have led him into a few endeavors, both locally and afar. His interests in behavior medicine and teaching laid the foundations for his teaching elementary-aged children how to avoid being bitten by dogs. In the classes, Dr. Bob demonstrates the role nonverbal communication has in human-dog relationships and teaches how the proper use of nonverbal communication can lessen the chance of being attacked. In the past, his dogs Cherie and Teale assisted him in the classes. Dr. Bob is hoping that his new addition, Josie, can behave enough to help him in the upcoming year.

In 1995, Dr. Bob helped establish a sister-parish relationship between his church in Los Alamos and the Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos orphanage in Honduras, an orphanage where his wife Dr. Susie and he had volunteered in the late 1980’s. In addition to raising funds for the orphanage, the relationship has enabled nearly one hundred Los Alamos area, high school students and adults, to visit and volunteer in rural Honduras.

More recently, Dr. Bob has worked with Green Village Schools and Global One to One in bringing educational programs to boys and girls in southwest Afghanistan. Some of the programs have connected children and teenagers in Afghanistan with students at Los Alamos High School.

Dr. Bob’s other hobbies include hiking the mountains around Los Alamos, spending time with his five grandchildren, and writing. His first published work is From Violence to Freedom, the Short-Term and Long-Term Strategies of Our Emotional Systems. Since then, Dr. Bob’s grandchildren have held his creativity hostage and forced him to concentrate on a series of children’s books. The first of that series, Tip, and Blue, was published in the fall of 2017.

Growing up with a variety of animals on her grandmother’s ranch in Centennial, Wyoming, Dr. Sabina Johnson’s interest in becoming a veterinary began at a very early age. She attended the University of Wyoming for part of her undergraduate program then went to Oregon State University and Washington State University to finish her Bachelors of Science in veterinary medicine and her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in1993.

Dr. Sabina joined the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos in 1998. Her interests include geriatric medicine, chronic and infectious diseases, and clinical pathology. 

Dr. Johnson’s family pets currently include two older feline friends, Buddy and Charlie, and two kittens, Athena and Artimus.

Dr. Johnson’s hobbies and interests include hiking, biking, skiing, volleyball, and gardening with her family. 

Dr. Julie Kliesch’s interest in medicine and patient care first led her to a degree in physical therapy. She practiced in this field for 10 years, but her love of dogs and cats eventually guided her to a second career as a veterinarian. Dr. Julie is a 2002 graduate of the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She interned at Auburn University in internal medicine and dermatology the following two years.

In 2005, Dr. Julie joined the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos.  Her interest in dermatology and internal medicine continues, offering our other veterinarians an in-house consultant for those difficult cases.

Dr. Julie’s furry family consists of 4 dogs (Honey, Roxy, Brie and Champ), one cat (Nala), one goat (Dolly), a miniature horse (Lily) and a Gypsy Vanner (Basil). Her husband jokes that he’s number 9. When not at the clinic, Julie spends most of her time tending the flock. It’s a good life.

Since he was ten years old, Dr. Craig McInnis knew he wanted to be a veterinarian. He attended Texas A&M University on an Air Force scholarship, graduating in 1976.  To fulfill his military obligation, he spent the next three years in the Air Force practicing small animal medicine in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Hahn AFB in Germany. 

After military service, he returned to his hometown of Houston, practicing small animal medicine there for two years. He returned to Germany and joined a small animal practice in the small village of Birkenfeld. In 1984, he came back to the US and began focusing on emergency medicine. During that time, he served as a consultant for Cardiopet and Dr. Larry Tilley’s VetMedFax.

Dr. McInnis currently owns and operates Echo Services for Pets, a mobile ultrasound service for dogs and cats in northern New Mexico. In addition to seeing patients at local veterinary hospitals, Dr. McInnis and his wife Karen travel across the US teaching ultrasound courses to veterinarians. He has also created a series of instructional DVD’s to share the knowledge he’s gained in over twenty years of ultrasound experience.

Dr. McInnis and Karen currently have two pets, both found abandoned along their trips in New Mexico and California. Inde, born in 2002, is a yorkiepoo who often joins them on their trips as their business manager. Like most cats, their 7-year old cat, Diesel, is happy staying at home and playing in front of their fireplace.

Dr. McInnis performs abdominal and cardiac ultrasounds at our hospital by appointment. For more information about Dr. McInnis’ work, please visit his website: www.veterinaryultrasoundtraining.com

Asked why he became a veterinarian, Dr. Dan Dessauer replied, “I don’t know. When I was a kid, I had an alligator in my bathtub; my dad was a biochemist studying reptilian genetics. My mother was a cat lady. I guess I’m a hybrid.”

Dr. Dan grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Initially, he studied plant breeding and received an MS in horticulture from the University of Florida. Later, he switched directions, applied and was accepted into the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine - in the same class as Dr. Susie Fuselier. After graduating in 1983, he spent some time working with Drs. Susie and Bob in a group practice in Baton Rouge. Later, he worked in a clinic specializing in feline medicine and surgery and volunteered at the SPCA in New Orleans.

In 1985, Dr. Dan came to Los Alamos, beginning his practice here as a house call veterinarian. A year or so later, he set up his practice in the Small Business Center on East Gate Drive, which became the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos. In addition to internal medicine and geriatrics, Dr. Dan continued to enjoy making house calls. He’s also volunteered through the ‘Helping Paws Across Borders’ organization, spaying and neutering animals at a shelter facility in the Bahamas.

Nowadays, Dr. Dan is retired and spends most of his time in Hawaii with an occasional venture back to Los Alamos to visit and the Animal Clinic.

Over the years Dan’s had many pets, included his well-loved Labrador retriever, Lafitte: “If I had as many friends as that dog, I’d run for governor.” His latest four-legged friend is a rescue named Omar.

Dan’s other interests include basketball (more of an obsession), softball, working in his gardens, traveling, and all things New Orleans.

(In memoriam: Lafitte Dessauer, Dr. Dan's late dog)

Dr. Susie Fuselier remembers clearly the moment she decided to be a veterinarian. In seventh grade, her dog Skeezicks (a dachshund cross) herniated a disk jumping off her bed and was immediately paralyzed. Since there were no emergency surgery facilities for dogs then as there are now, Skeezicks was euthanized. Ever since that difficult moment, Susie wanted to help families take care of their pets.

As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, Dr. Susie grew up in six states in the mid US. Influenced by her father’s career, she applied and was accepted into the Air Force Academy in the first year that women were accepted. When the Air Force suspended its professional career opportunities, Dr. Susie transferred to Louisiana State University for her pre-veterinary years. She was accepted into LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine two years later. In addition to the many stresses found in a veterinary medical program, she dealt with the challenges of dating her eventual husband, Bob Fuselier. Dr. Susie graduated in 1983 in the same class as Dr. Dan Dessauer.

Dr. Susie’s veterinary career has included small animal medicine and surgery in Louisiana, North Carolina, and New Mexico and microvascular research in Louisiana. In the late 1980’s, she and Dr. Bob volunteered at the Nuestro Pequeños Hermanos orphanage in Honduras. In addition to the many tasks she performed working with and teaching the children, Dr. Susie was the medical administrator for the orphanage.

Dr. Susie’s numerous hobbies include tennis, knitting, crocheting, sewing, and baking. In addition to keeping her husband out of trouble and supporting him in his many endeavors, she remains a devoted mother to her three adult children and Gramsie to her five grandchildren.

The Fuselier pet family is presently two feline brothers, Rusty and Reggie. Often a part of their household is the Fuselier’s granddog, Lola, who does her best to ignore her Uncles Rusty and Reggie.

Dr. Nuria Clodius has loved animals for as long as she can remember, but her childhood dogs, Peanut and Smokey, were the eventual inspirations for pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. They taught her that there is nothing quite like the human-animal bond to enrich our lives. Peanut taught her the value of patience and enjoying each day, while Smokey taught her the pleasure of working as a team during 4-H classes and competitions.

After graduating from Los Alamos High School, Dr. Nuria studied at Mount Holyoke College where she pursued a B. A. in environmental studies. During her studies, she worked with endangered seabird populations through the National Audubon Society's Project Puffin. She further pursued her interest in marine ecology at the Williams­ Mystic Marine Science Center researching invasive sea anemones and how they survive in their ever-changing environments. Following these experiences, she chose to apply what she had learned to the promote the impact individual animals have on human lives through a career in veterinary medicine. She attended veterinary school at Washington State University where she worked with bighorn sheep, face flies, and a variety of exotic animal species (small mammals, reptiles and birds).

Dr. Nuria Joined the Animal Clinic of Los Alamos in June of 2018. Her Interests are ever adapting and expanding but currently Include behavioral medicine, neurology, and surgery.

Dr. Nuria's four-legged family members include Felix, her veterinary school survival dog, and Lilly, her family's excitable terrier puppy. Both Lilly and Felix are always working on socialization and working through their fears. They love hiking and chasing squirrels whenever the opportunity presents itself. Her parent's cats, Aria and Cricket, are constant sources of amusement for both the dogs and the human family members. Their hobbies include eating all available plants around the house and knocking papers off of desks under the guise of face rubs.

Dr. Nuria's hobbies include hiking, running, swimming, horseback riding, epee fencing, and birding. She also enjoys the occasional mushroom Identification hunt around Pajarito Mountain.

Born and raised in Florida, Dr. Melissa Dezendorf attended the University of Florida and obtained a B.A. in Anthropology. She moved to Natchitoches, Louisiana in 2005 to continue her education at Northwestern State University, earning an M.A. in Heritage Resources and marring her husband, Joseph.

 Dr. Melissa worked as a historical archaeologist for several years before realizing she regretted not pursuing veterinary medicine. Dr. Dezendorf returned to school in 2013 and recently graduated from

Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Melissa has one human son, two rescued dogs and the world’s best cat.

She is delighted to call Los Alamos home and is excited to meet new furry friends.