Veterinarian Overview
Dr. Keith Rode, DVM has had the pleasure of working for Woodland Veterinary Hospital since 2006. He believes so much in what Woodland Veterinary Hospital does that he became a co-owner of the practice in 2012. Dr. Rodes dream of becoming a veterinarian had many driving factors: a love of science, the thrill of solving puzzles (whether crossword puzzles or determining the cause of an illness), a close relationship with animals in his life, and the influence of many great veterinarians along the way. Dr. Rode was born and raised in Napa, and wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as he can remember. When he was seven, his family moved to a house that was across the street from a poultry veterinarian, who really encouraged him to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, and provided many great learning opportunities. Dr. Rodes favorite experience was when that veterinarian took him to a talk at UC Davis by Marty Fettman, the first veterinarian in space, who shared pictures from his experience on a space shuttle. Dr. Rode applied for undergraduate school knowing that he would be ultimately applying for veterinary school, so he was thrilled to get accepted to UC Davis, which was relatively close to home and is a hot spot of the veterinary profession. He completed a Bachelor of Science in neurobiology, physiology, and behavior in 2002. During that time, he sang in an a cappella group and the University Chorus, wrote a weekly column for the student newspaper, studied very hard, and met the woman who would later become his wife. He was awarded an Outstanding Senior award from the university as well as an NPB Departmental Citation with Distinction in 2002. Since he had the benefit of having a veterinary school on the same campus as his undergraduate studies, he also took advantage of such experiences as working in a research lab for a veterinarian who would later become one of his vet school professors. While he applied to five different veterinary schools, Dr. Rodes top choice was to stay at UC Davis, and he was grateful to be offered a position there for the Class of 2006 (which he immediately accepted). He decided to pursue the small animal track, because all of his experience before vet school had been with dogs and cats, and that is what he imagined himself doing as a career. Some of the areas that he found of most interest in school were endocrine (hormonal) diseases in dogs and cats, radiology, and ophthalmology. Dr. Rode is very proud to be a double UC Davis alum, and he still stays active with both undergraduate and veterinary students in various roles. While he did keep the small animal track through vet school, and today does work as a small animal practitioner, Dr. Rode really broadened his animal experiences during the four years he spent in vet school. For example, he worked at the livestock nursery at the California State Fair for three years (the most popular exhibit at the fair, and run by vet students) twice in the nursery itself, assisting with livestock giving birth and educating the public, and once as the student coordinator of health checks for all incoming livestock being shown. Dr. Rode also went on three veterinary mission trips with a group called VetMerge. He took two spring break trips to very rural Mexico to work with small animals, horses, and livestock; and spent one month in Africa (Cameroon and Central African Republic) during his senior year, mostly working with livestock. He provided veterinary services at no charge in areas that otherwise would not have access to this care. These experiences gave him a great appreciation for the veterinary profession beyond small animals. He has since taken three trips to Mexico as a veterinarian with this same group. Another unique vet school experience Dr. Rode enjoyed was spending one month of his senior year in Washington, DC. He was selected as one of ten vet students across the country for an externship with the Governmental Relations Division of the American Veterinary Medical Association. He spent a lot of time learning about the legislative process and legislation that was active at that time (including debt relief for new veterinary graduates going to practice in underserved rural communities). He attended a hearing on Capitol Hill regarding animal microchips, heard speeches from a few lawmakers, and spent time traveling to offices of senators and representatives to educate them on animal issues. It was an amazing experience that has influenced him to be active locally in such areas. Dr. Rode has been a member of the Legislative Committee for the California Veterinary Medical Association for several years, and stays active with the state legislature to make sure that the interests of animals and animal owners are heard. So much public policy is not grounded in science, so it is his goal to help reverse that. Dr. Rode started working at Woodland Veterinary Hospital a few weeks after graduation from vet school. He felt very fortunate to have had things work out as he wished. He had taken his cats to WVH during school for their vaccines and found it to be a great place, and he lives in Woodland so the lack of a commute was wonderful. While a few of his vet school classmates jumped from job to job before finding what they wanted, Dr. Rode was blessed by finding the right fit right away. He feels that he has flourished here, thanks to the support of great mentoring veterinarians during his first few years, a supportive staff, and wonderful clients. Over the years, Dr. Rode has developed a range of clinical interests that include surgery, endocrine diseases, dentistry, and feline medicine (specifically, helping to overcome the trend of cats not getting the same level of preventive medical care as dogs). And, as mentioned, he became a co-owner of WVH in 2012, a move that ensures that he will be here for a long time. While learning about managing a business has been a work in progress, he loves being part of the decision-making process that keeps guiding the business in the right direction. Outside of work, Dr. Rode loves spending time with his family. He and his wife, Jen, got married in 2005, right at the start of his senior year of vet school. In fact, after their honeymoon in Maui, they left two days later for the trip to Africa. Jen was able to accompany him for the first two weeks, which provided a great extended honeymoon of service and adventure. Jen was a kindergarten teacher for eight years (including four in Woodland, at Maxwell Elementary School) before becoming a full-time mom. Their daughter, Abigail, was born in 2010, and their son, Noah, was born in 2012. Abigail already loves coming to WVH and seeing the animals and the staff. Perhaps she will take over the reins some day! The Rode family includes one dog, Asha. She was born in Taiwan and was owned by a couple, but the husband abused her and threw her out of a third-story window. She was sitting in the street with two broken legs until a neighbor picked her up and took her to a shelter. Ultimately, she ended up at a large rescue group (Animal Rescue Team Taiwan), who sent her to California to seek care for her injuries. Through a series of interesting circumstances, she ended up at WVH for her surgeries, where Dr. Rode fell in love with her and ultimately kept her. She is shy but very sweet, and loves coming to hang out at WVH for the day to spend time with other dogs. The Rodes also have two cats, Cooper and Chloe, littermates adopted through the Orphan Kitten Project at the UC Davis vet school. They kept Jen company before she and Dr. Rode got married, and while he was in vet school (with very long days), and are both very sweet cats. Dr. Rode stays very active in the community, and is proud to live and work in a small town like Woodland (which reminds him a lot of Napa). He has been a member of the Woodland Sunrise Rotary Club since 2009, and has served on its board of directors for two years. This has been a great way to meet people in the community while serving locally and globally (including a focus on polio eradication, a topic of extreme interest to him since his grandma had polio when she was young). He has been on the executive board of the Sacramento Valley Veterinary Medical Association for several years, and served as president in 2012. He also serves as vice president of the California Veterinary Medical Foundation. Dr. Rode writes a regular (pseudo-monthly) veterinary column for the Davis Enterprise newspaper, which has been a great opportunity to educate people on veterinary topics. He still sings when he can, including once yearly with the UC Davis Alumni Chorus. He was extremely honored to be awarded the 2012 Young Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis. Despite being very busy with work, family, and outside activities, he does enjoy just curling up with a book, watching sports, playing golf, or traveling. In parting, Dr. Rode says, I feel very fortunate to enjoy what I do for a living, and to believe in the company I work for (and co-own). I truly hope that my excitement for my career is shown in the interactions I have with each patient and client.
