Karolina Wirga, DVM, Fear Free Certified

Dr. Karolina Wirga has always loved animals and had the dream of becoming a veterinarian since she was very young. She was raised in Long Beach California but fell in love with the Santa Cruz area where she earned a degree in Molecular Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. While she studied, she pursued any animal-related activity she could, whether that involved working as an assistant in a small animal practice to pursuing volunteer opportunities and related student events. She also volunteered at the Long Marine Laboratory where she continued to work after graduation. Here she gained an appreciation for learning about marine life, particularly marine mammals, and the health of our beautiful ocean. She continued to volunteer with marine mammals while in veterinary school at the University of California Davis. While in veterinary school, Dr. Wirga became interested in various aspects of veterinary medicine, and it seemed like every subject seemed to interest her. She received a scholarship to pursue a veterinary acupuncture certification and she dived deep into learning about traditional Chinese veterinary medicine and veterinary acupuncture. She became passionate about multimodal pain management and ensuring animal health and comfort. Dr. Wirga is grateful to work with such an amazing team at Capitola Veterinary Hospital. She is committed to collaborating with owners and providing high-quality veterinary care to all her patients to fit their needs.

In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her friends.