Former owner Dr. Ann Stacker dreamt of starting her own practice for years before bringing her dreams to fruition. She worked with her husband, Greg Killingbeck, and her sister, Debbie Stacker, to plan, design and build Paso Petcare. Dr. Ann brought her considerable experience in small animal care, medicine and surgery when she opened Paso Petcare. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara in the early seventies, she worked for a small animal veterinary hospital, and then operated a horse-boarding stable with her husband, Greg. Later, Dr. Ann attended veterinary school at UC Davis where she graduated in the top 10% of her class in 1981. She worked for two small animal hospitals in Southern California, in addition to doing relief work in San Luis Obispo County, before finally settling on the Central Coast. In opening Paso Petcare, she provided a full range of services for not only dogs and cats, but exotic species including birds, reptiles, rabbits and other pocket pets.
Dr. Ann and her family put down roots in the area in 2000. Greg worked as the general contractor for the build out of their facility, and he served as the facilities manager until his passing in 2008. Debbie worked as hospital administrator and co-owner, bringing her diverse background in business and customer service. Ann and Greg’s twin daughters, Sarah and Emily, were nine years old when Paso Petcare opened, so they grew up visiting mom and Aunt “Debba” at the hospital. Growing up as the business grew provided them with experiences that contributed to their later successes in their own fields of study – immunology and genetics. Dr. Ann and Debbie ran Paso Petcare together for over two decades before selling the practice in June, 2021. The legacy they created, however, will continue as the team at Paso Petcare remains dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality care for companion animals.