The PAW REHAB team is led by founder Dr. Joanne Bak, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist with over ten years of experience in the fields of physical rehabilitation, acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. She is the proud founder of PAW REHAB, the Pacific Animal Wellness Rehabilitation Center, a veterinary center which is dedicated to animal physical rehabilitation therapy. Dr. Bak took great pleasure in designing her "dream come true" and is happy to be offering and expanding this service in the veterinary community.

 

Graduating with honors, Dr. Bak earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree in 1996. She has been awarded with memberships in the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society and the Golden Key National Honor Society. A native of Chicago, Dr. Bak moved to Los Angeles to complete a rotating internship in surgery and medicine with the Animal Specialty Group. She had also attended an externship program in the fields of surgery and neurology with the Animal Medical Center in New York. She then spent over ten years with the VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, a multi-specialty and emergency center where she developed interests in orthopedics, neurology, geriatric medicine, rehabilitation therapy and acupuncture. These interests led her to further post-graduate study with the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, and advanced coursework performed in China with the Chi Institute of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine.

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Dr. Bak previously introduced and implemented rehabilitation therapy services for two veterinary specialty hospitals and has worked with a number of other rehabilitation centers thereby bringing a vast array of knowledge and skills to her practice.  Her special interests include neurological, geriatric and feline rehabilitation as well as pain management. 

 

Dr. Bak is also a proud mother to her daughter Grayce and her dog Apple who was her model and inspiration for our logo.