Kelly Dowdall-Garberson
Owner, Veterinarian
Dr. Kelly Dowdall-Garberson, the owner and founder of AAVS, is originally from Detroit, Michigan. She actually attended high school in both China and South Korea before moving to Florida for her undergraduate studies. Dr. Kelly graduated from Eckerd College with degrees in biochemistry, Spanish and biology. She then earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from North Carolina State University in 2011, one of the most top-ranked vet schools in the country.
After completing vet school, she followed her husband (active duty Army officer) to Olympia, WA, where she practiced small animal medicine. “Life happened” (as it often does) and Dr. Kelly moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand for 3-years, where she worked for the U.S. Department of State working in management and public health. During her time in Thailand, Dr. Kelly earned her Master’s of Public Health as well as her Master’s of Science in Education degrees. She was nominated for several national volunteer awards for her work creating a women’s development project, as well devising a Congressionally funded project to improve air quality and respiratory health in northern Thailand.
After her time in Thailand, Dr. Kelly and her family moved back to Olympia, WA where she worked as a public health veterinarian with the USDA for 2 years. In 2017, Dr. Kelly and her family moved to paradise- HAWAII. Dr. Kelly worked as the Chief Veterinarian at the Hawaiian Humane Society for 7 months, which was followed by several months of relief veterinary work around Oahu. After seeing the need for low-cost veterinary care in Oahu, she founded AAVS in August, 2018, proudly partnering with animal rescue and welfare groups on Oahu.
Dr. Kelly has 5 children (all from Ethiopia), 3 dogs, and often at least 1 foster dog. She loves pink, pigs and ice cream, and her favorite past time is spending time with her lively, fun-loving family. She’s passionate about travel and has been to over 50 countries on 6 continents, and has lived in 7 countries.
She is an Army spouse and loves working alongside other military spouses and families. She hopes her work helps to redefine the mindset and stereotypes of who military spouses are, and what they are capable of! She is also very connected to the adoption community, and is an advocate for family preservation, women’s empowerment and education. She is passionate about older child adoption as well. Dr. Kelly remains closely connected to China, South Korea, Thailand and Ethiopia.
In the future, Dr. Kelly plans to start the Mission Aloha Foundation, a non-profit that will promote one health (veterinary medicine, human and environmental health) in Hawaii and around the globe.
She loves working with a wide variety of people, and is fascinated by different cultures (she has spent 20% of her life living abroad). Dr. Kelly and her family love living on Oahu and consider Hawaii home.
Dr. Kelly believes veterinary medicine is a tool to be utilized to improve the lives of people and animals. There’s no doubt this is her passion and we can’t wait to see where AAVS grows!
Leslie Kaleikau
Veterinarian
Dr. Kaleikau has been a veterinarian with Aloha Affordable Veterinary Services since December of 2019.
She grew up in Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Animal Sciences in 2008. She then gained experience as a veterinary technician at a practice in Washington DC for 4 years before heading off to vet school at Ross University in St. Kitts. She graduated in 2016 and practiced alongside wonderful vets and techs in Maryland for 4 years. The draw to return to the island life and being close to family brought her to Oahu in December 2019. She’s grateful for the opportunity to advocate for an animal’s health and well-being and empowering pet families to give their pets the best care they can.
Her favorite aspect of this profession is the ability to continuously learn and teach. She learns new things from other vets, technicians, and owners daily and enjoys teaching as well. She is thrilled to have joined such a supportive community at AAVS.
Dr. Kaleikau’s special interests include soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, preventive medicine, and pain management. She trained in veterinary acupuncture throughout 2018-2019 and is a certified veterinary acupuncturist for many species, including dogs, cats, horses, and others.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time ourdoors, exploring the island with her husband Anthony and their beloved Caribbean mutt, Oscar.
Darian Brillon
Veterinarian
Darian grew up in a small town in North Idaho just outside of Coeur d’Alene. After graduating high school, she attended the University of Great Falls in central Montana on a soccer and academic scholarship where she graduated with a Bachelors in Biology and a minor in Chemistry in 2017. While being a full-time student, resident assistant, and college athlete, Darian volunteered at two different veterinary clinics servicing cats, dogs, and horses which further solidified her decision to apply to veterinary school. After taking a gap year, she completed her veterinary degree at Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine (Go Cougs!!) and graduated in 2022. While attending WSU, Darian worked in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital pharmacy and Emergency and Critical Care department. Shortly after graduation, Darian and her dog made the big move to follow her boyfriend to his home island of Oahu and started working with the amazing staff at Aloha Affordable in 2022.
Darian wanted to be a veterinarian since she was very young and never could see herself doing anything else. She grew up loving puzzles and always viewed veterinary medicine as puzzles waiting to be solved. Her favorite part about this field is building a strong connection with her patients and their owners, creating a level of trust that allows her to be an advocate for her patients, and doing what she can to help those in need.
Darian knew she was in the right profession when she had patients walk out the front doors of the WSU vet teaching hospital on the road to recovery that weren’t expected to make it back home to their families. The connections she made with these patients and owners will live with her forever. In addition to that, having owners tell her that they felt heard and respected during their interactions with her also verified that she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Darian’s special interests include neurology, chronic kidney disease, fear-free practice, and client education. Neurology piqued her interest all through vet school due to the ability to diagnose many patients just by watching them and her childhood cat of 19 years taught her everything there is to know about chronic kidney disease. Darian is fear-free certified to allow her patients to feel as stress free as possible while under her care, which in turn makes their owners less stressed about bringing their fur babies to the vet. She also believes that taking the time to educate clients on various components of veterinary medicine helps them feel fully involved in the conversation, aids in their decision making, as well as helps them provide their beloved pets with a long, happy, and healthy life.
When not at work, Darian enjoys spending time fishing with her boyfriend Steffen, kayaking, photography, and lounging around with her husky/pitty mix Kaia and new kitten Bean.
Laura
Registered Veterinary Technician
Laura has been a registered veterinary technician at Aloha Affordable Veterinary Services since July of 2019.
After graduating high school in Central Arkansas, she planned on majoring in Zoology. She wanted to work in Wildlife Conservation; however, she chose my second love and received a degree in Digital Media and Design from Arkansas State University. Laura was ambitious in her graphic design career, though there was still a void in her life. She yearned for her childhood dream of working with animals. After moving to Hawaii in 2016, she decided she needed to fill that void and she obtained a degree in Veterinary Technology from Windward Community College – University of Hawaii. Shortly after graduation, she passed her boards and became a Registered Technician.
Laura has always had a love for animals. She grew up with a Cocker Spaniel and bunny rabbits. She also have a fondness for the tiny furry rodents. She cared for the rambunctious rats in my sixth-grade science class and she’s had pet rats ever since.
Her favorite things about working with animals is the joy they bring her every day. Nursing a sick animal back to health and seeing tears of joy in the owners faces, or puppy cuddles when you’re having a bad day! There’s so much love in the veterinary field.
She knows she’s in the right profession, because when she wakes up the first thing on her mind is that she’s excited to go to work (and coffee!). It hardly feels like work when your co-workers are best friends, animals bring you joy, and the job challenges you to be the best version of yourself. The days fly by, you feel appreciated with your clients, you get excited to learn new things! This is her happy place.
Living in Hawaii means that when you’re not at work you’re enjoying paradise. Her weekends are filled with smiley faces, sunshine, and SUPing. She enjoys spending time with her dog, Samson, on the beach or being lazy on the couch! Laughing with friends while playing games and trying out new restaurants and breweries are just a few of her favorite things. In short, she lives to laugh!
Nadia
Veterinary Assistant
Born and raised in Hawaii, Nadia has been with Aloha Affordable Veterinary Services since August of 2019. She is currently a student at WCC and is working on getting her Veterinary Technician credentials.
When she’s not at work, she’s usually found at the beach.
Kylie
Certified Veterinary Assistant
Kylie is a Certified Veterinary Assistant here at Aloha Affordable Veterinary Services, but has been working in the vet field for over 4 years! Kylie moved here with her husband who is an Apache Pilot for the US Army.
She enjoys being an advocate for animals and making sure to give them the best care possible. “Watching myself grow in the surgical side of the job and the joy I get everyday knowing I’m saving so many lives”!
Outside of work Kylie is a Military spouse going on 7 years! They have lived in Alaska, Alabama, Kansas, Arizona and now Hawaii. Kylie and her husband have three very beautiful pups, Zeus, Athena and their newest addition, Marshall! They love island life and the ability to visit, explore and see so many places!