Our Story
Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic was established in 1990 by Dr. Bob Prestwich and Dr. Rick Exstrom, who each owned veterinary hospitals in Placerville. Recognizing the need for veterinary care in South County and the surrounding communities, they opened Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic as an independent satellite practice with just one doctor and two staff members.
Dr. Karen Jackett joined PVPC six months after the doors opened, and the practice quickly began to grow. In 2004, Dr. Jackett purchased Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic and began the next chapter of its development.
As the practice grew, so did its medical capabilities. Dr. Jackett invested in diagnostic technology, expanded services, and ultimately recognized that PVPC had outgrown its original location. Property was found directly across from the Pleasant Valley shopping center where the practice had become established, and a new veterinary hospital was built from the ground up. In November 2013, Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic moved into the facility we call home today.
A New Chapter, With the Same Roots
In 2021, longtime PVPC team member and Registered Veterinary Technician Amy Nichols, RVT, became the owner of Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic.
Amy’s history with PVPC began long before becoming its owner. Having spent decades working in veterinary medicine and alongside the people and pets of this community, she understood that what made PVPC special was about much more than the building or the equipment inside it.
It was the relationships.
As veterinary medicine, our hospital, and the needs of El Dorado County continue to change, PVPC continues to evolve with them. We strive to improve in everything we do—from our medicine and technology to our services, education, communication, and client experience.
But growth should never mean losing the personal, family feeling that has been part of Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic since the day it was born.
Proudly Privately Owned
Being independently and privately owned is something we take great pride in.
It allows the decisions made inside our hospital to remain focused on the patients and families we serve. Our medical recommendations come from veterinary professionals who know our patients, understand their medical needs, and can speak directly with their owners.
There is no distant corporate office determining a single path of care that every pet must follow.
We believe our responsibility is to educate you, explain our recommendations, discuss the available options, and help you understand the benefits and considerations of those choices. Veterinary medicine is rarely one-size-fits-all. Every pet, every family, and every situation is different.
Our goal is to practice excellent medicine while respecting the needs, circumstances, and decisions of the person who knows that pet best—you.
Your Community Veterinary Hospital
Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic is not simply located in El Dorado County. We are part of El Dorado County.
Our team members are your neighbors. Many grew up here, live here, and are raising their own families here. We shop in the same stores, attend the same community events, and understand what makes this area special.
As our community grows, we intend to grow with it by continuing to evaluate the veterinary services our area needs and finding responsible ways to provide them.
We want to continue expanding what we can offer without becoming a hospital where clients feel like a number.
We want to know you.
We want to know your pets.
And we want you to feel comfortable asking questions and being involved in their care.
Always Striving to Be Better
Veterinary medicine never stops advancing, and neither should we.
We continually look for ways to improve our medical care, technology, services, communication, education, and the experience of both our patients and their families. Sometimes improvement requires change, and we believe change should always have a purpose: to help us provide better care and better serve our community.
Our goal is not simply to become a bigger veterinary hospital.
Our goal is to continue becoming a better one.
Our Vision
To provide the kind of veterinary care we would want for our own pets while building lifelong relationships with the people who love them.
We believe pet owners deserve to understand their pet’s health and the choices available to them. Our role is to provide thoughtful medical recommendations, explain options clearly, answer questions honestly, and give families the information they need to make informed decisions.
From a pet’s first visit through every stage of life, we strive to combine excellent medicine with compassion, education, respect, and a personal touch.
Because pets are family, we hope that over the years Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic becomes part of your extended family too.
Our Mission
Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic is a privately owned, community-focused veterinary hospital dedicated to providing high-quality preventive, medical, surgical, and urgent care in a welcoming and professional environment.
Our mission is to:
- Practice thoughtful, compassionate veterinary medicine centered on the individual
- Educate pet owners so they can make informed decisions about their pet’s
- Provide options whenever medically appropriate and recognize that every family has different needs and circumstances.
- Continually improve our medicine, technology, services, communication, and
- Support and invest in a veterinary team that takes pride in caring for its
- Grow with the needs of El Dorado County while protecting the personal relationships and family atmosphere on which PVPC was built.
Modern medicine. Personal care. Community roots.
That was the foundation of Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic in 1990, and it continues to guide where we are going today.