I am Dr. Sophie Dennison, a board-certified Veterinary Radiologist with a keen interest and formal training in marine mammal medicine.

After pursuing several marine mammal medicine externships during my time at veterinary school in Edinburgh, Scotland I began a career in mixed animal practice in Devon, England in 2000. In addition to general practice, this allowed me to work as a voluntary veterinary consultant for the RSPCA and BDMLR providing wildlife and marine mammal veterinary care working for the stranding network. In 2004 I started a one-year Marine Mammal Medicine and Pathology internship at The Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, CA, USA in combination with UC Davis. This opportunity continued in 2005 as a sequential one-year residency. During this time I took a greater and greater interest in diagnostic imaging in marine mammal species and the natural progression was to enter an American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR) accredited radiology residency at University of Wisconsin, Madison leading to ACVR board certification. I am now back in the San Francisco area where in addition to working with local companion animal and exotic pet veterinarians alongside Dr. Sam Silverman DACVR, I personally provide consultation services for a number of local and national aquaria and marine mammal facilities.

Consultation services are offered for all diagnostic imaging modalities for all species. Please  contact us for a list of consultation fees or with questions/requests. Services include pre-study planning for contrast studies, CT and MR, and interpretation of all studies following image acquisition. Formal written reports are always provided following study interpretation.

While many veterinarians accrue good knowledge and experience using diagnostic imaging, the use of a formally trained radiologist who has a solid knowledge of the ‘inner workings’ of the modality can help with study optimization and prevent frustration. Our familiarity with correlating imaging findings to pathophysiology and clinical signs can be invaluable in a case.