Dr. Brock Phillips is the Chief Veterinarian and owner of the Back Mountain Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Phillips has been a practicing small animal veterinarian and a part of this community for over 30 years. After completing his undergrad studies at Ithaca College, he went on to Araneta University, College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Phillips completed his externship at the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Phillips loves to learn and grow as Veterinary Medicine evolves.
Through the years he has taken extensive Continuing Education in Laser Surgery, Ultrasound, Echocardiograms, Endoscopy and Cold Laser Therapy. He has been a leader in Luzerne County for bringing quality advanced diagnostic and surgical capabilities into the day practice setting. Dr. Phillip’s forethought and guidance has made the Back Mountain Veterinary Hospital an exceptional Referral Center for the surrounding areas as well as a day practice the local community has come to rely upon. Our new hospital has been a labor of love over many long years. Dr. Phillips personally supervised each and every element from the layout of the floor plan to the decor and color scheme, ensuring the hospital has the optimal flow for maximizing patient care, while providing a calm, comfortable atmosphere to minimize stress for anxious pet parents.
In what little free time he can call his own, Dr. Phillips enjoy cycling, hiking, and tennis. He rarely gets to vacation, but when he can he loves to snorkel and scuba dive. Dr. Phillips has a background in music and played the trombone in college. He is greeted each evening by his furry friend, Dewey the Cat!
Dr. Kelly Brooks joined the Back Mountain Veterinary Hospital in March of 2012. She brings a fresh perspective and a lot of energy to our team. Dr. Brooks did her undergrad and grad school studies at the University of Arizona, with her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Physiology. She then went on to pursue her studies at The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduating, she completed an internship at the Advanced Veterinary Care Center in California by doing a 1 year rotation of small animal medicine and surgery.
Dr. Brooks is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association. She has developed quite a skilled with soft tissue surgery and has come a trusted resource for certain eye surgeries, including Grid Keratotomy, Cherry Eye, and Enucleation. She has a great love for Cardiology (pun intended) and a special interest in Internal Medicine, focusing on Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Hematology and Blood Disorders. These interests make her very pleased to be a part of a facility with a long-standing history as a Referral Center for Advanced Diagnostics, offering Echocardiograms, Abdominal Ultrasounds, and Digital Radiology with consults from Cardiology, Internal Medicine, and Radiology Specialists.
When not hard at work, Dr. Brooks enjoys the physical stress release of running and hiking, as well as the mental rejuvenation that comes from photography, painting, and yoga. She especially enjoys goat yoga! When the weather isn’t conducive to her outdoor activities, Dr. Brooks either indulges her passion for finding vintage treasures at the Salvation Army and local antiques shops, or she puts her incredible green thumb to work on her in-home plant jungle for her cats Amelia and Mac.
Dr. A. J. Cooley, DVM, MS, is a veterinarian with over three decades of experience in small animal surgery. She earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee, followed by a rigorous internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Dr. Cooley further advanced her surgical training by completing a Small Animal Surgical Residency and obtaining a Master’s Degree in Veterinary Science from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Cooley served as a Lecturer at Cornell University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Ithaca, NY. There, she was instrumental in designing and delivering curriculum to junior and senior veterinary students, with a focus on aseptic technique, basic anesthesia, and surgical principles. She developed and implemented a didactic course that became part of Cornell’s required veterinary curriculum. During her tenure at Cornell Dr. Cooley started her mobile small animal surgical business.
Her clinical experience includes tenure as a staff surgeon at Round Valley Referral Hospital and Valley Central Referral Hospital. Since 2005, Dr. Cooley has been a staff surgeon at Crown Veterinary Specialists in Lebanon, NJ. Alongside her clinical role, she and her business partner and husband transformed her mobile surgical small animal surgical practice born in 1999 to perform surgery for a friend, and created Cool Vet LLP which has provided surgical services across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, performing a wide range of advanced orthopedic, neurologic, and soft tissue procedures.
Dr. AJ. Cooley is widely recognized for her dedication to surgical excellence and education, and she continues to contribute significantly to the advancement of veterinary surgical practices.
Dr. Corey Saunders is a dedicated and experienced veterinarian who earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from Iowa State University in May 1999. With a strong educational foundation and years of hands-on experience, Dr. Saunders is committed to providing high-quality care to his patients. His passion for veterinary medicine, combined with his expertise, allows him to offer compassionate and comprehensive treatment for pets and their owners.
