Dr. Kaleigh Flock is the most recent addition to the Back Mountain Veterinary Hospital family, just joining us in July of 2022. Dr. Flock did her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Animal Science at the University of Connecticut. She earned her Veterinary Degree from the Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in 2020, after which she completed an externship with the VCA Veterinary Specialists of CT. Dr, Flock had been working for the USDA FSIS before her love for small animals and exotics brought her to us. She is very excited to be a part of a veterinary hospital that provides state of the art care and diagnostics. The mentorship of the other doctors is enabling her to grow her skills and expand her capabilities to provide the best medicine possible to furry, scaly and feathery friends.
Dr. Flock is a proud member of the AVMA and the AAV (American Veterinary Medical Association and American Avian Veterinary). She is Fear Free Certified and is looking forward to bringing some of that training into her daily practice. Dr. Flock enjoys providing general wellness care for dogs, cats, and exotics (including birds) but she also has a keen interest in surgery, dentistry and dermatology.
Her personal interests outside of work are just as varied, including mental health and wellness, running, singing and playing music. She was a competitive runner in High School and played clarinet in her college marching band. When the weather cooperates, Dr. Flock loves to hike and kayak with her husband, Luis and their mini poodle, Vern. Otherwise, she spends her free time visiting with family and friends.
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. Amy Morris became a part of the Back Mountain family in April of 2017. After completing her undergrad studies at the Bryn Mawr College, and completing an internship at the Cincinnati Zoo, she went on to study at Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Morris did a 2-week externship at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary during vet school, then went straight into medical practice after graduating and obtaining her Veterinary License in 2010. She worked for 3 other Veterinary Hospitals before joining us, where she gained valuable experience in small animal and exotic pet medicine. Her work as a solo practitioner really helped to give her confidence to think calmly and perform well under pressure.
Dr. Morris has been a member of the AVMA since a student in 2006. She has won an award for her Public Health Project, “Paws a Moment — Think Safety!” which uses dogs otherwise at risk of developing behavior issues to find a purpose by helping teach children about safety issues. This included lessons on safe interactions with dogs and bite prevention. She is a Category II USDA Certified Veterinarian. Dr. Morris has a special interest Integrative Medicine, including certification as a Level II practitioner of Healing Touch for Animals. Client education is very important to Dr. Morris to optimize pet wellness and to prevent the spread of disease. She is an advocate for Positive Behavior and encourages pet owners to bring nervous pets in for simple “happy visits” to alleviate anxiety and stress for both the pet and pet parents about vet appointments. Dr. Morris also worked in a neurology research lab before attending vet school, which really sparked her love for all things Neurology related! She is very happy to be a part of the BMVH team and enjoys helping us grow, espeically in the field of medicinal and surgical care for Exotics. She is even the driving force behind the hospital’s strive to get the RHDV2 vaccine to protect rabbits from this terrible disease.
When not hard at work, she also enjoys hiking with her dog, Elijah and spending time enriching the lives of her cats, Black Jack, MeLaan and Crowley. She is excited to have a work schedule that will allow her to spend quality time with her Fiance, Chris, and to indulge in some baking for family and friends. The staff get treated to personal containers of her cookies every year!
Dr. Anjilla Cooley has been coming to the Back Mountain Veterinary Hospital for the last 15 years to perform orthopedic surgery, such as ACL repair and compound fracture plating, as well as advanced soft tissue surgery and procedures like Myelograms and complex tumor resections. Dr. Cooley is available at Back Mountain Veterinary Hospital on a weekly basis to address your surgical needs.
Dr. Cooley’s educational background consists of receiving a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee in 1992. In 1993, a certificate of completion for Small Animal Medicine and Surgery Internship was obtained from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. She completed her Small Animal Surgical Residency and obtained a Master’s Degree in Veterinary Science from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, VA during the years of 1993 thru 1996.
Dr. Cooley also taught as a lecturer at The Cornell University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Ithaca, NY from 1996 thru 1999. Consequently, she created and implemented a didactic course at Cornell University, which became part of the required curriculum.
Her employment tenure includes Round Valley Referral Hospital in Lebanon, NJ from 1999 thru 2001, Valley Central Referral Hospital in Whitehall, PA from 2001 thru 2005, and Crown Veterinary Specialists, in Lebanon NJ from 2005 thru 2011 where she was employed as a staff surgeon. In conjunction, she has traveled throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey performing numerous advanced orthopedic, neurologic and soft tissue surgeries at various hospitals and clinics since 1999.
