In Loving Memory Dr. Mike Zareski, DVM.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF DR. MIKE ZARESKI, DVM

On Saturday, December 9th, 2017, a charter plane went down due to engine failure in Clairemont in San Diego county, California. The pilot attempted to land the small plane in a school yard. The plane was carrying three other passengers. The plane was successfully landed but the pilot was unable to control the speed or the brakes. The plane collided into a house and both the plane and house caught fire.

Thankfully, no one was inside the home at the time of the crash although the 16 year old poodle owned by the family who lived there was outside in the backyard. It’s unclear if the dog perished in the fire or if he got spooked and ran off and has yet to be recovered.

The pilot and the female passenger, Dr. Dawn Stelling, visiting from New York to attend a veterinary conference here in California, survived.

The other two passengers did not. Dr. Stelling’s husband, Robert, died on the scene. The other passenger on that plane who didn’t survive happened to be Dr. Mike Zareski, DVM - the owner and director of Western Veterinary Group in Torrance, California.

Dr. Mike, as he was known to clients and staff alike, was kind, understanding, compassionate, knowledgable. He was great with animals and people, alike. He had built Western Veterinary Group up from it’s original location at the old spay and neuter clinic in Lomita to buying out Crenshaw Veterinary Hospital and turing it into the revamped WV in Torrance across from the Crossroads Center on Crenshaw Boulevard. He had a great business sense and a knack for hiring exemplary veterinarians, vet techs and staff.

Any time we took one of our KD kitties in for either an exam or something more complex, if Dr. Mike was in, he’d come out to chat with us - even if he wasn’t our attending doctor that day. He made us feel like extended family - and we considered him as well as the entire staff at WV - as extended family in turn.

Dr. Mike was such a good man who did so much good for so many.

Kitty Devore Rescue was beyond devastated to learn this sad news yesterday and grieves the loss of Dr. Mike. We wish to extend our love and sympathy to his family as well as the staff of Western Veterinary Group. WV is a vet that many KD kitties have visited over the years and Dr. Mike was one of the best veterinarians around. We ache for the loss his wife and children must be feeling. We know he was loved by his staff and know they must be hurting, too. Our hearts goes out to all of them. This was a man who was too amazing to have left this earth so soon and too early.

Dr. Mike, you will be so very, very missed.