Shelby Bekkering, DVM

Shelby Bekkering was born and raised in upstate New York. Her family had Siberian Huskies when she was growing up. She became interested in a career in veterinary medicine because of her love of all animals and compassion for both pets and pet owners. She was also heavily influenced by the lovely veterinarians and their staff that helped her care for her own pets.

She graduated from SUNY at Albany with a Bachelors in Biology in 2018. She then worked in an animal hospital for 2 years before applying for veterinary school. She earned her DVM degree from Long Island University in 2025. She is very excited to be starting her career as a veterinarian! She has an interest in dogs, cats, and pocket pets.

In her free time she hangs out with her three rescue Siberian huskies, Ares, Dilbert, and Winter. Ares is a handful, full of energy and would do anything for a treat! Dilbert is an old man rescued from Ayres Animal Shelter after being used for breeding on an Amish farm. He is scared of everything, but slowly coming out of his shell. Winter was adopted from the APF when Dr. Bekkering was there for a rotation during veterinary school. Winter is very sweet and gentle and loves to give kisses. Dr. Bekkering also has two cat nieces, Pennie and Gemma. She excitedly welcomed her first nephew in October 2025 and loves spending time with him.