Welcome to our website! Our animal healthcare team want to be your partners in caring for all of your pet's medical and daily needs. We realize that you are putting your trust in us to treat your pets as though they are our own. We would be thrilled to join with you in caring for every aspect of your pets' lives. Our goal is to provide your pet with the best medical and surgical care available and to do so in a clean, warm, and compassionate environment.

The doctors and staff of our animal healthcare team feel that the backbone of our relationship with you and your pet is a combination of communication and education. The primary reason for our website is to help share with you all aspects of veterinary care and daily pet care needs. Included in our site are hundreds of articles which cover every area of care from simple behavior issues to the details of intricate surgeries (From any page, click on "Pet Health" to access this information.) We feel that the more informed you are about your pet's medical care, the more we are able to work together as a team to keep your pet happy and healthy.

We are available to answer any questions you may have regarding your pets. We are conveniently located in Torrance, near "Old Downtown Torrance". Whether you have dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, snakes, iguanas, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters or any other "pocket pets", we look forward to informing you through this website, and our personal relationship, how to care for your pets in the best ways possible.

Please peruse our site and familiarize yourself with our animal healthcare team's goals for the care of you and your pets. We would love to be your animal healthcare team and would like to invite you to become part of our family of pet loving friends! We look forward to seeing you and your pets soon!!

Dr. Robert Kaufman	Dr. Kaufman was born and raised in Burbank, California. He earned his undergraduate degree at UC Davis and continued his education at Araneta University where he earned his veterinary degree. He completed his clinical rotation at Louisiana State University before returning to Southern California and beginning his veterinary career. His first experience practicing medicine was at two hospitals in Manhattan Beach and El Segundo. He bought his first practice, Marina Animal Hospital, in Redondo Beach in 1989. The practice rapidly outgrew the small facility. The need for more space and the desire to allow the practice to care for more pets in the South Bay helped him to decide to purchase Harbor Animal Hospital in Torrance. Because the new hospital was just a few miles down the street, Dr.Kaufman was able to combine the two practices into one, at the new, larger facility. Dr. Kaufman enjoys the challenges of all aspects of small animal medicine and surgery, but is especially interested in dermatology, dentistry, avian, and exotic medicine. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association, the Association of Avian Veterinarians, and has been President of the Sierra Veterinary Medical Association in the past. Currently, Dr.Kaufman is the President of the Board of Directors for the Emergency Pet Clinic of the South Bay. When Dr. Kaufman has time off from his practice, he enjoys snow skiing, water skiing, scuba diving, sailing, and, most of all, time with his wife Karen. They have two great daughters who keep their parent's very busy. Their family also includes two dogs, Fyera and Kira. Fyera is a young standard poodle who keeps their older Golden Retriever, Kira, entertained! They also share their home with two cats, Cinderella and Nemo, along with a Sand Boa named Sandy. In the past, the Kaufmans have also enjoyed owning a Moluccan Cockatoo and Desert Tortoises.
Dr. Lauren Norby	Dr. Lauren Norby has been on the veterinary staff at Harbor Animal Hospital since 2004. She was born and raised in Southern California and attended UCLA to earn her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry. Following that she attended UC Davis where she earned her veterinary degree in 1995. The early years of her career were spent in the Sacramento area after which she moved to St. Johns, Michigan. There she served as an Associate Veterinarian at St. Johns Animal Clinic, which she enjoyed very much. She was responsible for the majority of the internal medicine cases and clinical pathology performed in the clinic. Additionally, she supervised the use of in-house diagnostics and the training and education of the staff. Dr. Norby also served in the areas of dentistry, anesthesia, and basic surgery. She maintained a strong emphasis on developing preventive care protocols and emphasized client education to raise the level of the patients’ care. As part of the veterinary team at Harbor Animal Hospital in Torrance, Dr. Norby has continued her emphasis on internal medicine, clinical pathology, dentistry, and preventive medicine. She has also maintained a strong interest in the management of our senior patients to help make their golden years as comfortable as possible. Dr. Norby joined the professionals at Harbor Animal Hospital because of the high quality of medicine that is provided, along with the support of an excellent and caring animal healthcare staff. She has become an integral part of the continuing improvement of our medical techniques and the training of our team members. She enjoys educating both our clients and team members. She prides herself on knowing that we are here to provide the best possible care for all our clients’ pets. She also welcomes any questions or comments you may have. When Dr. Norby has time to relax, she loves a good book or a long walk on the beach. Traveling is also a great joy for her. She shares her home with her young, very hyperactive dog, Daisy, and her two cats George and Aki. Living in Southern California offers a wonderful lifestyle that compliments the joy she takes in caring for animals.
Dr. Summer Wetzel	Dr. Wetzel was born in Thailand, and then raised in the Torrance area. At the age of 17, as she was exploring possibilities for her future, she joined the animal healthcare team at Harbor Animal Hospital. Beginning as a volunteer, she realized that she loved working with all kinds of pets, especially exotics which made Harbor the perfect place to start her career. As her schooling progressed, Dr. Wetzel worked with our team as a nurse's assistant during summers and vacations to gain knowledge and experience. Dr. Wetzel earned her undergraduate degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2001, and her veterinary degree from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. It was an honor for her to be a member of the very first graduating class at Western University! She was also thrilled to help launch their internship program after graduating in 2007. Her focus was surgery and her duties involved teaching the graduate students all aspects of veterinary surgical technique. When her internship was completed in 2008, Dr. Wetzel was thrilled to be asked by Dr. Kaufman to join our animal healthcare team as a Veterinarian! She says it felt like she was coming back home to where her love for veterinary medicine had begun. Dr. Wetzel, and her husband, Matt, share their home with their three dogs and a Bearded Dragon. They also enjoy showing and racing the flat bottom boat that Matt refurbished himself. And, when time allows, Dr. Wetzel loves to work in her beautiful garden that she has grown by herself with great care.