Compassionate approach makes Taylor top animal doc

      They give us unconditional love -- each in their own way.
      They jump at our feet and bark when we come home from work or school. They curl up in our laps and purr while we watch television at night. They bring us to life in the morning with their melodic tweets. They playfully nuzzle us with their noses in the riding stable.
      Whether it's a dog, a cat, a bird, a horse -- or any of the number of God's other blessed creatures we lovingly call pets -- they're always there for us.
      When we need them most.
      So in the times when they need us most, we must be there for them, too. And never is that more important than when they require medical attention.
      As beloved members of the family, our pets deserve the best veterinary services we can find. That, according to our panel of experts for the Best of Las Vegas Publisher's Picks, comes at the hands of Dr. William Taylor of Mountain Vista Animal Hospital.
      With 205 vets in Clark County -- 175 in Las Vegas alone -- you would expect the field of recommendations to be widely spread. And it was in our balloting.
      Choosing one vet over another is purely subjective, much as it is with picking a human doctor. But Taylor's name was mentioned most often by our pollsters, followed by Drs. Mark Dolginoff of Paradise Pet Hospital, James Nave of Tropicana Animal Hospital, Gerald Pribyl of Gentle Doctor Animal Hospital and Jay Holt of Animal Kindness Veterinary Hospital.
      Taylor, a graduate of the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine, has been practicing since 1981 and has operated Mountain Vista Animal Hospital since 1987.
      "He has a huge amount of knowledge, and when it's your pet that's sick that means everything," says Ken Foose, who, along with his wife Janice, owns Exotic Pets, a pet store at 2105 N. Decatur Blvd. "At the same time, if he doesn't know something, he'll tell you. Then he'll go online or make a long-distance call to get the right information.
      "I can confidently say he's everything you want in a vet."
      Taylor's expertise ranges from the everyday house pet to animals as exotic as the uromastyx, a lizard indigenous to North Africa. Among his many affiliations, Taylor is involved with the local Herpetology Society.
      He specializes in orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery, and it was for those two reasons that Kathy Lavacca, a local dog trainer, availed herself of Taylor's services last fall. Her 7-year-old collie mix, Maddie, had suffered a stroke that affected her spinal cord.
      "When nothing could be done for her and we were going to have her put down, Dr. Taylor wanted to see her one more time just to be sure there was nothing more he could do," Lavacca says. "Even though it was hopeless, he took the time to see her.
      "He didn't give us false hope, but he looked into all possibilities."
      As owner of Pet Cremation Services, based in Pahrump but serving Las Vegas, Sheri Allen walks through the back door of virtually every animal clinic in Southern Nevada. She finds Taylor and his staff to be "among the most compassionate people I work with."
      "In my job, I see a lot of things the general public never sees. I can tell you that Dr. Taylor brings a real love of animals to his work," Allen says.
      So, too, does Dr. Mark Dolginoff, whom Allen says is highly praised by many of her clients -- all of whom have faced the emotionally wrenching loss of their pet.
      "Like Dr. Taylor, I never hear any negative reports about Dr. Dolginoff and his staff," Allen says. "He's regarded as a very compassionate person, someone who fully appreciates what the loss of a pet can mean."
      Like Taylor, Dolginoff is a graduate of the University of Missouri's veterinary school. He has been with Paradise Pet Hospital for the past 25 years, and he served a term as president of the Clark County Veterinary Medicine Association.
      While he generally treats dogs and cats, "he also cares emotionally for the people who bring their pets in," explains Adrienne Cooper, manager of Animal Inn Kennels, 3460 W. Oquendo Road. "Every time we've needed help, he's always squeezed us in."
      Placing third in the balloting was Dr. James Nave, also a graduate of the University of Missouri's acclaimed veterinary program and its Alumnus of the Year in 1987. Set to take over as president of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2000, Nave has been serving Southern Nevada pet owners since 1971.
      He is past president of the Nevada Veterinary Medical Association and served four years on the Nevada Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.
      Owner of Tropicana Animal Hospital, Nave was named Nevada Veterinarian of the Year in 1988 by the Nevada Veterinary Medical Association.
      Still, with all of his outside activities, which includes serving on the Nevada Athletic Commission, Nave is regularly seen in his office as early as 6 a.m. tending to the needs of local pet owners.
      Dr. Gerald Pribyl, a graduate of Iowa State University's School of Veterinary Medicine, took fourth from our voters. As chief of staff and director of small animal medicine and surgery at both Gentle Doctor Animal Hospital, where he practices, and the affiliated South Shores Animal Hospital, Pribyl specializes in orthopedic pet surgery.
      He has been in clinical practice since 1980 and opened Gentle Doctor in 1986. Shortly after it was relocated to its current South Rainbow Boulevard location, the facility received a national award for design by Veterinary Economics Magazine and the highest accreditation possible from the American Animal Hospital Association.
      Pribyl was cited by many voters for his "technical knowledge and cutting-edge approach to working with animals."
      Dr. Jacky "Jay" Holt, who placed fifth, began work at Animal Kindness Veterinary Hospital in 1991, shortly after his graduation from Louisiana State University's veterinary college. His practice is small animal medicine and surgery, with special interest in exotic pets.
      As a hobby, he breeds and raises snakes.