Dr. Laura Downie

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Practice Owner


Veterinary Specific Credentials: Doctor of Veterinary DVM, graduated in 2003, Certified in abdominal ultrasound, Fear-free certified, USDA-accredited, Member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, Member of the Shelter medicine veterinarians, Serves as the Vice-President on the Board of The Humane Society of the South Platte Valley, Medicine/Practice Owner since 2010

Dr. Downie is a proud Colorado native and grew up right here in the Lakewood area. Her unquenchable love of animals began at a very young age and, if you were to speak with Dr. Downie’s mom, you would inevitably discover such fun trivia as the fact that Dr. Downie once had approximately 30 aquariums in her room full of guinea pigs and mice (for her entrepreneurial, animal breeding pursuits of course!).

To continue her love of animal work, Dr. Downie attended Colorado State University School of Veterinary Medicine graduating with her DVM in 2003. Upon graduation, she did a small animal internship at Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey and then transitioned to the Upper West Side of New York City where she was able to practice veterinary care at Westside Veterinary Center. While practicing at Westside, she began also taking on relief shifts for a feline-only practice in Brooklyn.

In 2009 after the birth of her daughter, Dr. Downie was thrilled to move back to her home state of Colorado! Shortly thereafter, Dr. Downie was bestowed the great honor of being The Humane Society of the South Platte Valley’s first ever on-staff veterinarian.

She designed their spay-neuter clinic and developed protocols spending much of her time performing surgeries and assessing shelter animals. Dr. Downie loved being such a vital part of the welfare of the shelter animals, but eventually, she began missing the world of private practice. During this time in her life, Dr. Downie began to feel torn between pursuing shelter medicine or private practice long-term. Just as she was pondering this conundrum, happenstance brought her to Redstone as a relief veterinarian.

Through conversation, it came out that the now former owner of Redstone was not only retiring but was also looking for an enterprising, young veterinarian to take over the practice. After much deliberation, Dr. Downie purchased the practice and was finally able to combine her love of private practice and shelter medicine through the relationship she forged between The Humane Society of the South Platte Valley. We are now able to see all of their animals at a reduced cost and we provide a complimentary wellness exam for all of their new adoptions!

It has been a wonderful relationship that provides all of us here at Redstone a strong sense of well-being and helps us to feel like contributing members of our community. Some of Dr. Downie’s specialized veterinary interests include an interest in surgery, complicated internal medicine cases, chronic ear disease cases, and allergies. Recently, our practice has become fear-free certified and making the veterinary experience as fear-free as possible for our patients (and owners!) has become a passion for all of us here at Redstone. Dr. Downie loves working with our employees here at the practice, they are a very special group.

The reasons why Dr. Downie loves working at Redstone are because, as a practice owner, she is able to strive towards the creation of a practice that fosters a positive work culture, performs excellent medicine for the fairest price possible, and that has a connection with a local high-quality shelter; doing what it can to support the shelter and the community! 8 years into practice ownership, she still looks forward to coming to work and she has a genuine love for her employees, her clients, and her patients. Dr. Downie feels she is extremely lucky to be able to do what she does and she considers it an honor to have this practice!

The values that drive Dr. Downie are a heart for servant leadership, her sense of loyalty and her endless optimism!

When she is not working, Dr. Downie obviously loves to spend time with her animals – a chocolate lab, a lab mix, 2 rescue Chihuahuas, and 1 cat! In her free time, she really enjoys tennis (both playing and watching!) with this love stemming from the fact that she met her husband met on the tennis court!

She also loves to ski and is very actively involved in her church. Her kids participate in several sports (her daughter participates in competitive basketball and her son is currently very into flag football) which keeps Dr. Downie busy anytime she isn’t working at Redstone. She is also very proud to serve as the Vice President on the board of the Humane Society of the South Platte Valley!

Dr. Downie is typically available to see appointments on the following days:

Monday Mornings, Tuesday Mornings and Early Afternoons, Thursday Afternoons and Evenings, Friday Mornings and the Occasional Saturday

Dr. Downie also typically acts as our surgery doctor on Mondays and some Fridays

Favorite Quote: “Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains un-awakened” – Anatole France