Veterinarian comes home to Castle Pines
The Hilliard family (left to right): Finnian, Maura Ambron, Noah, Aurea and Sean Hilliard. Ambron is a veterinarian at Castle Pines Animal Care and has a particular interest in gerontology and helping families care for their pets as they get older.
A dedicated and caring veterinarian at the Animal Care Center of Castle Pines (ACC), Dr. Maura Ambron and her family recently became residents of the community. Ambron practiced medicine in nearby
Colorado towns for years but felt drawn to Castle Pines for many reasons. In addition to wanting to live near her job and wanting a small-town feel, Ambron shared, “I feel like we were meant to live here and raise our family here. It just feels like the coziest place on earth.”
The family includes Ambron’s husband, Sean Hilliard, children Finnian, Noah and Aurea, and Sean’s mother Mary Anne; plus, a golden doodle and two Ragdoll cats. Ambron is hoping to get back into fishkeeping too.
The road to becoming a veterinarian started with an interest in anthropology and paleontology. Ambron said she grew up watching the Indiana Jones movies and thought it would be exciting to travel the world, learn about history, meet people and seek treasure; therefore, she first pursued anthropology.
The reality, Ambron explained, “was being in the jungle for long periods of time studying by yourself. I realized I wanted to do something with animals and have animals in my life, but also have the people component, too.”
Each step Ambron took connected her love of medicine with animals and their families. Her approach to medicine is to help the whole family.
At work, Ambron balances her time
with regular check-up appointments and surgeries, and she has a special interest in helping families through the care of older animals. She is currently working on a certification in gerontology, and explained that there is a myriad of options available as pets get older. Ambron particularly enjoys the collaboration at ACC. “We try to bridge the gap between traditional medicine and integrative medicine,” she said.
Ambron attended the Royal Veterinary College in England, ranked the number one veterinary school in the world, after obtaining degrees in biology from CU Denver and in primatology from CU Boulder. Deciding to first practice inPennsylvania to be near family turned out to be a fortuitous decision. Ambron met Sean through a relative who introduced them.
As Ambron described the stunning sunsets she takes in each evening from her Castle Pines backyard, she emphasized the gratitude she feels for the people in her
life that contributed to where she is today. She admitted that balancing her very full schedule and dealing with life and death each day can be challenging. “I didn’t realize the sunsets here are so inspiring and renewing and it makes all the worries of this life kind of melt no matter what the day brings,” Ambron exclaimed.
