Meet Our Doctors
Our Staff -
Sarah Hummel, DVM.
“I grew up at the base of the Mission Mountains in St. Ignatius Montana surrounded by a menagerie of animals. It was an exciting childhood based in a wonderland of pine trees and beautiful, dark Montana dirt. My mother was always practicing veterinary medicine herself on our critters as we lived a quite modest life and she had to be self-sufficient. I guess that is where I got my first taste of it as well as the grit that is often required of my and my chosen profession.
I started my college education in Montana as a bit of an aimless wanderer jumping from criminology to pre-vet to geology. I touched my toes in veterinary medicine and then pulled them out again with the thought of the time and monetary commitment involved. In 2006 I got my first puppy - a St. Bernard who was a mess, medically speaking. He had a very bad case of mange which took about a year to resolve in which time I truly became captivated by the veterinary field.
In true aimless wanderer fashion, I then started working in the veterinary field as an assistant with intentions of becoming a technician but I quickly realized that I wanted and needed to go to veterinary school. I wanted to know and understand the “Whys” of everything I was doing as a technician. I had the unique experience of working in the veterinary field for almost a decade as an assistant, technician and equine emergency technician prior to becoming a veterinarian.
A week before leaving Winnemucca for vet school with no real intention of coming back, I met my now-husband Erich Hummel. He was coerced into dancing with me at the Superior Livestock Dinner in Winnemucca and the rest is history. He is the love of my life and we have two beautiful children, Elias (3) and Alice (2). They are about as wild as wild can be and I am often attempting to work with them in the forefront “helping” me out. When they are not with me they are out on the ranch running wild. Elias loves helping dad and “fixing” things. He is truly a wonder in his ability to figure things out. This characteristic also makes him very much a menace. Alice is my horse lover. I am not allowed to check mares without her assistance and she is truly concerned when I am doctoring sick “neigh neighs.”
I love my life, it is very full in all aspects. God has truly blessed me in this journey and He had a gentle hand in guiding me to exactly where I am supposed to be. I enjoy serving the Winnemucca community and I am happy to be raising my family in such a place.” - Sarah Hummel
“Born and raised in the beautiful high desert of rural northern Nevada, I spent my childhood working on my parents’ ranch in McDermitt, where I developed deep roots in the agriculture industry. My upbringing on the ranch fostered my love of caring for animals and my interest in veterinary medicine. I will forever cherish the opportunities I had as a child to care for the animals on our ranch. Due to my strong love for animals, medicine, and the people in agriculture, I decided I wanted to give back to the agriculture industry in my own unique way; I wanted to become a veterinarian.
I attended undergraduate school in southern Utah and received a bachelor’s degree in Biology. While completing my undergraduate studies, I spent my free time working at an equine racetrack as a technician for the track veterinarian while being a full-time student. Here, I developed an interest in equine sports medicine, which has since become my favorite part of veterinary medicine. After finishing my undergraduate studies, I was accepted to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Only a month before heading off to vet school, I met my now-husband, Victor Ugalde, who grew up on his family’s ranch just over the mountain from me. I always knew that I wanted to return to northern Nevada to serve the community that raised me, and marrying Victor was a good excuse to do just that!
During the summers of my didactic years of veterinary school, I spent my free time bouncing down the rural, dusty roads of Nevada with Dr. Sarah Hummel. The drive to anywhere in Nevada is a long one; this is when the plan to team up and provide veterinary care to Winnemucca and surrounding areas first began. I am so excited to be back in the place I grew up, doing what I love for the community that I am so fond of!” - Staheli Ugalde
