A hill country native, Dr. Lauren Goad grew up here in Marble Falls surrounded by animals of all kinds including a blind whitetail doe she bottle-raised and a ringtail cat orphan named Pickles. These experiences primed her interest in animal care and her career choice was decided after she began working for a local veterinarian as a young teenager.

Coming from an Aggie family, she graduated with Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science in 2010 and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2013, both from Texas A&M. After graduation Dr. Goad worked as a veterinarian in the small island community of San Pedro, Belize for several months before returning home and accepting an associate position in Burnet, Tx for several years. Within this time she also embraced her love of surgery and taught part-time at her alma mater in the General Surgery department. Dr. Goad joined the HLVC family in October 2020. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine, but particularly large animal medicine and soft tissue surgery. When not at the clinic Dr. Goad enjoys beekeeping, taking care of her personal animals at home, and doing things outdoors such as camping and hiking with her husband and their two wonderful children