About
For more than a quarter century, The Sams Clinic has led the advancement of modern veterinary orthopedics, sports medicine, and minimally invasive care for family pets, canine athletes, and working dogs.
History
Dr. Andrew Sams founded The Sams Clinic for Orthopaedics and Arthroscopy in 1999 after serving as Chief of Orthopedics and Neurosurgery at the Animal Medical Center in New York, where he established one of the profession’s first canine arthroscopy programs.
In 2004, Dr. Sams transformed the practice into The Sams Clinic as it is known today: an 8,500-square-foot integrated orthopedic center in Mill Valley, California, dedicated entirely to musculoskeletal care across orthopedic surgery, minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment, sports medicine, orthobiologic therapy, and coordinated recovery.
Today, The Sams Clinic brings together nationally recognized specialists and skilled clinical teams across the full spectrum of orthopedic need, from everyday mobility concerns to complex surgical and return-to-performance challenges.
"I’ve always found orthopedics rewarding: the technology, the physics, the science behind it. But in the end, the best reward is seeing patients get back to doing what they love, with the people who love them."
Andrew Sams, DVM, MS, DACVS
Founder
Our Specialists
Andrew Sams, DVM, MS, DACVS
Founder & Medical Director
Orthopedic Surgery & Arthroscopy
Sherman Canapp, DVM, MS, CCRT, DACVS, DACVSMR
Orthopedic Surgery & Arthroscopy
Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation
Dana Whitlock, DVM, MS, CCRP, CVA, DACVSMR
Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation
The Sams Clinic Approach
Dr. Andrew Sams founded The Sams Clinic on a simple belief: advanced medicine and kindness belong together. This belief shapes how we care for pets and the families who love them.
Advanced Diagnostics & Procedures
As a full-spectrum orthopedic and sports medicine center, The Sams Clinic brings advanced diagnosis, treatment, and recovery planning together in one coordinated experience.
Personalized Support & Coordination
Complex orthopedic care is easier to navigate with a team that stays close to the case, coordinates the details, and supports you through consultation, treatment, and recovery.
Long-Term Partners in Care
Questions don’t always end when treatment does. Whether weeks, months, or years later, you’ll have a team that knows your pet, your goals, and your pet’s orthopedic history.
Research, Innovation & Leadership
For decades, our specialists have advanced the standards, techniques, and technologies shaping modern veterinary orthopedics, arthroscopy, sports medicine, and orthobiologic therapies.
Clinical Research
Our specialists have secured and managed more than $1 million in grants and sponsored research for laboratory, clinical, and outcomes studies of veterinary orthopedic disease, treatment, and recovery.
- Research partners: Academic, nonprofit, clinical, and industry collaborators have included Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, Auburn University, Kansas State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Missouri, the University of Florida, Colorado State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Tennessee, the University of Maryland, the AKC Canine Health Foundation, and companies developing therapeutics, surgical technologies, and regenerative-medicine products.
- Cartilage, arthritis & joint preservation: Biological joint resurfacing, tissue engineering, cartilage-matrix research, biomarkers, osteoarthritis, joint inflammation, and joint-protective treatments.
- Regenerative treatment research: Platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, cellular therapies, bioscaffolds, injectable joint materials, and biologic treatment of joint, tendon, and ligament disease.
- Sports injury, imaging & diagnosis: Research involving shoulder, tendon, ligament, muscle, carpal, nerve, and other orthopedic injuries, together with comparative musculoskeletal ultrasound, MRI, arthroscopy, needle-scope, and diagnostic-block studies.
- Surgery, recovery & functional outcomes: Orthopedic biomechanics, TPLO, fixation, reconstruction, bone healing, implant outcomes, gait and loading assessment, rehabilitation, and return to daily activity, sport, and work.
Technology Development
Our specialists have helped design, co-develop, validate, and clinically evaluate technologies used in veterinary orthopedics, arthroscopy, sports medicine, orthobiologics, rehabilitation, and objective outcomes assessment.
- Arthroscopy, imaging & minimally invasive systems: Canine-specific arthroscopy and needle-scope systems, musculoskeletal ultrasound, integrated imaging, and image-guided care.
- Orthopedic implants & repair systems: TPLO plates, locking fixation systems, tendon-repair constructs, prosthetic-ligament stabilization, and hip and elbow reconstruction technologies.
- Regenerative & joint-restoration technologies: Platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, adipose-derived cellular preparations, bioscaffolds, growth-factor combinations, injectable joint materials, and bone-graft substitutes.
- Functional assessment, rehabilitation & recovery technologies: Force, pressure, stance, and gait systems; orthopedic bracing and external limb prostheses; and physical-treatment devices for measuring and supporting mobility and recovery.
- Digital clinical-support & training systems: Remote diagnostic review, procedural guidance, case communication, clinical-data exchange, patient follow-up, and professional education.
Scientific Publications
Our specialists have authored or coauthored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, scientific abstracts, conference proceedings, and professional publications across veterinary orthopedics, sports medicine, regenerative medicine, rehabilitation, and related biomedical fields, including:
- Peer-reviewed clinical & biomedical research: Orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal imaging, biomechanics, rehabilitation, functional recovery, muscle physiology, and comparative biomedical science.
- Reference books, chapters & academic works: Canine sports medicine, orthopedic diagnosis and treatment, regenerative medicine, rehabilitation, surgical complications, and orthopedic devices.
- Scientific abstracts & conference proceedings: Original findings presented to surgical, orthopedic, sports-medicine, rehabilitation, and regenerative-medicine audiences.
- Professional & public education: Clinical guidance for veterinarians, performance-dog communities, and pet owners.
Clinical Innovation
Beginning with one of the profession’s early canine arthroscopy programs, our specialists have translated research and technology into more precise approaches to orthopedic diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.
- Arthroscopy & minimally invasive treatment: Arthroscopic, needle-scope, and endoscopically assisted approaches for joint assessment, cartilage treatment, ligament procedures, and other orthopedic conditions.
- Advanced musculoskeletal diagnosis: Combined musculoskeletal ultrasound, MRI, arthroscopy, needle-scope evaluation, diagnostic blocks, and image-guided procedures to define complex sources of lameness and injury.
- Orthopedic surgery & reconstruction: Advanced surgical planning and treatment for fracture fixation, TPLO, tendon and ligament repair, joint stabilization, and hip and elbow reconstruction.
- Regenerative & joint-preservation care: Clinical application of platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, cellular therapies, bioscaffolds, injectable joint treatments, and other approaches to joint, tendon, and ligament disease.
- Objective recovery & return to activity: Gait, loading, range-of-motion, mobility, and sport-specific assessment integrated with rehabilitation, bracing, external support, and return-to-activity planning.
Veterinary Education
- Specialty training & mentorship: More than 70 residents, fellows, and interns mentored through clinical, procedural, and research training in specialty departments and referral practices, together with veterinary students, specialty candidates, practicing veterinarians, and veterinary technicians.
- Curriculum & program development: Recurring courses, academies, clinical rotations, and structured training programs in orthopedic surgery, arthroscopy, minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment, sports medicine, diagnostic imaging, orthobiologics, rehabilitation, and functional assessment.
- Veterinary arthroscopy education: Helped develop and teach the profession’s first veterinary arthroscopy course at the 1996 American College of Veterinary Surgeons meeting, followed by national and international instruction in arthroscopy, needle-scope, and image-guided procedures.
- Hands-on procedural education: Wet laboratories, procedural instruction, and clinical proctoring in arthroscopy, needle-scope techniques, musculoskeletal ultrasound, image-guided intervention, orthobiologic preparation and delivery, orthopedic devices, gait assessment, rehabilitation, and sports-medicine examination.
- National & international professional education: Invited lectures, keynote presentations, workshops, scientific sessions, specialty symposia, and multiday programs for veterinary professionals in the United States and internationally.
- Digital, case-based & community education: Instructional video, webinars, virtual workshops, live case discussions, remote procedural guidance, and applied education for agility, sporting, service, police, search-and-rescue, and other working-dog communities.
Professional Leadership
- Specialty-practice, clinical-program & national-service leadership: Founded and led dedicated orthopedic, arthroscopy, sports-medicine, rehabilitation, and regenerative-medicine programs, together with multisite specialty services and national clinical programs integrating diagnosis, surgery, minimally invasive care, recovery, and return-to-function planning.
- Professional organizations & specialty colleges: Leadership in the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians and the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, including founding, presidential, committee, and program responsibilities.
- Specialty standards & scientific service: Direction of scientific sessions, specialty symposia, and continuing-education programs; contribution to residency, credentialing, and specialty-training standards; manuscript and editorial review; and scientific grant evaluation.
- Health-system, research & industry leadership: Board of Trustees service at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, together with advisory and collaborative work with universities, researchers, medical-device developers, and veterinary-health organizations on clinical programs, research, technology, and education.
- Working-dog, public-service & international initiatives: Leadership supporting working-dog organizations, animal-welfare programs, wildlife and zoological care, and veterinary education in regions with limited specialty resources.
Careers for Specialists & Technicians
Apply Now!
If you are committed to medical excellence, continuous growth, and helping your teammates succeed, we’d love to hear from you.
What You'll Gain
Opportunities to practice and work at the top of your capability. Work alongside specialists who have led the advancement of modern veterinary orthopedics and sports medicine, with a team invested in your advancement.
What You'll Bring
Your expertise and aspirations. We look for people who take pride in high standards, care about their teammates, and understand that excellent patient care depends on skill, judgment, kindness, and accountability.
A Note From Dr. Sams
All of us who choose veterinary medicine as a profession share something very special: we’ve dedicated our lives to the care and well-being of animals.
The work we do takes passion, skill, patience, and compassion.
Our team is small, specialized, and committed to the highest standards of our profession. The work we do requires true teamwork, mutual support, and a daily commitment to help each other succeed.
If you share our values and are seeking the next step in your career, we’d love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sams
Patient Stories
Levy
Agility
My 6-year-old AKC FCI World Agility Team Border Collie and Silver Medalist, Leverage “Levy,” had a very complicated and extensive carpus and possible shoulder injury which required very special treatment. For several weeks I was haunted with despair and merely hoped she could just run pain- and limp-free again. Little did I know, Dr. Canapp and his team would bring my remarkable girl back to doing what she loves — agility, herding, frisbee and swimming.
Check
Agility
“My 6-year-old competition agility Border Collie, “Check,” had a medial shoulder instability (MSI) injury that required radiofrequency treatment. At that same time, she also had a severely strained iliopsoas. My dog recovered completely and went on to finish her Master Agility Championship title, running over 7 yards per second.”
Tango
Agility
“About three months after Tango placed 4th in the USDAA Cynosport Steeplechase, he developed an intermittent, slight limp in his front leg. We went to veterinarians and a specialist, but no one could tell me exactly what was wrong, even after an MRI, physical therapy, laser therapy, Adequan and Metacam. On a former client’s suggestion, we flew from Seattle to see Dr. Canapp. I got an answer right away—Tango was diagnosed with bilateral medial shoulder syndrome.”
Speedoggie
Various
Our dogs do it all. Canapp keeps them running!