Our Team

Meet Our Team

Dr. Kelly Larson

Dr. Kelly Larson was born and raised in Rexford, Kansas. She is a 2002 graduate of Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After finishing vet school, Dr. Larson moved to Arizona where she did her internship at Arizona Equine Medical and Surgical Centre. She purchased Maricopa Animal Hospital in 2007. When Dr. Larson isn't working hard to care for the pets in our community, she enjoys camping and spending time with her family and all of their pets.

Sylvia Shidemantle, CVT & Practice Manager

Sylvia was born and raised on a dairy farm in Townville, Pennsylvania. As a young girl, she participated in 4H, showing multiple horses that were raised and trained on their family farm. It was working on the farm daily that she grew to love animals and always knew that she wanted to work in the veterinary field. Sylvia graduated from The Vet Tech Institute in Pittsburgh in 2012. She joined our team as a Certified Veterinary Technician and Practice Manager in the summer of 2014. In her free time, she enjoys barrel racing, spending time with her husband, daughter and two sons on their horse ranch in Pennsylvania.

Merle Gaskins, CVT & Office Manager

Merle was born and raised in Maricopa, Arizona. She has been working in the veterinary field since 2010. In 2012, she graduated from the University of Arizona with her Bachelors Degree in Veterinary Science. She is currently working towards her veterinary technician certification. She joined our team in March 2018 and became our office manager in 2024. In her downtime, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Tyler and their two sons. She also loves to read, draw and take her horse on trail rides.

Franci Rohde, Client Services Representative

Franci came to us in February 2017 from Gillette, Wyoming. Her love for animals is what lead her to working in the veterinary field in 1997. Franci started her journey as a kennel technician and worked her way up to becoming a veterinary technician. She moved to Maricopa in December 2016, with her husband, Danny and their 2 children, Anthony and Aimee. When Franci isn't helping the pets here in Maricopa, she enjoys watching her kids go karting and spending time with her family, 2 dogs, Darby & Latte, and her cats, Ashes, Allee and Boots.

Hannah Banks, Client Services Representative

Hannah was born and raised in Arizona. She attended Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology where she became a Certified Veterinary Assistant. Hannah started with us as a veterinary technician in 2017 and was with us until she moved to Colorado in 2019. She moved back with her family in June 2022 and has been with us since! Hannah has a passion for customer service, she knows that having to take your pet to the vet can be stressful and feels it is very important for clients to understand their pets care as best as possible. She knows how much our clients' pets mean to them, and they mean just as much to her! In her free time, she loves to spend time with her son, husband and their 2 dogs.

Megan Bentley, Digital Coordinator & Veterinary Technician

Megan joined our team as a Veterinary Technician in September 2021 and bring lots of positive energy and fun to our team!! She has been in the veterinary field on and off for about 15 years now. Megan recently moved back to the United States from Okinawa, Japan where she lived for 3 years while her husband was stationed there with the United States Marine Corps. She couldn't wait to get back into the veterinary field pursuing her true passion, caring for animals. She has recently registered with Penn Foster to work towards obtaining her Certified Veterinary Technician Degree and License. In her time away from the clinic, Megan enjoys spending time with her family.

Mandi Larca, Veterinary Technician

Mandi is an Arizona native and one of the most familiar faces at our clinic. She has been with the clinic from the very beginning when Dr. Larson purchased it in 2007. She received her Veterinary Assistant Degree from Long Technical College in Glendale, AZ and has been working with us ever since as one of our veterinary technicians. She enjoys working with all of our clients educating them and helping keep their pets healthy. Mandi loves hiking with her two dogs, Pandora and Draco. She also enjoys spending her days off with her niece, Victoria and nephew, Nicholas.

Sydnie Lovlin, Veterinary Technician

Sydnie was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico and moved to Maricopa in 2011 with her family. She graduated from the CAVIT Veterinary Assistance Program in May of 2016 and started working with us in April 2017. She has since worked her way up to a veterinary technician. When she's not assisting the doctors, she loves reading, traveling, and spending time with her family, her kitties, George and Percy, and her dogs, Coco, Alex, and Sequoia.

Ashlynn Tonkin, Veterinary Technician

Ashlynn comes from a military family, her father is a United States Air Force veteran. She was born in RAF Lakenheath, UK. Since then she has lived in several states, including, California, Texas, Utah and now Arizona. She started assisting our doctors and technicians in November 2018. Through her hard work she has become a vet tech and is currently working towards her Veterinary Technician degree through Ashworth Community College. Ashlynn has two dogs, Banjo and Osak, two rabbits, Bundles and Saphira and a bearded dragon. In her free time she enjoys writing fictional stories and her hope is to have one of her stories published one day.

Candis Kenyon, Veterinary Technician

An Arizona native, Candis, was born in Mesa and moved to Maricopa in 2013. She graduated in May 2020 from Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology after completing the Veterinary Assistant Program. She began working with us in July 2020. Candis has 3 dogs, Minnie, Stanley and Zoey and 2 cats Max and Russel. In her free time, she enjoys doing make up and spending time with her pets, friends and family.

Brianna Melendez, Veterinary Technician

Brianna wanted to work in the animal industry since she was just a child, like most people within the veterinary field. She studied veterinary assisting at Carrington College. Brianna was born in Westchester, New York but moved to Arizona when she was 3. She did however just move to Maricopa a few months ago. She currently has a dog named Willow and a ferret named Skud. When Brianna is not at work she loves to read, watch horror movies and loves photography!

Bridgette Meyer, Veterinary Assistant

Bridgette was raised in California and went to high school in Temecula, CA. She then lived in North Carolina for a few years. Bridgette and her family moved to Maricopa to be closer to her mom and sister. Brigette is married and has one little girl. She has always had a passion for animals and as a pet owner has always seems to find the ones in need of the most love with all their health issues. Currently Bridgette has 2 dogs and 2 cats at home. In her free time Bridgette loves to play video games and spending time with her family. She is also very into the spooky season!

Amaya Guzman, Veterinary Assistant

Amaya just recently joined our team as a veterinary assistant. She started her externship with us in October 2024 for the Veterinary Assistant program through Pima Medical Institute. Once her externship was complete, she applied for a permanent position as a Veterinary Assistant in December 2024. Amaya is currently taking classes, working towards becoming a certified Veterinary Technician. Amaya has always had a huge love and compassion for animals. As a little girl, she always wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. So, it is no surprise that she is currently working in a veterinary clinic. Amaya was born in Chandler, Arizona. Her family moved to Maricopa in 2009. She is the youngest child in the family and has two sisters and one brother. Amaya currently has two dogs named Caine and Icy. She also has three cats named Booboos, Moon, and Apollo. Do you know what a panther chameleon is? Amaya has one named Echo! When not in the clinic, Amaya loves to spend time with her family and pets. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs, taking them for long walks.