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 son on their horse ranch in Pennsylvania.

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.

Jessica Matelski, Veterinary Technician & Office Manager

Jessica was born in Phoenix, Arizona. After high school, Jessica received her Veterinary Assistant Certification from Estrella Mountain Community College. She then went on to attend The Pima Medical Institute and graduated as a Veterinary Technician in 2015 and joined our team that same year. Jessica has two dogs, Dozer and Marshall Moo Cow. In her free time away from the clinic she enjoys her time with her husband, Justin and their two daughters, June and Jayne.

Hannah Banks, Head Veterinary Technician

Coming Soon...

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.

Merle Gaskins, Veterinary Technician

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 joined our team in March 2018 and brings her passion for working with both small and large animals. 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.

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.

Megan Bentley, 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 in active duty with the United States Marine Corp. She couldn't wait to get back into the veterinary field pursuing her true passion, caring for animals. She has her Veterinary Assistant Level 2 accreditation and 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.

Erica Preffer, Certified Veterinary Technician

Coming Soon....

Savannah Print, Veterinary Technician

Coming Soon...

Angela Ayala, Lead Veterinary Assistant

Angela was born in Texas and moved to Arizona when she was 6 years old. In 2020, she not only joined our team but she graduated from Veterinary Assistant Program at The East Valley Institute of Technology. She is currently enrolled at Arizona State University majoring in Pre-Med. In her free time, she enjoys reading and having movie nights with her family. Her friends, family and pets play a big role in Angela's heart. Her absolute favorite things are Capri suns and Owls.

Candice Kenyon, Veterinary Assistant

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.

Kyra Diop, Veterinary Assistant

Kyra is currently a senior at Maricopa High School and is also in her second year at Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology working towards her Veterinary Assistant Degree. She plans on attending Central Arizona College after graduation. She began working with us in June of 2020. When Kyra isn't working hard for us or in school she enjoys relaxing with her four dogs.

Mary Williams, Veterinary Assistant

Mary is also a Senior at Maricopa High School and attending the Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology working towards her Veterinary Assistant Degree. She started working with us in June of 2020. After high school, she plans on furthering her education at Central Arizona College and Arizona State University. In Mary's free time she enjoys playing tennis and hanging out with her friends!