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.

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.

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

Erica was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. She always had a need to help animals and no matter what other job she obtained she was always drawn to helping animals whether through volunteering, fundraising, or even dog sitting. She attended The Vet Tech Institute and received her CVT in 2017 after passing both the national and state board exams. Erica has several animals of her own. She has 3 dogs, Leo, Isis, and Flora, one cat, named Odin, a guinea pig, named Rupert and a chinchilla name Tequila. Erica enjoys camping, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, and running in races. She also loves to go to concerts and cheering on her Pittsburgh sports teams!

Angela Ayala, Veterinary Technician

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 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.

Kyra Diop, Veterinary Technician

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 Technician

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!

Daisey Lopez, Certified Veterinary Technician

Daisey started out with us in 2016 as a veterinary assistant but later moved to Tucson where she graduated from the Veterinary Technician Program at Pima Community College in 2019. She passed her state and national exams and became a Certified Veterinary Technician in 2020. After having her daughter, Isabella, Daisey decided to further her education and is currently working towards becoming a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Daisey spends all of her free time with her family, working on her Etsy shop and hanging out with her pets.