Meet Our Team
Dr. Kelly Larson
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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.
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Sylvia Shidemantle, CVT & Practice Manager
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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.
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Franci Rohde, Office Manager & Client Services Representative
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Franci came to us in February 2017 from Gillette, Wyoming. Her love for animals is what led her to work in the veterinary field. She has been working in veterinary medicine since 1997. Franci started her journey as a kennel technician and worked her way up to becoming a veterinary technician. She has been one of our client service representatives for over 9 years and is now our office manager.
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 spending time with her family. She loves to go camping up in the White Mountain area, and she also enjoys various avenues of crafting. She has 2 dogs, Latte and Willow, and 1 cat named Allee. You can sometimes catch Willow greeting clients and pets in the clinic from her perch at the front desk. |
Hannah Banks, Client Services Representative
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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 pet's 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. |
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Megan Bentley, Digital Coordinator & Veterinary Technician
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Megan joined our team as a Veterinary Technician in September 2021 and brings 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
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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. |
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Merle Gaskins, CVT
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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 Bachelor's Degree in Veterinary Science. She joined our team in March 2018 and became our office manager in 2024. She graduated from Penn Foster with her Associate's Degree in Veterinary Technology in 2025. She passed the VTNE in September 2025 and the CVT State Exam, making her a Certified Veterinary Technician. She is very intelligent, and her years of experience show in her work here at Maricopa Animal Hospital.
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. |
Ashlynn Tonkin, Veterinary Technician
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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 graduated in October 2025 from Ashworth Community College with her Associate's Degree in Veterinary Technology. 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. |
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Candis Kenyon, Veterinary Technician
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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. |
Bridgett Meyer, Veterinary Technician
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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 seemed 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 spend time with her family. She is also very into the spooky season! |
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Lorena Nash, Veterinary Technician
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Lorie Nash is from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and she attended Dona Ana Community College. She has two dogs, two cats, a snake, fish, and aquatic frogs. Lorie’s future goals within the veterinary field would be to become a registered veterinary technician while stepping into a management role and growing her career within the profession she loves so much. Lorie also already has many accomplishments within the veterinary field, as she has worked in this career for over 8 years. She has worked as a surgical assistant, in anesthesia monitoring, dentistry, inventory management, staff scheduling, and team training within other clinics. She chose to become a veterinary technician to be a voice and advocate for patients who could not speak for themselves while also educating and supporting pet owners.
When Lorie is not at the clinic, she enjoys spending time with her family and caring for her animals and growing collection of plants. Some interesting facts about Lorie are that she has two children at home: a daughter and a son. She is happily married to her best friend. She also has blue hair, but her favorite color is green. Her favorite drink is Red Bull, and her favorite holiday is Halloween. Her favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins, and her favorite baseball team is the Arizona Diamondbacks! She is a great addition to the Maricopa Animal Hospital Team. |
Grace Hamrick, Veterinary Assistant
Grace has wanted to work in the veterinary field since she was a little girl. She has a strong love for animals and has always felt led to pursue a career in the field. She was born and raised in Arizona. Grace said she has always lived in Maricopa, and the city will always hold a special place in her heart. She has two brothers and one sister, all of whom were born in Arizona as well. Her parents, however, are not originally from Arizona. Her father is from Big Springs, Texas, and her mother is from Boston, Massachusetts.
She currently has no pets at home, but her pet Oakley passed away not too long ago. He was a cockapoo and had a unique personality. He would always wait by the door for her to get home. Those kinds of pets are hard to forget!
When she is not at work, she loves baking, shopping, traveling, hiking, and going to the beach. While in high school, she participated in track, flag football, and played soccer for over 7 years.
Veronica Key, Veterinary Assistant
Biography coming soon!
Emily Ascencio, Veterinary Assistant
Biography coming soon!
