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Our caring and compassionate veterinary care team!

Meet the Veterinarians & Team of Kimball Animal Hospital in Clawson! We’re pleased to provide exceptional vet care for your pets! Please call us at 248-288-1100 to speak to one of our caring veterinary staff members!

Jason Rivas (He/Him), DVM

Veterinarian & Owner

Dr. Jason Rivas graduated from the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. A few years after graduation, he started his own business as a relief veterinarian. He performed relief at Kimball Animal Hospital first in 2008, became a full-time associate in 2013, purchased the practice in 2014, and doubled the hospital size with an expansion in 2018.

He enjoys practicing general veterinary medicine and surgery; and creating fun, educational videos. In his spare time, he enjoys reading books, watching movies, family tree research, and the occasional video game. Dr. Rivas lives in Ferndale with his wife, Cassandra; their son Theodore; dog- Frankie-Loo; and cats- Charlie and Hugo.

Laura Witherell (She/Her), DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Laura Witherell graduated from St. George’s University in 2009. She has a special interest in general medicine and end of life care. In her spare time she enjoys reading, walking her dog, and cross stitch. She lives in Royal Oak with her 2 dogs and cat.

Katie Hillman (She/Her), DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Katie Hillman graduated from Ontario Veterinary College in 2024, and has been working in the veterinary field since 2017. If she had to pick favorites, her special interests would be dentistry and exotic animal/pocket pet medicine. Her free time is spent enjoying the beautiful outdoors with her adventure loving husband Jeff, and their side-kick pups Ollie and Buster!

Kimberly Cox (She/Her), DVM

Veterinarian

Bio coming soon!

Abby Zasadny (She/Her) LVT, BHSA

Practice Manager

Abby has been a Licensed Veterinary Technician for over 14 years and completed her bachelor’s degree in Health Service Administration from Baker College in 2013. Abby was part of the Kimball Animal Hospital team years back as a technician, and has now re-joined the team as their Practice Manager. She has experience in preventive and emergency veterinary care, teaching, medical diagnostic equipment support, and management.

Abby lives at home with her husband Matt and their son Oliver. They are blessed with a house full of critters including their 15 year old Chihuahua “Stoli”, 9 year old Chihuahua/Fox Terrier “Jalapeno”, 4 year old Chihuahua/Papillion “Sake”, 1 year old Pitbull/Shih Tzu “Nelson”, 16 year old cat “Jager” and Leopard Geckos “Jack & Coke”. In her free time, Abby enjoys spending time with friends and family. Abby’s future goal is to continue to make Kimball Animal Hospital feel like home to staff, clients, and their fur kids.

Lisa (She/Her)

Office Administrator/Personnel Manager

Lisa has been at Kimball Animal Hospital since December of 2018. She has over 10 years of experience working in the customer service field. She has 2 Associate Degrees in General Business and Business Management.

She lives with her charmingly chaotic fur babies: Ghost, a Siberian Husky who thinks he’s the boss, and two cats — Luna Petunia and Arthas — who know they actually run the house. In her free time, she loves going concerts, going to the movies, dominating in games, listening to one too many true crime podcasts, sneaking away up north, and laughing her way through summer kayaking escapades with friends.

Kat (She/Her)

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Kat is a 2020 Baker College graduate in Veterinary Technology. Kat started as an assistant at Kimball in July of 2019. Kat currently has one rescue cat named Socks, and she is excited to help care for many more.

Tamra (She/Her)

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Tamra Jane is a 2011 graduate from Wayne County Community College’s veterinary technician program, and taught in the same program until it was sadly closed down. Tamra is happily married, with 3 two legged children, and 2 four legged fur kids. In her spare time, she enjoys camping and spending time with her family.

Kelli (She/Her)

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Kelli graduated from the Veterinary Technician Program at Macomb Community College in 2010. In addition to her LVT credentials, she also has Associates degrees in Applied Science and General Studies. Kelli joined the Kimball team in April of 2020, during the COVID 19 pandemic. When she is not working, Kelli enjoys spending time with her family. Interests and hobbies include figure skating, dancing, and traveling.

Heather (She/Her)

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Heather is a born and raised Michigander that has been practicing since 2012. She has practiced in Florida, Utah, and Michigan and has also interned at Tampa’s Lowery Park Zoo and helped with sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica. At home, she can be found enjoying her time with her boyfriend, Sean, and their pets Dolly (dog), Capone (cat), and two parrots, Mango and Frank.

Alexis (She/Her)

Licensed Veterinary Technician

Tony (He/Him)

Veterinary Technician

Hailing from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Tony has been working in the veterinary field for 14 years. Outside of working with animals, his hobbies and interests include: Playing music, reading, attending concerts, and jogging.

Reiley (She/Her)

Veterinary Technician

Reiley has been working in veterinary medicine since January of 2016 and has learned all of her skills through on the job experience. Her favorite part of the job is being in appointments and client education. When Reiley isn’t at work, she enjoys going for walks with her two dogs and going to the gym.

Allison (She/Her)

Veterinary Technician

Allison began her career in veterinary medicine in 2002. She joined the Kimball team in April 2026, bringing with her more than two decades of experience working as a Veterinary Technician, primarily in Oakland County. She enjoys assisting in surgery and providing diagnostic and preventative care for all our patients. More than anything, she is most passionate about building relationships with clients and educating them on all aspects of their pet’s care.
Allison lives in Ferndale with her husband Aaron and their nearly 18 year old Puggle, Chloe. They also have a backyard pond with six large Koi fish. In her spare time she enjoys reading, working in the yard, biking and traveling as much as possible.

Alex (She/Her)

Veterinary Assistant/Technician

Alex has worked in the veterinary medicine field since 2019. She’s worked in ER medicine for over 3 years and she is currently in school and on track to apply to vet school in 2027!

Alex loves music, art, and cooking. She has a wild 6 year old staffy and a sweet 7 year old ball python.

Kim (She/Her)

Veterinary Assistant

Kim has been a part of the Kimball team since September of 2020 and is very happy to be back in the veterinary field. She enjoys relaxing at home with her husband and their cat, Skwinkle.

Nicole (She/Her)

Veterinary Assistant

Nicole has worked with animals for four years. Her love for all animals has inspired her to pursue further education in veterinary care. Nicole is excited to continue learning about animal health, behavior, and proper care so she can make a positive difference in the lives of animals and the people who love them.

In her free time, Nicole likes to groom dogs and cats, and if she’s not doing that she’s taking care of her senior miniature poodle or three lizards.

Darlyn (She/Her)

Veterinary Assistant

 

Paige (She/Her)

Client Care Representative/Veterinary Assistant

Paige has been working with animals for 10 years, starting as a receptionist for an animal boarding facility. She has always had a love for animals since her aunt opened up a rescue when she was 7. She has one dog, Peaches, who is a 10 year old chihuahua mix. In her free time she loves to go on long hikes with Peaches.

Melanie (She/Her)

Client Care Representative

Melanie is a graduate of Oakland University with a Bachelors of Human Resources with a specialization in Human Services. Her home is very busy with a husband, 3 kids, her rescue dog Daisy, and her sassy Chihuahua mix Lupin. In her very small amount of downtime, she likes to spend it volunteering for a dog rescue.

Kyrstin (She/Her)

Client Care Representative

Kyrstin has been working in the pet care industry for over 2 decades. She happily joined our team here in 2025 as a CCR. She has worked in all aspects of the clinic, from kennel to veterinary assistant and anywhere in between.

She became fear-free certified in the fall of 2019 and enjoys utilizing those tips and techniques every day to create the best possible experience for every pet that enters the facility. When she is not an attentive caregiver here at work, she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her Husband, grandchildren, family, friends, and her 3 cats.

Emily (She/Her)

Client Care Representative

Emily has been working in the veterinary field since April of 2021. She has experience in both assisting and reception. Emily has a boxer named Barbie, who is her best friend. In her free time, Emily likes to go on walks with Barbie, spend time in nature, read, and do crafts.

Kyra (She/Her)

Kennel Attendant

Kyra has been passionate about animals since a very young age and aspires to become a veterinarian. She is excited for this opportunity to work at Kimball Animal Hospital as a kennel attendant and the experience she will gain. She is currently attending Macomb Community College, and plans to transfer to MSU to get her bachelors in Zoology, and then apply to vet school.