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!
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.
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.
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!
Veterinarian
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.
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 husband, Rick, and their charmingly chaotic fur babies: Ghost, a Siberian Husky who thinks he’s the boss, and three cats—Cookie, Luna Petunia, and Arthas—who know they actually run the household. In her free time, she loves rocking out at concerts, binge-watching 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.
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.
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.
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.
Licensed Veterinary Technician
As far back as she can remember, Denise has always had a love for cats. After the loss of her first cat at a young age due to urinary crystals, she had a passion to learn about everything she could do to keep her pets healthy, thus becoming a Licensed Veterinary Technician in 2010.
Denise is passionate about microscope diagnostics and assisting the doctor in surgical procedures and doing anything she can to strengthen the human animal bond. After finishing school, Denise worked with felines only for 6 years to purr-fect her skills.
In 2016, she fell in love with exotics and small mammals incorporating several rabbits into her home. She currently has Holly a bunny, a Guinea pig named Wattles the wooty, and even a 4 foot Iguana for a time. Currently she has 5 adorable cats, Link, Kona, Kingsley, Mole, and Ghost. Kingsley was hit by a car at a young age and is special needs. Denise is also passionate about representing the working force battling Fibromyalgia. Favorite Quote: Under Pressure, Give Love!
Licensed Veterinary Technician
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.
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.
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.
Veterinary Assistant/Technician
Alexis has been working in emergency and critical care veterinary medicine since 2021 and before that she worked in dog grooming and daycare. Alexis currently has one dog and he’s an adorable 5 year old Australian Shepherd.
Veterinary Assistant
Kim has been a part of the Kimball team since 2020 and is very happy to be back in the veterinary field. She enjoys relaxing at home with her husband and their cat, Skwinkle.
Veterinary Assistant
Mike has been working in the animal field for 7 years and grew up with several animals in the house to always maintain a basic knowledge of care. While part of the Kimball team, he hopes to further his education and make current and future clients as happy and comfortable as possible.
Veterinary Assistant
Kira has worked in the health care field for both humans and animals for 4 years. Kira knew from a young age that helping others was her calling. Outside of work, she enjoys the outdoors, travelling, and spending time with her 2 cats Marley & Lester.
Veterinary Assistant
Originally from Germany, Fiona came to Michigan in 2015. They graduated from Oakland University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. They’re planning on pursuing higher education in the veterinary field in the next few years.
Fiona has worked with animals high school and knew from a young age that they would love to work with animals as a career. They live with 2 cats named Coco and Lilo.
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.
Client Care Representative
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.
Client Care Representative
Mika has been working in the veterinary field since she was 15 years old. A self-proclaimed “crazy cat lady”, she has 6 cats and a dog named George. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, knitting, and bonfires.
