Veterinarians | Registered Veterinary Technicians | Technician Assistants | Hospital Assistants | Customer Service Rep. | Lodging & Daycare | Practice Manager
Veterinarians↓
Craig Evans, D.V.M.
Though he was actually born in Bakersfield (father was working there after a stint in the air force) Dr. Evans considers himself to be the 5th generation, Santa Cruzan, as his mother’s side of the family was heavily involved in the agriculture in the Santa Cruz area. He spent a great deal of his childhood in cowboy horsemanship, especially team roping, and won team roping Championship saddle at the Santa Cruz County Fair in 1989. Dr. Evans attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Biological Sciences in 1982 and was also involved in horse training classes and the Quarter Horse Project there.
Dr. Evans received his veterinary doctorate at UC Davis Veterinary School in 1988. Practicing briefly in Merced and Fortuna, he finally settled in Santa Cruz and has been here practicing steadily since 1991. He has two children currently attending Scotts Valley High. Outside of work he enjoys golfing, fly-fishing, camping, and a guilty pleasure of Xbox gaming (though pretty bad, he still enjoys titles like Skyrim and Diablo).
Dr. Evans enjoys his job and is often referred to as the gentle giant (he is a big guy) and is known to sit on the floor with his patients. He has been an advocate for Project Purr from its inception and has always managed to offer some form of assistance to the feral cat program they run. With a very practical mindset towards animal care, Dr. Evans makes sure everyone gets what they need to keep their critters happy and healthy. His veterinary interests include general practice, pet care, and surgery. If he were to win the lottery he would still practice and simply offer his expertise for free. Dr. Evans is available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Jennifer Barton, D.V.M.
Jennifer Barton was born and raised in southern Illinois and obtained her doctorate in veterinary medicine at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2012. Dr. Barton worked as a mixed-animal practitioner for five years, then decided to focus her talents on small animal medicine and surgery exclusively. She takes special interest in performance dog management, geriatric feline care, and soft tissue surgery. Dr. Barton also shares her Santa Cruz home with her spouse, Justin and their happy Labradors. In her spare time, Dr. Barton enjoys attending field trials, fishing, gardening, and is a published waterfowl photographer.
Shirley Yang, D.V.M.
Dr. Shirley Yang grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her B.S. in animal science at UC Davis, and attended veterinary school at St. George's University in Grenada. She finished her clinical training in Cornell, New York in 2014. She moved to Santa Cruz in 2020 and enjoys all the beauties of the coastal life. She loves the variety in small animal general practice, with emphasis on preventive care, dentistry, and quality of life in our dog and cat companions.
John Liao, D.V.M.
Veterinary Technicians↓
Kelsey Hodge, Lead Veterinary Technician
Kelsey was born and raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After high school she moved to Tahoe, and later Reno and graduated from the University of Nevada with a bachelor's degree in sociology. In 2016, Kelsey was accepted into the Veterinary Technology Program at Foothill College, and graduated in 2018 with an associate's degree in Veterinary Technology. Soon after graduation she passed both her state and national board exams and became a Registered Veterinary Technician. Her veterinary interests include surgery/anesthesia and anything involving cats. Kelsey has 1 dog, 4 cats, a husband and a human toddler at home. In her spare time Kelsey likes traveling, snowboarding, hiking/camping/anything outdoors, and reading.
Megan Roberts, Lead Veterinary Technician
Megan started her career at the Santa Cruz SPCA and after 5 years decided she wanted to become more involved in the medical aspect of saving furry lives. Megan is a recent graduate of the veterinary technology program at foothill college, where she received her RVT license. Megan's favorite things in life are family and friends, with her son Ryan being at the top of that list. In her free time she sleeps, obsessively watch Grey's Anatomy, and works out in the gym.
Veterinary Assistants↓
Tayla, Veterinary Assistant
Tayla was born and raised in the Santa Cruz area and has always had a passion for animals. She started working at the Animal Hospital of Soquel in April of 2019. She developed a love for animals growing up, riding horses and barrel racing. She has been working as a vet tech in veterinary medicine for 9 years and has loved every minute of it. In her spare time she loves hanging out with family and friends, cooking and playing with her dog.
Mary, Veterinary Assistant
Mary is a Bay Area native and nationally Certified Clinical Medical Assistant and has a background in Park Management. She has worked in veterinary medicine for many years. The reason is simple: she loves animals and the people who cherish them. Mary shares her life and home with two German Shepherds, AJ and Siren; two cats, Boo Radley and Topo Gijio (a medical rescue raised since birth); and a 50 gallon fish tank. Whatever spare time she has is spent with her fur family and her loving husband of more than 28 years.
Rebecca, Veterinary Assistant
Hello my name is Rebecca and I am a veterinary assistant. I started off my time here as a receptionist and slowly worked my way into the back to become a vet assistant. I came into this job with aspirations of becoming a veterinarian and my time here has further motivated me to follow my ambitions. I have a degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from UC Santa Cruz. My school was the reason I initially came to Santa Cruz but since then I have fallen in love with the area and plan to stay here until I have to leave for vet school. I have two kitties of my own that are the loves of my life; their names are Beans and Boba. I love animals, hiking and long walks on the beach.
Ashley, Veterinary Assistant
Hello, I’m Ashley. I have been a vet assistant for 1.5 years. I have had a passion for animals my entire life, especially marine life. I enjoy painting, hiking, and scuba diving. I also enjoy assisting on local marine research projects within Monterey Bay. In my spare time I like to play with my corgi puppy Odysseus.
Kyia, Veterinary Assistant
Kyia is a Vet Assistant. She has always had a deep love for animals and has worked in multiple hospitals locally before settling with the Animal Hospital of Soquel Team. She is a lovely mother to 2 children and well as her 2 fur babies.
Isabella, Veterinary Assistant
Bella was born and raised in Santa Cruz Mountains and has always had a love for animals. Bella is a registered EMT and a mother of one and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Samantha, Veterinary Assistant
Samantha has worked as a veterinary technician since 2017. She was born and raised in Santa Cruz. In her free time you can find her pet sitting her fur babies and hanging out with friends.
Amira, Veterinary Assistant
Jessica, Veterinary Assistant
Hospital Assistants↓
Nick, Hospital Assistant
Hello, my name is Nick and I have been working at the Animal Hospital of Soquel since 2018. Growing up I was raised around a wide range of animals, from small rodents to cats and dogs and even some horses. Being raised with animals always around me instilled a love for them. I have two cats named Winnie and Lolly. In my spare time I enjoy: fishing, golfing, cooking, gaming, music, snowboarding and camping.
Brianna, Hospital Assistant
Brianna has worked at the Animal Hospital of Soquel for over four years. She has been a life-long caregiver for animals and is dedicated to providing excellent care for our lodging guests. Brianna's interest in pampering pets extends to our Spa, where she assists our talented groomer with bathing, mani-pedi's, brush-outs, and other beautification services.
Shirley, Hospital Assistant
Shirley grew up around a variety of animals and found at a young age that she had a connection with them. After getting married she started working for a single doctor practice as a veterinary assistant/technician in the late 80’s. Within the next couple of years she not only had become the only employee but expanded her job title to include assistant manager, kennel work, animal dietitian, receptionist, and groomer. Unfortunately, due to that doctor’s untimely passing, the property was sold.
Shirley's Cockatoo Charlie
After 16 years, she ended up taking a leave of absence from the field to start a family and raise their 2 daughters but found she missed working. When her kids started going to school she became a volunteer crossing guard for the neighborhood kids down at their bus stop. She also started her own house cleaning/animal sitting business that also led into becoming a caregiver. She enjoyed her work but found after 22 years, she still wanted to do more. She loved being out in nature so took a seasonal job with parks and recreation in addition to her other jobs.
Shirley's dog Xena, pictured on the right
After several years of working with the rangers, some of them joined with her neighbors and starting calling her an animal whisperer. She and her husband have lived in the Santa Cruz mountains since 1979. She enjoys anything that has to do with being outdoors, whether it’s rock/fossil hunting, hiking, fishing, hunting, walking on the beach, exploring ghost towns or just working in her yard where she can hang out with the animals, both wild and domestic. Somehow in her busy life she has found time to write a book that she hopes to get published one day, and is currently working on a sequel. She shares her home with her husband, 2 daughters and a menagerie of critters that includes not only a dog but 11 cats, a blue front amazon parrot, a sulphur crested cockatoo, a bearded dragon, 4 mini pigs, 5 snakes, and 2 tarantulas.
Customer Service Representatives↓
Emily, Lead C.S.R.
Emily was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Her love of the outdoors and animals began at a young age with her beloved blind sheepdog Taffy. In 2012 her entire immediate family relocated to Santa Cruz. Once in sunny California she adopted her beautiful cockapoo, Biscuit. You might spot her around town riding her bike while pulling Biscuit in a trailer. Adopting Biscuit lead her to start a successful dog-sitting business. For over three years she housed and loved many dogs.In December 2018 she began working for the lodging department here at the Animal Hospital of Soquel. In her free time she hangs-out with her three young nieces, trail runs, fishes, and does many crossword puzzles.
Brittney, C.S.R.
Brittney grew up in Carmel Valley on 13 acres with lots of animals. After going to college in San Diego she moved up here, to Santa Cruz to be closer to home. She has always loved animals but realized she wanted to work in the veterinary field after she found her dog Brooks who was near death, abandoned in a ditch on the side of the road. Brooks is a now five years old and spends her days running around on the beach, giving lots of cuddles, showing off her tricks for treats, and taking up most of Brittney's bed at night. Most recently, Brittney rehabilitated an injured baby squirrel who she named Bandon, an Eastern Gray Squirrel. After some love and care Bandon was healthy enough to be released and now lives in the forest. Until she finds another animal in need she enjoys being part of the continued care of all the wonderful pets we see here at the hospital.
Alondra, C.S.R.
Alondra was born in Santa Cruz, she is the fourth out of five siblings. Alondra has almost five years of experience as a customer service representative in the human and medical fields and enjoys Turkish Netflix dramas. She lives here in Santa Cruz with her fur babies Pachuco &Cocas. Pachuco, is named after zoot-suiting gangsters of the 1930s, and Cocas, is named after the famous Coca-Cola. As a puppy Cocas LOVED to lap up Coca-Cola. Alondra played softball in high school and is aspiring this year to become a gym rat. She enjoys hanging out with her family, being with her fur babies, and exploring the night life of Santa Cruz.
Misty, C.S.R.
Fawn, C.S.R.
Fawn was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand - such a beautiful country that I miss very much. Things I love to do is hiking with my pup, being outside, and reading murder-mystery books (I am 100% a crime junkie). Can't wait to see your pets when they come to AHOS!
Tony, C.S.R.
Tony was born and raised in San Diego, the oldest of three siblings. He grew up with two cats, Mischief and Trouble, parakeets, and cockatiels Apollo and Artemis, and learned he was also a dog person starting his job at the Animal Hospital of Soquel. He first visited Santa Cruz in 2016, falling in love with the dense old-growth redwood forests and rolling seaside hills that make Santa Cruz such a unique place to be. Tony studied Technology & Information Management at UC Santa Cruz from 2016-2020, working his first job out of school at the Animal Hospital of Soquel and returning in July of 2022 to work the customer service representative role. He enjoys solving problems for passionate pet owners and in his free time likes spending time outdoors with friends, playing games like basketball, volleyball, and chess, and singing and playing guitar.
Daycare & Pet Boarding↓
Mariah, Lodging Supervisor
Mariah was born and raised in California, where she spent much of her childhood on a farm surrounded by an array of animals. She started working at a young age and quickly found that working closely with animals was her passion. Mariah has worked in a kennel setting for over six years, is CPR certified and has trained in canine body language. In her free time she enjoys camping, hiking with her dog, drawing and meeting new dogs.
Brandee, Lodging Attendant
Brandee was born in Southern California and moved to Felton 10 years ago. She has been in the animal industry for the past 10 years, working at the SPCA as a shelter coordinator and at Bed & Biscuits for five years and Canine Corral. She is happy to be here at the Animal Hospital of Soquel doing what she loves most.
Mike, Lodging Attendant
In 2002, Mike left the world of high tech and found a true passion in working with animals. I worked at Humane Society Silicon Valley for 12 years where I was the Manager of Animal Care and I had a lead role in working with the onsite Doggie Daycare, Boarding and Grooming services I pride myself on looking at every animal as an individual and doing everything I can to ensure they’re happy and comfortable at their home away from home. When I’m not looking after the awesome animals at AHOS, I spend my time with my two- and four-legged family which includes my fiancé, three daughters, four cats, and one super-special dog.
Bailey, Lodging Attendant
Practice Manager↓
Lindsey Gunter, Practice Manager