MEET THE STAFF

Dr. Katheryn Hinkle
Dr. Hinkle is a 1990 graduate of Colorado State University and she has been practicing in Sonoma County for over 17 years, founding "The Animal Hospital of Cotati" in 1998. She says that the seed of being a veterinarian was planted early in life, and then reinforced with a position working in New Mexico during high school with a veterinarian specializing in wild animal rescue. She comes from a science background, with her parents holding multiple degrees in computing and physics, which provided her with a wonderful background to approach veterinary medicine with an integrated approach, offering bioresonance. She lives in Petaluma with her husband Carlton, her two children Samantha and Tim, and her two dogs, three cats and chicken.

Dr. Mary Ellen Leavey
Dr. Leavey is a 1993 graduate of the University of California at Davis. She has practiced in Northern California for over 13 years. Prior to becoming a veterinarian, Mary Ellen worked for the National Parks Service in resource management, which was a job that sparked her interest in veterinary medicine. She lives in Petaluma with her two dogs, two cats, and her very understanding husband, Greg.

Mary Ellen is very happy to have found a home at Animal Hospital of Cotati and says that she truly enjoys surgery, but if she had to pick her favorite aspect of being a veterinarian, it would be the personal interactions with the owners of the animals with which she has the privilege to work.

Dr. Laura Adams
Dr. Adams is a 1995 graduate of the University of California at Davis. She has practiced in Northern California for over 13 years. She lives in Sebastopol with her dog, four cats, two horses and her husband, Ken. Dr. Adams is a Certified Veterinarian/Acupuncturist and loves to be able to provide clients with the option of integrated medical options. She provides the highest-level possible of “Western” medicine as well as being able to provide them with the “Alternative” options such as Acupuncture and Bioresonance. This allows us to truly pick what is best for the animal.

Heather Rommel - Head Receptionist
Heather was born and raised in Petaluma where she currently lives with her husband, Bret, and her great grandmother, Mary. She also lives with her beautiful cat, Bella, which she jokingly refers to as having brain damage. She enjoys reading and writing and spending time with her family (especially her little brother, Garrett).

Jenifer Young - Receptionist
Jenifer is a life-long resident of Sonoma County and currently lives in Santa Rosa. She lives with her husband Paul, Pesto and Napoleon her two dogs, and one cat, Guido. She is currently attending SRJC in pursuit of her nursing degree. In what little free time she has, she enjoys hiking with her dogs and working on her vintage 1964 ½ Mustang with her husband.

Lisa Ostello – Receptionist
Lisa was born in San Francisco but raised in Santa Rosa where she lives with her son Joe, and her daughter Megan. Her second set of kids includes two dogs named Shorty and Chiquita. She enjoys spending her free time with her boyfriend Jay, going to car shows, camping and just being with friends.

Tina Wright - Head Nurse
Tina attended the Veterinary Technician Program at Yuba College and has worked in both emergency and general practice veterinary medicine since 1980. In addition to working as the lead nurse at Animal Hospital of Cotati she also fills the role of lead nurse for the Forgotten Felines Spay and Neuter Clinic. Tina is most proud to be the mother of her not so little 21-year-old son Christopher. She lives in Cotati with her beautiful Doberman, Gabrielle, and a crazy Chihuahua named Pebbles. She also has Adam, a semi-famous cat that she helped rescue after he was severely burned in June of 2007. Her hobbies include scuba diving, backpacking and watching movies at home.

Julie Johnson – Nurse
Julie was born and raised in Sonoma County and lives with her two Pomeranian dogs, B and Cotton, and a polydactyl (extra toes) cat named Maddie. When asked, “what she was into” a clear answer was “Spiders” (the real ones) and of course Corvettes. Julie is a Certified Massage Therapist and a Certified Canine Massage Therapist.

Zineb Caron – Nurse
She says she doesn’t have, but is actually owned by a naughty Beagle named Shiley who keeps her in Rohnert Park. She also lives with and is married to a man named Shawn who she describes as wonderful. Her free time is spent traveling with her husband and spending time with their animals.

Kelly Donald - Nurse Assistant
Kelly was born and raised in Santa Rosa where she currently lives with her dog Ozzie. When she is not helping care for a four-legged friend at work, she is likely to be found on a hill somewhere pushing the limits on her Honda CRF 230 dirt bike.

Vanessa Raan – Nurse Assistant
Vanessa was born is Montana but moved to Petaluma at age 7. She has two terriers, Bonnie & Clyde. She enjoys spending her free time hiking, camping, and going to the river.

Megan Bullis - Nurse Assistant
Megan has aspirations of becoming a large animal veterinarian, and is working hard to make that happen. In addition to her education, she is a member of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and is active in the Young Farmers and Ranchers. Megan is an avid horseman and has two cats, Kitty and Maru.

Nancy Burns – Bioresonance Assistant
Nancy lives in Santa Rosa with her partner Diana, three dogs, two cats, two birds and one mouse. She is interested in all forms of energy healing and is excited to be part of the team doing bioresonance therapy.

Carlton Hinkle – Owner – Hospital Manager
Carlton is a really great guy, but then he is also the one writing this.

Carlton is originally from Roswell New Mexico, and attended New Mexico State University where he received a BA in Marketing. His most recent work experience outside the management of the hospital has included 18 years working for a division of Ogilvy Advertising. He lives in Petaluma with two dogs, three cats, his beautiful wife Kathy, his quick-witted son Tim, and his amazing daughter Samantha.