above, Vil and Samar

Sue Stutz has been the head Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) since she came to us in August 1990. Her professionalism is uncompromised,and with her knowledge and experience, you know that your pet is receiving the utmost of quality care while under her supervision.Sue is the team leader of the in-patient staff. She has many other interests, including surfing, camping, snow boarding,and photography. She shares her heart with an Afghan Hound, and four cats. The love of her life is her tall, dark and handsome Arab gelding.

Michele & Winston

Michele Dollente is also part of the in-patient team, as one of the head RVTs. She came to the clinic in August 2001 and is efficient, caring, and helpful, enjoyed by everyone here because of her kindness and cheerfulness. Michelle has been happily married since 2002. She enjoys outside interests such as tailgate parties (GO Raiders!!), tennis, and time with family and friends. Her pets are a very smart and handsome Rat Terrier named Artie and a unique cat who has polydactyl paws, 24 total claws in all!

Update;  On August 24th, 2009, Chele delivered a beautiful baby girl.  The Dollente family is busy getting to know what it feels like to be a family of three!.

above, This little girl didn't want to eat, Vil will do anything necessary to help.                                                     Vil and "Captain Jack"

Vil Chanthavisouk began his employment at GAC in 2006 and quickly became one of our favorite employees. We don't know what we would do without his warm camaraderie, fun personality and exemplary work ethic.  We feel very fortunate to have him in our GAC family.

Vilaphanh was born in Thailand, and grew up in Fresno surrounded by a loving family.  He attended UCSD, and his future hope is to attend vet school.

Vil is a very personable and happy guy, with a quiet and caring nature. He is compassionate when working with our patients, which has made him a favorite of our clients (who often ask for him when they bring their pets in!).

Vil has excelled as a surgical assistant and has become adept at assisting in all aspects of our inpatient department, and is tremendously helpful in troubleshooting problems around the hospital, such as working with the computer system, sending digital images to specialists, setting up our new digital x-ray, or assisting with our ultrasound machine, Vil is the top guy we turn to.

Vil is very involved with foster dogs, training them and working on correcting their behavior problems in preparation for adoption.  He is very committed to the field of veterinary medicine, both in and out of the hospital.

Vil's time away from work is spent doing his favorite things; fishing, hiking camping anad backpacking.  Besides the foster dogs, Vil shares his life with “Captain Jack”, the sweetest little Chihuahua mix- rescued from the streets, and “Blooduh”, the blood python.

above; Vil's boys, "Brock" (a foster) and "Jack"

below; Angelo & duckling

Samar                                                                                                           Samar and her beautiful daughter

Samar Jadeed is a true gem, and we are so proud to have her as part of the GAC team. It took a long time to get her to talk about herself, but it was well worth the wait, as her words tell just how caring, loving and thoughtful she is.  Here is Samar's bio;

     "I have been with the GAC family since September of 06.  It has been a great experience and an honor working with the doctors and staff.  Also, I enjoy serving the clients and their pets, because they are great examples of loving pet owners who are concerned about their pets well being".

     "My daughter and I came from Honduras 2 1/2 years ago.  Things were not doing so well back home, and my mother thought we would do better here.  I do still love Honduras and would like to go back someday. I miss my family and my pets (tortillas and beans, too!).  Back home, dogs, cats and other animals are not as fortunate as they are here.  My mother and I could not stand the sight of starving, sick and homeless strays.  With the help of Dr. Ordonez and Pilar (Pilar is a Biology Professor in Honduras), they are making a difference in the lives of these poor animals by rescuing and rehabilitating as many of them as possible, and placing them into loving homes. Dr. Ordonez charges very little for his services, and makes house visits to help my mom's pets.  The neighbors think my mom is crazy for having so many pets and spending money on them, but this is never enough, we wish we could do more (spay, neuter, feed and vaccinate more animals). It is not only a benefit for the animals, but for the sake of the people, as it stops the spread of disease and makes it a healthier environment for the whole community". 

     "That is why I am here in the best animal clinic of San Diego.....I am learning a higher level of assisting animals.  Here, I will prepare myself with a strong armor of knowledge to fight for the dogs and cats of Honduras".

    Michele Ku....no bio available

Paul Gadbois

Paul grew up in Portland Maine and worked on farms as a kid. With a love and respect for animals that comes naturally to him, we feel extremely fortunate that he has joined our family.  He is a big nature lover, a good part of his life spent in the Maine woods and mountains enjoying the wilderness. He is also a die-hard Red Sox, Pats, Celtics and Bruins fan!  Paul always says that he gets up in the morning feeling as though he's suiting up to play on his favorite team... "To be a part of the best vet clinic this side of the Mississippi River!".  Well, everyone here at Governor has the same feelings about Paul.  He is a true gentleman, dedicated to giving 110% every day, and is an absolute joy to be around.  His smile is contagious,  his laughter infectious, and his positive energy is a motivation to all of us.  Paul loves working with animals, and it really shows. You can be assured, your pet will get tender, focused attention when in Paul's care.

Paul always had pets growing up, and currently has a dog and 2 cats.  Paul shares his life with his wife and pets.

Casandra and Samar having some after-work fun

Casandra Lancaster

Casandra is a favorite around here (she worked at GAC a few years back, but moved out of the area.  We were very sad to see her go, but elated when she came back!). Casandra takes on any task that comes her way, and is always willing to help with an extra hand. She is a calm, soothing presence, just the person to take care of your 4-footed family member!

Casandra has many interests, beginning with her family.  She loves spending time with her boyfriend, Jason, and his daughter, Trinity.  They share their lives with two dogs; "Cosmo", a cute, full-of-personality chihuahua, and "Dakota", a very personable and handsome yellow Labrador, and their two cats; "Nefertiti" & "Felixis".

Casandra loves spending time at the river, going to the desert, and working out at the gym. 

She will be attending R.V.T. school in January of 2011, adding to her lengthening list of veterinary skills. We are very proud of her accomplishments, and excited and proud of her quest to become an R.V.T.!

Luis Perez

Luis came to GAC in June of 2009.  He moved here from Arizona in 2005 after graduating from Arizona State University with degrees in Kinesiology and Biology, and a minor in Spanish.
We are so happy to have Luis here, he is the comic relief, the turn-to employee that can do whatever it is that needs to be done, always willing and able to help whenever and wherever he is needed.  He started working in our outpatient area, and has moved on to the inpatient nurse team. 

In the first three months of having employees submit "I appreciate" notes,  (ie; Employee of the Month) Luis has had the most submissions each month!  Luis is very loving to the pets that come into the clinic, giving warm comfort so they feel as much at home as they possibly can while being here.  Needless to say, Luis is very well liked around GAC!

Luis plans to attend Veterinary school this upcoming academic year, and hopes to become a veterinary surgeon (so yes, we are all hoping that he'll bring back that intelligent wit along with his new found surgery skills!!).

Among his favorite things; he just adopted an adorable kitten, "Spock"  who was abandoned in an alleyway,
he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend Cassidy and is a huge sports fan.  He loves watching and participating in football, baseball and basketball.
Luis enjoys reading a good book, and eating good food!!!

Katherine Weatherstone came to GAC in November of 2009. We found out right away that Katherine is eager to learn and be challenged (so much so that recently she's received her license after attending the Mesa RVT program, and is now a Registered Veterinary Technician!).  We are very proud of her accomplishments and how far she's come in such a short time.  She's always ready to do whatever it takes to keep GAC running smoothly and works with her team to seamlessly get things done with a perfect mix of precision and loving care.

Katherine grew up in San Diego. She played piano for 16 years, loves being outside and keeping busy with outdoor activities (her favorites are camping, hiking and going to the beach).  Also a connoisseur of food, her favorites are Thai, Indian, Sushi and Italian......well, ALL FOOD! 

Katherine shares her life and home with 2 cats--"Oliver", who was adopted from Mesa College & "Clover", a foundling from the streets, and "Juno", her yellow lab mix adopted from the shelter.

We hope that you will come in and meet Katherine, along with the rest of our top-notch Inpatient team!

Dr. Feinberg  & Michele

Bio's missing from the IPN page, but a big part of the team;   Michelle Ku, Lena Griffith, R.V.T. and Mandy Kopesky

Jessica Lau, Hilary Shipley and Angelo Marco

6-16-2010

Three of our employees will be leaving Governor Animal Clinic, all having been accepted into veterinary school! 

Jessica to Kansas State, Hillary to The University of Wisconsin, and Angelo will be heading up to Western University of Health Sciences.

We couldn't be happier for them, but will miss their skills, dedication, support, reliability and their happy, smiling faces. 

They each possess the special heart and soul it takes to become the type of veterinarians that we have here at GAC. We are so proud of their accomplishments.  With heavy hearts, we bid them safe journeys into their new surroundings,  success in their studies, and fulfillment in all endeavors.

Thank you, Jessica, Hilary and Angelo for all the days made brighter by your kindness, the laughs and friendships we will never forget! You will always be a part of the GAC family.