BluePearl Pet Hospital
Southfield, MI
Our Vets

Dr. Sarah Achen is particularly interested in acute and chronic heart failure therapy, management of arrhythmias, and interventional cardiology, including transvenous pacemaker therapy and non-invasive treatment of congenital heart disease. She also enjoys clinical research and teaching.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology)
• Residency, Cardiology, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Michigan Veterinary Specialists, Southfield
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Bachelor of Science, University of Toledo, OH

Dr. Achen spends her off duty time chasing after her two young boys with her husband. She enjoys traveling with her family, decorating cakes and exercising. She has a golden retriever named Dori and an orange tabby cat named Bubaloo.

Dr. Kristina Anderson enjoys treating hematologic malignancies such as lymphoma, leukemia or multiple myeloma. She finds it gratifying to use multi-modal therapy (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) to help her patients but also finds it highly satisfying to see tumor response with chemotherapy alone.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology)
• Residency, Oncology, University of Georgia, Athens
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Anderson met her husband, also a veterinarian, during vet school. They have a chihuahua mix named Petey and three cats: Marshall, Cricket and Karen. Dr. Anderson also has a horse named Harley who she enjoys spending time with and casually competes in local hunter/jumper shows. She loves chickens, quails and other types of poultry and hopes to build her own backyard flock one day.

Dr. Susette Aquino has over 15 years of veterinary ophthalmology experience. Her special interests include eyelid and corneal surgery. Prior to becoming a veterinarian, she was a critical care nurse in human medicine.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
• Residency, Ophthalmology, Iowa State University, Ames
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, University of Illinois, Urbana
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Bachelor of Science, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Dr. Aquino enjoys gardening, hiking and training her dogs in a variety of dog sports and activities.

Dr. Jordan Assenmacher is particularly interested in stabilizing and diagnosing trauma and critically ill patients.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center, PA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Assenmacher enjoys sports, and walking/running with his dogs: Australian shepherd/English setter mix Ozzie, Pembroke Welsh corgi Udo, and mixed breed Tess. His cat is named Remington.

Dr. Tara Assenmacher is particularly interested in acute kidney disease and hemodialysis, hematologic emergencies, and sepsis.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
• Residency, Emergency & Critical Care, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, Kalamazoo College, MI

Dr. Assenmacher enjoys hiking, traveling, horseback riding and gardening. She and her husband, a BluePearl emergency clinician, have a number of pets: dogs Ozzie and Montgomery; cats Meow Meow, Denali and Alyeska; and horse Teddy.

Dr. Caitlin Barry-Heffernan’s particular interests include gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases, and she loves all types of endoscopy.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, University of Minnesota, St Paul
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton MA
• Bachelor of Arts, Latin and Biology, Yale University, New Haven CT

Away from the hospital, Dr. Barry-Heffernan enjoys reading, baking, trivia and board games. Her furry companion is a three-legged golden retriever, Ripley, who is named after the movie “Alien.”

Dr. Christopher Chess’s clinical interests include diagnosing and treating trauma, endocrinopathies, blood disorders and wound care.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing

In his free time, Dr. Chess enjoys hiking, watching sports, cooking and golfing.

Dr. Elisabeth Close is particularly interested in pain management and internal medicine cases, particularly immune-mediated diseases and endocrine disturbances.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Nashville Veterinary Specialists, TN
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg VA
• Bachelor of Science, Anthropology and Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dr. Close enjoys bike touring, hiking and running. She also loves cooking, reading and traveling with her husband who is also a veterinarian. The couple has a dog named Aspen and two cats, Mona and Cayenne.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus

Dr. Megan Cullen’s clinical interests include corneal disease, feline surface ocular disease, corrective eyelid surgery and cataract surgery.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
• Master of Science, Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan
• Resident, Ophthalmology, Kansas State University, Manhattan
• Internship, Ophthalmology, Kansas State University, Manhattan
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, Cary, NC
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

Dr. Cullen has two wonderful cats, Zyras and Tuna, and a 19-year-old mare named Grace who is a pasture potato. Her partner is an entomologist at the University of Michigan and they love hiking and enjoying the outdoors together. Additionally, Dr. Cullen is an avid runner and is very much looking forward to getting back into competitive horse riding (eventing).

Publications and articles

Dr. Ashley Davis came to BluePearl after working as a veterinary criticalist at a busy referral center in Southwest Florida. She enjoys many aspects of critical care medicine including anesthetic emergencies, acute kidney disease, coagulation disorders and respiratory emergencies.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
• Residency, Emergency & Critical Care, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston MA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston MA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg VA
• Bachelor of Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Dr. Davis enjoys hiking, cooking, running and spending time with her friends and family. She has two dogs, Abby and Brady, and chickens.

Dr. Sydney Dudley is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She finds soft tissue surgery, trauma, wound management and internal medicine cases particularly gratifying to treat.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Dudley enjoys hiking, kayaking, working out, crocheting and spending time with her three dogs.

Dr. Elie is especially interested in endocrinology, infectious diseases and gastroenterology.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Elie is an arts advocate and shares his home with a fox terrier named Hunter.

Dr. Ashley Foley’s special interests include toxicology, emergency wound management, fluid resuscitation and hypoadrenocorticism.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Foley loves hiking and traveling the world with her partner. At home, you can find her curled up with a book and her two pets: a walker hound named Toby and a gray tabby cat named Beans.

Dr. Chelsea Giese is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. She is passionate about caring for animals and educating pet owners on their pets’ health and well-being. Her professional interests include stabilizing critical patients and treating blood disorders, acute kidney injuries and Addison’s disease.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Giese has two miniature schnauzers named Izzie and River and a lop-eared rabbit named Bun. She loves going up north, swimming, hiking, reading and spending time with family.

Dr. Mikaela Gondolfe is a resident in our surgical service. Her clinical interests include fracture repair, soft tissue surgery, particularly involving the hepatobiliary system, wound management and small animal pain management.

• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Southfield, MI
• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, TX
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle, Lynnwood, WA
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Master of Agriculture, Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station

Dr. Gondolfe enjoys yoga, cycling, coloring, watching most sports, especially basketball, and spending time with her significant other and Goldendoodle.

Publications & Articles

Dr. Eric Hans has experience in all aspects of small animal surgery and has particular interests in complex orthopedic cases, specifically fracture repair and orthopedic trauma. Dr. Hans is published in multiple veterinary journals on topics including canine bone cancer and cranial cruciate ligament rupture and treatment and has presented his research at several veterinary conferences.

Dr. Hans has undergone advanced training in canine hip replacement and is certified to perform BioMedtrix total hip replacement procedures.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons–Small Animal
• Residency, Small Animal Surgery, MedVet, Columbus OH
• Fellowship, Comparative Orthopedic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, TX
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Away from the hospital, Dr. Hans spends time with his family, enjoys water activities, working out and being active with CrossFit. Dr. Hans is also an avid sports fan; his favorite NFL team is the Indianapolis Colts.

Publications & Articles

Dr. Elisa Hilton is excited to be a part of the urgent care team at BluePearl. She has recognized a need for this service, especially over the last couple of years, and hopes to see it grow within the veterinary field. Her professional interests include internal medicine, endocrinology and feline medicine.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Dr. Hilton enjoys powerlifting, traveling, reading and spending time with her husband and two children. She also loves all things Disney. Her pets include four cats – Meow, Ozzy, Kitten and Julia Gulia – and a very intelligent (but very stubborn) beagle named Max.

Dr. Charles Jones enjoys performing all types of endoscopic procedures and has completed a minimally invasive scoping course. He finds building relationships with clients and their pets while managing their conditions especially rewarding. Dr. Jones takes pleasure in engaging in many aspects of internal medicine with interests including gastrointestinal, endocrine, urologic, hepatobiliary, and respiratory conditions.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Small Animal Internal Medicine)
• Residency, Small Animal Internal Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Internship, Small Animal Internal Medicine, VCA Animal Specialty & Emergency Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Dr. Jones enjoys exploring the outdoors, attending concerts, spending time with friends and family, exercising, and cooking. He has a Labrador retriever/hound mix named Carter who has traveled around the country with Dr. Jones during his education.

An experienced emergency clinician, Dr. Martin Kamen spent 10 years at our hospitals in New York City then worked at BluePearl in Tacoma and Tampa before joining us in Michigan.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Veterinary Partners, New York City
• Internship, Small Animal Emergency Medicine, Veterinary Emergency and Referral Group, Brooklyn NY
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Dr. Kamen lives with two dogs and two cats. He enjoys walking the dogs, traveling, reading and listening to all types of music.

Dr. Tim Kenety’s clinical interests include wound management, toxicities and infectious disease.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Dr. Kenety enjoys movies, cooking, and spending time with his cat Bonnie.

Dr. Andrea Kirkpatrick finds neurology, cardiology and ophthalmology cases the most interesting.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Biology, University of Findlay, OH

Dr. Kirkpatrick has a wonderful 10-year-old miniature poodle she inherited who has stolen her heart. Her hobbies include scuba diving, snorkeling, kickboxing and traveling. She and her mom love to travel together to new places.

Dr. Angela Kozicki has a strong interest in translational and comparative oncology.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology)
• Residency, Small Animal Medical Oncology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Research Fellowship, University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center, Denver
• Internship, Small Animal Oncology, Animal Cancer and Imaging Center, Canton MI
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Michigan Veterinary Specialists, Southfield
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Veterinary Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Kozicki enjoys reading a good book, running, yoga and spending time with her family, including her cat, Freddie Forcefield, and potcake dog, Reggae.

Publications & Articles

Dr. Loretta Lee is particularly keen on transfusion medicine and toxicological, urinary and abdominal emergencies.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Michigan Veterinary Specialists, Southfield
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph, Canada
• Bachelor of Science, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Lee maintains a saltwater aquarium and spends time with her three Staffordshire terriers named Isabelle, Blade and Rocky.

Dr. Brooke Luce is strongly interested in orthopedic and soft tissue procedures. She particularly enjoys emergency surgeries, wound management and gastrointestinal procedures. Dr. Luce has been trained in and has experience with the I-Loc interlocking nail system for orthopedic and fracture repair.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons-Small Animal
• Residency, Small Animal Surgery, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Southfield, MI
• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Southfield, MI
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Southfield, MI
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing

Dr. Luce enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband doing activities such as hiking, biking and being on the water. In her free time, she is very fond of gardening, cooking and reading. Her family includes an energetic border collie named Nash and two cats: Delilah and Jay, who has cerebellar hypoplasia.

Publications & Articles

Dr. Leanne Magestro’s special interests include feline solitary site lymphoma, canine osteosarcoma and oncology of exotic and farm animals.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Radiology-Radiation Oncology
• Residency, Radiation Oncology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas, Cary, NC
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA

Dr. Magestro enjoys traveling to new places, hiking in the mountains, and snuggling with her tiny dog.

Publications & Articles

Dr. Karyn Maxworthy finds soft tissue surgery including oncologic, hepatobiliary and endocrine surgery as well as orthopedic surgery especially interesting.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
• Residency, Surgery, Washington State University, Pullman
• Internship, Surgery, Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center, Plano TX
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Master’s of Science, Washington State University, Pullman
• Bachelor of Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dr. Maxworthy can be found spending time with her husband and two sons, playing team volleyball, or planning her next trip abroad.

Dr. Kevin McKenna served as an infantryman and veterinarian with the U.S. Army before joining us. Stabilizing and treating trauma patients is his favorite aspect of emergency medicine, and performing soft tissue surgery is one of his favorite procedures.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ

Dr. McKenna enjoys soccer, running, kayaking, hiking, reading and video games. He and his wife, a primary care veterinarian, have two boys. The family has a dog, Ghost, and three cats. Oscar, Clover and Kaelee.

Dr. Andy Nanda is an intern in our surgical service. He has a background in Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy (TPLO) research and is most interested in orthopedics, including fracture repair, corrective osteotomies and joint surgery.

• Internship, Small Animal Surgery, Chesapeake Veterinary Surgical Specialists, Annapolis, MD
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Ironhorse Vetcare, Dublin, CA
• Bachelor of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University, India

Dr. Nanda enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing basketball, hiking and working out.

Publications & Articles

• Clinical Rotation, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, Pennsylvania State University, State College

In her free time, Dr. Plath enjoys hiking and kayaking, and she loves hanging out with her two dogs, a coconut retriever (Ruthie) and a yellow Labrador (Fisher).

Dr. Michelle Rose performs and interprets CT scans, MRIs, digital X-rays and ultrasounds.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Radiology
• Residency, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Internship, Michigan Veterinary Specialists, Southfield
• Master of Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Bachelor of Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Dr. Rose enjoys skiing, biking, swimming and spending time with Jessie, her cat.

Dr. Melissa Santonocito is passionate about all aspects of critical care but is particularly interested in acute kidney injuries, sepsis and cardiac emergencies.

• Residency, Emergency & Critical Care, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Pet Hospital, Southfield, MI
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology, NY

Dr. Santonocito loves spending time with her family and is an avid reader. She currently has two dogs (a Chihuahua named Zuni and a black Labrador retriever named Gertie) and two cats (Leroy and Samuel Hamilton, who is named after a character in her favorite book).

Dr. Genna Taulbee enjoys stabilizing sick patients and seeing them improve throughout hospitalization so they can go home with their families in better shape than when they arrived. She finds wound management particularly gratifying.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, Southfield, MI
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Taulbee enjoys painting, camping, gardening and cooking. She has a cat named Ember and a dog named Boss.

Dr. Shelby Vollmer is part of our emergency medicine training program for clinicians. Her special interests include emergency wound care, feline urinary obstructions, endocrinopathies and cardiac disease.

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing
• Bachelor of Science, Animal Science, University of California, Davis

Dr. Vollmer enjoys running, hiking, camping, trail riding and fishing. She has a pointer mix named Gator and a quarter horse mare named Bella.

Dr. Jacob Winbigler’s special areas of interest include states of shock, neurologic emergencies, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord disease, transfusion medicine, and feline urinary obstructions.

• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Detroit MI
• Clinical Rotation, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Ross University, St. Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
• Bachelor of Sciences, Biology, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant

Dr. Winbigler enjoys running, exercise and being outdoors. He also likes spending time in downtown Detroit and attending festivals and concerts. His three cats include Max, Helen and Trixie.

Dr. Brian Young was previously an adjunct professor at Western University. His clinical interests include shock recognition and resuscitation as well as transfusion medicine. He particularly enjoys ventilator medicine and finds septic shock cases a significant challenge that can be very rewarding to treat. Highly committed to developing the next generation of specialists, Dr. Young has evaluated residency programs and training guidelines as a member of the Residency Training Committee for the American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care and is currently a board validator for the college. He is also a peer reviewer for articles submitted for publication in the Journal of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care.

• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Dual Residency, Emergency & Critical Care and Internal Medicine, Animal Medical Center, New York City
• Internship, Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, Animal Medical Center, New York City
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
• Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dr. Young is an avid gardener and artist. He paints with oils, acrylics and encaustics, which are pigments melted in a beeswax-based medium. He loves horseback riding, hiking, attending the theater and dancing. His pets include West Highland white terrier Trip, cat Kentucky Blue, and thoroughbred Susie.