Meet The Team
Primary Veterinarian
Dr. Chhina is a Bay Area Native – where she grew up in San Jose. She attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in the beautiful Caribbean and completed her clinical rotations at Purdue University in Lafayette Indiana. She first moved to the Walnut Creek and Concord area in 2017 when they relocated from San Jose for her husband’s job and absolutely fell in love with the place. From a very young age she knew veterinary medicine was her calling; a sentiment that keeps growing each day, as she realizes the reward of working with animals.
Following the completion of her degree, she began practicing at busy hospitals for some time, bringing her to the realization of the need for a more personable family practice. As a result, she decided to venture out and open her own clinic.
Pets (she prefers fur babies) shower us with heaps of unconditional love and emotional support which enriches our lives and fills our hearts with joy. This very fact naturally brings out the tremendous dedication and compassion she has toward her patients and clients. Dr. Chhina is a member of the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), CVMA (California Veterinary Medical Association), AAHA(American Animal Hospital Association), and VECCS (Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care Society).
Dr. Chhina is passionate about food and enjoys creating wholesome recipes that warm the soul. Her family consists of her loving husband, Hobie who is an engineer by profession but an absolute outdoorsman by heart. They have 2 children and one fur baby. As a family they love camping, barbecuing, hiking, and spending time in nature.
Jeremias Gomez
Jeremias received the majority of his veterinary medicine knowledge from his time spent as an animal care specialist in the United States Army. He began working in the veterinary industry because of his love and admiration for the military working dogs. He wanted to do whatever he could to help them. He knew he was in the right profession when he realized he was spending the majority of his day with animals. Jeremias is accompanied by his wife Jennifer and his daughter Gia.
Julia Johnson
Julia joined the team as a receptionist at the beginning of June 2022. She was born and raised here in Walnut Creek. Her favorite part about working in the veterinary industry is seeing the animals. She has a cat and a dog and loves watching shows such as Criminal Minds and Law & Order SVU.
Bob Reginelli
Bob is a technician assistant and moved to the Bay Area to pursue his love of animals and coffee. He has worked in the veterinary industry for 4 years and spent another 4 years in pet nutrition. His favorite thing about working with animals is he can say he pets dogs at the professional level. Bob knew he was in the right industry when he came to work and was excited about a room full of kittens. Bob has a dog and a cat and he likes Star Wars.
Marissa Orta
Marissa is a veterinary technician who joined the practice in 2021. In 2011, her parents moved to Concord to be closer to work. She has a high school diploma and plans to further her education in the fall of 2023. Marissa began working in the veterinary industry because of the joy of being around animals. Her interest in animals grew due to her owning dogs, fish, ducks, chickens, turtles, and some street cats during her childhood. Her favorite part about working with animals is providing all recommended treatments and seeing the progress is rewarding. In high school, Marisa began to volunteer at a local vet hospital. She never missed a day to be at the clinic. It felt like she could be a voice for these animals. From there it strengthens her passion and understanding this is her profession in life. Every day is different as each animal is unique. Not one animal has the same personality as the next.
Marissa was born and raised in the Bay Area. She loves spending time with her family. On days off you can usually find her at a family gathering, at movie nights with my daughter and fiancé, or just hanging out with family and friends. She also enjoys watching soccer. She is a big fan of Mexico and her all-time favorite soccer player is Chicharito (Javier Hernandez).
Guadalupe Navarro
Guadalupe is a vet technician and started in February of 2022. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and lives in Concord. She always likes trying new things. She has a puppy of her own and knows how much he means to me so she wanted to help others care for their pets. Guadalupe hopes to work in human medicine one day as a doctor.
Haotai Yang
Haotai is a kennel assistant and started at the practice in June 2022. He has a Bachelor of Science and came to this town after hearing about how Concord and Clayton are peaceful and beautiful cities. Ever since he was little, Haotai always loved nature and taking care of it. His love for animals led him to the veterinary industry, where his favorite part about it is working with animals and determining the type of care they need. In the future, Haotai hopes to become a veterinarian for canines, felines, and tortoises or a specialty surgeon.
Ashley Barnes
Ashley is a kennel technician and started working at Concord Veterinary Clinic in June of 2022. She is a Bay Area native who was born in Hayward, CA but grew up in San Ramon for most of her life. After graduating high school in 2018, she got her undergraduate degree in Veterinary Science at the University of Arizona. Since graduating, she wanted more hands-on clinical experience before reapplying to vet school, which is how she found Concord Veterinary Clinic. Her initial reasoning for wanting to be in this industry was that she wanted a career where she could be around animals all the time since she didn’t grow up with any pets of her own. She also had a love for medicine, and once she learned about the Veterinary field she knew it was the choice. Over the years, Ashley has been able to work with/shadow some amazing vets and learn all aspects of the animal care industry including care of sheep used in reproductive research, wildlife rehabilitation, equine care, equine therapy, emergency and large animal medicine, and so forth. Her favorite thing about working with animals is the fact that they give so much and want nothing in return except for love and respect. She also loves learning about each animal’s personality and quirks like they talk to you. All you have to do is listen.
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Ashley knew she was in the right profession when she had the opportunity to assist a Veterinarian in the castration of wild burros for the Bureau of Land Management at Arizona’s federal prison. It was a surreal experience because in her undergrad she was able to practice giving intramuscular injections, doing lidocaine blocks, taking TPRs, and drawing up various meds. In the end, she and a friend even got to cut which was awesome. She knew then and there that this was the career she wanted to be in.
Ashley comes from a family of four, and she is the oldest child in her family. She only has one younger sister who will be graduating high school this year. Her personal interests include volunteering with animals (she currently volunteers for a non-profit that does equine therapy), reading, going on trail rides, cooking, baking, playing video games, and relaxing on days off. Her main interest is that in the future she hopes to become a mixed animal veterinarian who’s able to see a little bit of everything on a daily basis or even a surgical or reproductive specialty. Until then Ashley plans on relaxing, working, traveling, and spending time with family.
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