Get to Know Our Team!
We are solely dedicated to your pet’s care! We look forward to getting to know you, and we hope you’ll take the time to scroll down and get to know us.
Dr. Thomas Zehnder
Hospital Director and Veterinarian
Dr. Thomas Zehnder received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California at Davis in 1979. After two years of dairy and small animal practice on the north coast of California, Dr. Zehnder returned to his hometown of Elk Grove.
In 1984, Dr. Zehnder took over ownership and management of Bradshaw Veterinary Clinic along with Dr. Michael Johnson. With their combined 60 years of experience in the profession, they have designed and developed the Franklin Ranch Pet Hospital to be one of the most advanced in the industry. Dr. Zehnder is married with 4 children. In addition, he is a Fear Free Certified Professional.
His outside interests include golf, tennis, waterskiing, snow skiing, and horseback riding. His goal is to offer the Elk Grove/Laguna area unsurpassed service and comfort for their pets.
Dr. Michael Johnson
DVM
Dr Mike Johnson was born in New York and raised in Modesto. He graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1977. After graduation, he worked at Bradshaw Veterinary Clinic which he, and Dr. Zehnder, later purchased. Together, Dr. Johnson and Dr Zehnder ran Bradshaw Veterinary Hospital for over 20 years growing it to one of the largest, and most advanced animal hospitals in the greater Sacramento area. After selling Bradshaw in 2005, he and Dr. Zehnder used their experience to design and develop Franklin Ranch Pet Hospital.
Today, Dr. Johnson works as an integral part of Franklin Ranch’s team of highly skilled doctors. He enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but he especially enjoys practicing:
- Surgery
- Reproductive Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- Orthopedics
Outside of work, Dr. Johnson enjoys hanging out with his four adult children and their families.
Dr. Shelby Rush
Dr. Rush was born and raised in Elk Grove. She has two older sisters and a younger brother. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Animal Science from Oregon State University and was then accepted into St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, where she made friends from all over the world and adopted her island dog, Bonnie.
She enjoyed her clinical training at the University of Missouri in Columbia and graduated in June of 2020. Her interests include surgery, rehabilitation, and large animal medicine.
Emily O’Connell, DVM
Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Emily O’Connell (Sutton) was born and raised in Chico, California. Her participation in both 4-H and FFA during her childhood fueled her love of veterinary medicine and her decision to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from California State University, Chico. After spending a few years honing her skills as a veterinary technician, Dr. O’Connell was accepted to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. During her veterinary education, Dr. O’Connell developed a passion for animal behavior.
In addition to training under a veterinary behaviorist during school, she is also Fear Free certified and an advocate for low stress handling and cooperative veterinary care.
- Breed and adoption consultations prior to getting a new pet
- New pet acclimatization and cooperative care methods, including concerns for inappropriate behavior in the veterinary hospital setting
- Separation related anxiety behaviors
- Resource guarding
- Inter-housemate relationship concerns
- Inappropriate social behavior concerns, including leash reactivity
- Aggression considerations and interventions
- Cognitive decline and aging pet health concerns
- Identification of behavior concerns that may require consultation with a veterinary behaviorist
Khushboo Attarwala, DVM
Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Khushboo Attarwala was born in India and moved to Pennsylvania as a teenager. She completed her undergraduate education at Pennsylvania State University, where she majored in Biology and Veterinary Science. Seeking to escape the cold winters, she decided to move to California, where she received her veterinary degree at UC Davis. She fell in love with California and decided to stay in the Sacramento region after finishing vet school.
She is Fear-Free certified and has been passionate about working with animals since she was a kid. She is dedicated to creating a welcoming and collaborative environment for her clients and patients. Outside of work, her interests include traveling, hiking, reading, and painting.
Dr. Kelly Churchill, DVM
Samantha Hunt, DVM
Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Samantha Hunt was born in Southern California, but grew up here, in Elk Grove. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the University of California at Davis in 2006. Samantha started working in the Veterinary field in 2004 and continued to work as a Veterinary Technician for 7 years until she was accepted into Veterinary School. She also worked in a research lab at UC Davis for several years prior to her acceptance into veterinary school. She received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California at Davis in 2015.
Dr. Hunt’s veterinary interests include: preventative medicine, ophthalmology, internal medicine and behavior. She lives in West Sacramento with her fiancé and three cats (Ricky, Lucy and Nina). Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, dancing (especially Latin ballroom), watching movies, and playing sports.
Kristin Reiser, DVM
Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Kristin Reiser grew up in Portland, Oregon until she moved to Boulder, Colorado to pursue her bachelor degree in animal science which she earned at the University of Colorado in 2000. She moved to Sacramento right after graduation to take a job at a local veterinary clinic with hopes of attending what she considered the best veterinary program in the country. She fulfilled her dream and received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California at Davis in 2005.
Throughout veterinary school she continued to work at the same local veterinary clinic on the weekend and after graduation she was excited to begin her career as an associate veterinarian with this same clinic. She then enjoyed 14 years there practicing quality medicine while gaining some amazing life long clients, many of which have followed her to her new location today. Looking for a change of pace she was intrigued when an opportunity arrived to practice medicine at Franklin Ranch Pet Hospital.
She enjoys all aspects of general practice, but her special interests include internal medicine and ultrasound. She currently resides in El dorado Hills with her family which includes her husband, 2 children and three furry children. In her spare time she enjoys snow boarding, puzzles and trail running with her border collie.
Dr. Thomas Hack
DVM
Dr. Hack (They/Them) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where they found a love of animals of all species working with an exotics veterinarian during high school and summers in college. They moved to Minneapolis to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Minnesota, then finally here to California to attend veterinary school at UC Davis, earning a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2020. Dr. Hack joined the Franklin Ranch team in 2021.
Dr. Hack is Fear-Free certified and is passionate about helping clients feel they can make an informed decision about their pet’s health as the core of their pet’s care team. Dr. Hack is passionate about internal medicine, preventative care, and feline medicine.
Outside of work, Dr. Hack can be found in Davis spending time with their 3 cats (Mercury, Bebo, and Chroma), playing bass in a local band, rock climbing or skiing on Lake Tahoe, or playing softball in multiple Sacramento leagues.
Dr . Rebecca Capua, DVM
Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Capua is originally from Westchester, New York. She earned her DVM from Ross University, School of Veterinary Medicine – nestled on the beautiful island of St. Kitts and Nevis (which she now considers her second home.)
Living on a Caribbean island provided her with a unique perspective on the human-animal bond, a theme she hopes to further explore as she continues with her plans of traveling around the world and immersing herself in new cultures.
Her professional interests include equine general practice and emergency care of all species, big and small. Outside of work, she enjoys horseback riding, fishing, traveling, and spending time outdoors with her two pittie mixes, Billie and Mako. Her ultimate dream is to sail around the world, treating as many animals as possible along the way!
Dr . Crystal Holmes, DVM
DVM
Dr. Crystal grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Northern California to attend UC Davis for both her bachelors and veterinary degree. After graduating from vet school in 2022, she worked at an all-feline hospital in Carmichael and worked as a relief veterinarian locally.
After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she explored different areas of medicine and worked in a variety of roles including, as a tutor, medical scribe, clinical research coordinator and EMT.
Finally. She decided to transition to veterinary medicine and worked as a veterinary assistant for three years. That is where she found her passion and love for working with people and their pets. She enjoys sharing in and fostering the human animal bond and helping her patients to live happy and healthy lives.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, talking walks with her dog Coco, spending time in nature going on a hike or relaxing on the beach enjoying the ocean. She loves reading, playing the keyboard, taking swing and salsa dancing lessons, and visiting art museums.
Relief Veterinarians
Dr . Caitlyn Lennon, DVM
Relief Veterinarian
Dr. Lennon knew she wanted to be a veterinarian from the age of five when she could properly pronounce the word. Dr. Lennon completed her undergraduate degree in Animal Science at UC Davis, where she was active on the Equestrian Team and in the Vet Aide Club. She obtained extensive experience with large animals and horses, particularly equine reproduction. And became a small animal assistant prior to acceptance to veterinary school.
Dr. Lennon graduated with high honors from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. During veterinary school, she developed a passion for shelter and community medicine, serving as president of the student chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. She was also on the student chapter board for the Society of Theriogenology. She participated in wellness and preventative clinics in Nicaragua and Mexico with World Vets.
Her special interests include dentistry and internal medicine. Dr. Lennon has dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, and ducks, and enjoys reading, horseback riding, and spending time with her husband and children on their small farm.
Dr. McKinstry
Relief Veterinarian
Dr McKinstry was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, until ten years old. She then moved to Puerto Rico until she started Vet school. She attended Iowa State University where she Graduated with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, in 1994. After Graduating from Vet school, she moved to the Bay Area with her husband. Together, they decided to settle down in the then small town of Elk Grove in 2004. She joined Franklin Ranch Pet Hospital in its very early years, in 2009. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but her special interests include:
- Geriatric patients
- Rehabilitation
- Pain Management
- Integrative medicine
And anything that helps improve quality of life.
When she is not helping her patients, she enjoys: reading, hiking, camping, hanging out with friends, and traveling to learn about different cultures.