Meet Our Team
Operations Management
Petri
Practice Owner
Petri enjoys being the boss and runs a tight ship. He always makes sure that his minions are in line and ready to give him lots of treats. If he isn’t willingly given treats, he has no issue with stealing what he needs. Petri has a total of six extra toes and is proud to be a fancy polydactyl cat.
Legolas
CEO
Legolas is Petri’s right-hand man and does not mind reprimanding any employees that they deem to be out of line. He agrees with Petri’s philosophy on theft of food, and he is always hungry. Legolas only has three legs, so he and Petri balance each other out well.
Veterinarians
Dr. Casey Wittwer
DVM
Dr. Wittwer was born and raised in St. George, Utah. After high school, he spent two years in Mexico on an LDS mission. He attended Dixie State College, then moved to colder weather at Utah State University, and completed veterinary school at Washington State University. After graduating in 2007, Dr. Wittwer started his career in Las Vegas, but family ties and a desire to return to Southern Utah brought him to Hurricane. He met his wife, Andrea, at a dog flyball competition and they have four kids that love to visit their dad at work. The Wittwers have their own zoo with two dogs, three cats, goats, turkeys, a goose, chickens, a tea cup pig, and mini horses.
Dr. Wittwer loves being a veterinarian. His main focuses are with internal medicine and soft tissue surgery. Dr. Wittwer also does acupuncture and ultrasound. He enjoys the challenge of understanding why pets get ill and helping them get better.
Dr. Kate Carey
DVM
Dr. Carey grew up in New England surrounded by guinea pigs, dogs, goats and horses. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science at the University of Connecticut and wrote her thesis on the physiology of stranded seal pups. Then she earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. While there, a research project on immunocontraception in free-roaming horses brought her to the Western U.S. where she immediately fell in love with the land. After practicing small animal medicine in CT and MA for several years, she moved to Southern Utah in 2022 to continue her practice.
Dr. Carey most enjoys internal medicine, ophthalmology and neurology cases. In her spare time she is usually hiking, doing CrossFit or playing with her mare, Pekan. Hiking partners include Gypsy, a congenitally deaf cattle dog cross, and Chico, a rambunctious Chihuahua cross.
Dr. Shaelyn Dobrzynski
DVM
Dr. Shaelyn has loved animals her entire life and knew she wanted to become a veterinarian by the age of five. Her dream became a reality in 2012 when she graduated from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduating she moved back home to Michigan and worked at various small animal hospitals over the last ten years. She even owned her own clinic for four years.
Dr. Shaelyn and her husband recently had the opportunity to move to Southern Utah and they are excited to explore the state in their free time.
Dr. Shaelyn Dobrzynski is looking forward to meeting all our wonderful clients and patients. She will be available for appointments at the end of February and cannot wait to provide you with the exceptional care you have become familiar with receiving from Zion Veterinary Hospital.
Management
Nicole
Practice Manager
Nicole was born in Southern California. She has been working in the veterinary field since 2007, and has been at Zion Vet since 2016. Her favorite parts of the job are performing dental cleanings, helping with surgeries, and snuggling the fur kids. Nicole loves heavy metal music and taking her daughter to concerts. She has a variety of animals at home including dogs, cats, lizards, rabbits, guinea pig and even axolotls! She just finished school at Animal Behavior College for dog training.
Megan
Lead Technician
Megan lived in Northern Utah until she decided to escape the snow and move to Southern Utah in 2020. She has always had dogs and loved them her whole life. She went to Animal Behavior College and worked as a dog trainer for 8 years before venturing into the veterinary field.
Technicians
Allison
Allison grew up with dogs has wanted to work with animals since she was a kid. She has an Associates in Veterinary Science and is a Certified Vet Tech, and has worked as a vet tech since 2017. She has a mini poodle mix, a cat, 7 chickens, 10 little fish, and a chubby human child.
Kiersten
Kiersten was born and raised in Southern Utah. After earning her B.S in Biology at Southern Utah University, she and her partner moved to Denver Colorado for a few years. There, she attended Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology and earned her Associates in Veterinary Science. She has been working in the veterinary field since 2019, and has now been a Licensed Veterinary Technician since 2022. She has experience with large animals, small animals, and exotics and is enjoying living out her childhood dream. She and her partner moved back to Southern Utah last year and have their own little farm with 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 sparrows, and a Red-Eared slider.
Shawna
Shawna moved to Southern Utah a few years ago from San Diego and has loved being here ever since. She graduated from PIMA Medical Institute in 2015 with her associates degree in animal sciences and is a Certified Veterinary Technician. Shawna’s goal is to eventually become specialized in emergency and critical care. Her babies include one dog and one cat.
Courtney
Courtney graduated from BYU in 1998 with a B.S. in Animal Science with emphasis in Veterinary Technology. She has been a licensed technician since 1999. She is happily married with three human kids and would rather not say how many four legged ones. She loves spending time with her family and the great outdoors.
Assistants
Mikayla
Mikayla was born in North Carolina and moved out West in 2006. She has wanted to work with animals her whole life and loves getting to meet all the animals. She is a dog mom of four, including two local rescues.
Nichole
Nichole was born in California and lived in North Dakota as well before moving to Southern Utah. Nichole is currently in school working towards her bachelor’s degree in biology, and hopes to go to vet school soon. She has two cats, two dogs, cows, horses, chickens, and a tortoise.
Caroline
Caroline (aka C$) has been working in the veterinary field since 2010 and has experience in emergencies and critical care, oncology, internal medicine, and surgery. She has a Bachelor’s of Sciences, with a minor in veterinary medicine. Her passions include her 5 siamese cats (Duchess, Dakini, Demi, Dani and Dahlia) and spending time with her husband. Together, they live a peaceful life either listening to music he creates or the cats screaming about something very non-urgent (such as a cat meeting in the bathroom cabinets). Sometimes, they remember they also have a corn snake (Esmeralda) and a crested gecko (Edna).
Raylynn
Raylynn was born and raised in Northern Utah before moving to Hurricane in 2014. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, her little boy, and her 3 fur babies. Raylynn has always loved being surrounded by animals so she is very excited to be a part of the Zion Vet family.
Brilee
Brilee started interning with Zion Vet before joining the team in April 2022. Brilee likes archery, hunting, fishing and virtual creation. You will always see Brilee eating popcorn and drinking his sweet tea. Brilee’s favorite animal is a tortoise. Brilee is currently attending Utah Tech University for pre vet.
Reception
Brenda
Brenda is a rockstar receptionist. Her favorite parts of the job are her coworkers and meeting the pets that come in. She enjoys crafting, Harley rides with her husband, and anything outdoors.
Lisa
Lisa was born and raised in Southern California. Moved to Southern Utah in 2021. She has been in vet medicine for the past couple of years, but loves every part of her job. She has always loved animals, so working at a vet clinic is right up her alley. All of her animals are rescues and they consist of 3 dogs, 4 cats, 4 ducks and 2 chickens. In her not so free time she loves spending time with her husband and 3 kids. She loves to go boating, ride the sea doos and taking trips back home to Southern California to visit family and friends.
