Dr. Amanda Bloomberg is a native to the Bay Area growing up in Fremont and attending Santa Clara University for her undergraduate degree. She attended veterinary school at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in West Lafayette, Indiana. While she enjoyed her time in the Midwest, after graduation she came back to the Bay to be close to her family.

Dr. Bloomberg lives in Pleasanton with her husband Francisco, two dogs (Zooey and Pepe) and two kittens (Tito “Bandito” and Vino aka “Little Vinnie”). In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, crafting and painting but above all she enjoys spending time with her family. Family is her core and foundation in life and she wants to create a hospital with the same values.

Her professional interests include feline medicine and senior care but her favorite part of being a veterinarian is being able to form relationships with her clients and their pets. She has a passion for educating clients about their pets’ well-being and believes strongly in working as a team with them to formulate the best plan of action for their pets.

Dr. Bloomberg always knew she wanted to open her own hospital and she is excited she finally has the opportunity to create a family-focused, privately owned, small animal hospital with her partner and fellow Boilermaker, Dr. Melissa Hardy, in the town that she loves. She also has a passion for environmental sustainability and believes there is huge room for improvement in the veterinary field to create a hospital that strives to be as environmentally conscious as possible.

Dr. Melissa Hardy, originally from Indiana, earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. Upon completing her degree she packed up her seven animals at the time and drove across the country to be close to her family whose careers brought them to California.

Over the past decade, California has become home to Dr. Hardy and she resides in the east bay with two boisterous French Bulldogs (Zoe and Oscar), a large lanky mixed breed canine named Otis, Jovial a 24-year-old bossy female Senegal, and Elmer, an Eclectus parrot. When not caring for her furry and feathered family, Dr. Hardy enjoys spending time with her human family BBQing, going to the farmers market, gardening, fine dining, and exploring California.

Dr. Hardy has been involved in the East Bay community by volunteering and/or working with, Fix Our Ferals, Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, Solano Feral Cat Group, Tri-Valley Fix Our Ferals, VIP Pet Care, Vetco, and Human Society Veterinary Medical Association-RAVS. She is also an active member of the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps (CAVMRC) and most recently provided medical care for animals injured by the wildfires in Paradise, California.

Professionally, she takes a special interest in French Bulldogs due to her own two Frenchies and has a special fondness for geriatric patient care. She is also an avid dental care enthusiast and a strong advocate of preventative medicine. While Dr. Hardy loves practicing veterinary medicine, she always knew ownership was her ultimate dream and can’t wait to meet you and your four-legged family members at Paws of Pleasanton Animal Hospital!

Dr. Shrija Desai was born and raised in the East Bay in Fremont, California. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from St. George’s University, after completing her clinical rotations at the University of Georgia. During these 8 years of schooling, her favorite experience was the summer she spent working alongside veterinarians and nutritionists at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, where she had hands-on experience with all her favorite exotic animals.

Dr. Desai has been practicing all over the Bay Area for the last 5 years and is excited to have found a home at Paws of Pleasanton. She has many professional interests including surgery, dermatology, nutrition, internal medicine, and preventative care with a focus on client education. Dr. Desai looks forward to working with her hospital team members to provide excellent patient and client care for our community.

Outside the hospital, Dr. Desai enjoys spending time with her husband and their loving Pitbull, Squeaks. Her love for animals began at a young age but it was the bond she formed with her first family dog, Missy (the loving golden pictured), that made her want to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. While obtaining her doctorate in Grenada, she adopted Khaleesi, a beautiful pothound (island mutt). After dealing with the heartbreaking losses of sweet Missy and fierce Khaleesi, Dr. Desai has devoted her career to helping as many pets and families as she can in honor of their memory.

After six years living in Scotland, she and her husband moved back to Livermore where she lives with her children and six pets. Two dogs (Dave- a goldendoodle and Tim a chihuahua), two cats (Bonnie and Queen Furball V) and two backyard chickens (Snowball and Queso). In her spare time she enjoys reading, spending time with her family and travel, exploring California and internationally.

In her 15 years of being a veterinarian Dr. Karin Connor has worked as a family general
practitioner and she has also spent time working in urgent care and providing in-home
euthanasia’s. She continues to feel passionate about providing a peaceful experience for her end of life appointments and also feels lucky to be able to provide whole life care. Dr. Connor truly enjoys meeting and interacting with her patients and their families and aims to be a partner with families to help care for their furry family at all stages- from the joyful, rambunctious kitten and puppy appointments, to caring and kind geriatric and end of life care. Dr. Connor is excited to be part of the Paws of Pleasanton family!

Dr. Laura Rensink is a California native and has lived in the Tri-Valley for over 20 years. Her ties run deep since her husband of over 30 years grew up in Pleasanton and graduated from Amador Valley High School. Dr. Ren started college at Humboldt State in 1986 and finished her degree at San Diego State in 1991. She attended UCDavis School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1997 but started working at vet hospitals starting as a kennel worker in 1989.

Her interests include Broadway musicals, reading fantasy/sci-fi, kayaking, hiking, board games and crafting.

She loves to brag about her three children. Her oldest is a mountain guide who has traveled the world, her middle is a barista at a family owned coffee shop in Livermore and her youngest is in training as a forensics scientist. Dr. Ren has always had a menagerie of pets, including rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, birds, snakes and of course dogs and cats. Currently she has 4 doves, 4 cats and 1 Peka-pug named Misha who has Dr Ren wrapped around her furry paws.

In her over 25 years experience as a veterinarian, she gets the greatest joy with enhancing the human-animal bond. She likes to collaborate with pet parents about their furry family member’s health for both preventative care as well as times of illness. She will work with you to find the best options that work with your family in the care of your pet from puppy and kittenhood to geriatric care. She has worked all over the Bay Area and is very happy to call Paws of Pleasanton her home.

A top high school and college athlete, Dr. Paige was a regular chiropractic patient before deciding on this career path. Following receipt of her BS with Honors from Union College in New York State, Dr. Paige was urged by her own chiropractor to consider chiropractic training. Having benefited many times from the treatment, she enrolled at Palmer College of Chiropractic West — long considered one of the most widely respected and best training facilities in the country. She graduated with her Doctorate in Chiropractic in 2003. Shortly after receiving her credentials, she opened her own practice and has made the San Jose area her home for seeing humans. Dr. Paige specializes in Active Release Technique (a soft tissue technique) and is also a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician – both requiring special education.

Dr. Paige did not stop there with her education… After shadowing an animal chiropractor and witnessing the transformation in the animals she worked on, Dr. Paige committed to the extensive postgraduate program at Options for Animals in Kansas in 2017 to learn how to adjust both large and small animals. She graduated from the program and completed rigorous testing in order to become a member of the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association. She has incorporated her human chiropractic skills and understanding of the musculoskeletal system into her animal practice, seeing animals for many similar ailments — back/neck injuries, limps that won’t go away, arthritis/IVDD and many more.

Dr. Paige looks forward to taking care of all family members’ spines!

Jesse was born and raised in Fresno, CA and has been working in veterinary medicine since attending San Joaquin Valley College to become a veterinary technician in 2004. After passing her Registered Veterinary Technician boards in December of 2005, she took on the challenge of working as an RVT 14 years!! Transitioning in a new direction, she decided to make the move to an administrative position so that she could spend more one-on-one time with clients.

Jesse has lived in Tracy, CA with her husband, her French Bulldog (Batman), and her 4 cats (Leo, Doug, Tonks, and Eilis) since November 2019. She enjoys reading, crafting, and traveling with her husband. She would say she is more of a cat person but has a special love for Frenchies and senior dogs.

Angie was born and raised in the Bay Area and resides in Danville. She and her husband Paul have two sons, Ryan and Cameron. The family also includes two 12-year-old Labrador mixes, Sunny and Shadow, and Howie, a very loud 14-year-old Cockatiel.

Angie always had pets while growing up including dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles, and even a horse. Her love of animals has continued with several rescue pets including dogs, cats, and rabbits. Angie has a special place in her heart for senior dogs and believes that senior pets deserve love, respect, and the best care possible.

When not at Paws of Pleasanton, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, walking the dogs, cooking, and traveling.

Maya was born and raised in the Bay Area her entire life. She has known since the age of 7 that she has a strong passion and love for animals, and wants to help heal all of them! She is currently furthering her education to become a veterinarian at a local college in Livermore, and soon to transfer to UC Davis College in late 2023. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, finding new food spots, studying, online shopping, and getting all the cuddles she can get from her fur baby!

Youki was born in Southern California but raised in the Bay Area. She began her career in the Veterinary field in the Spring of 2021. She is currently attending a local college in the East Bay Area and studying Biology. Eventually she hopes to continue to further her education and her career in the field of Veterinary medicine. At home she has two rescue pets; one cat named Tommy, and a new puppy named Shu Mai!

When not working, Youki spends her time as a Club and High School Volleyball Coach. She has had some very successful teams with winning records and finishing top 10 in Northern California. In the future, she hopes to open up a rescue and a volleyball club in the Bay Area.

Gillian, born in Pleasanton, has lived in Tracy her entire life. She is a 2018 graduate from Veterinary Technician School at Carrington College. After completing her degree, she started to pursue a business degree at Delta College in Mountain House. When it didn’t seem to be the right fit, she decided to utilize her veterinary technician degree and entered the workforce as an emergency technician. Loving animals has always been one of her biggest passions. After working in emergency medicine for 3 years she decided to join us at Paws of Pleasanton Animal Hospital!

When not working, Gillian is a big Disney fan, and LOVES going to Disneyland! Additionally, she enjoys spending time with her friends/family, doing makeup, getting tattoos, and caring for her two feline fur babies. Moana is a sassy Tuxedo and Montana (pictured) is a chaotic, but a very sweet Grey Tabby.

Quinn has always loved animals and can remember wanting to care for them since she was 9 years old. To this day, that desire has not changed. In 1999 she began her career in the animal health industry as a receptionist and gradually moved on to become a technician. She attended Oregon State University wherein 2001 she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Behavior. Later in 2009 she became licensed as a Registered Veterinary Technician. While not tending to your pets she enjoys spending time with her two cats, both of which are rescues. Her original feral is a 7-year-old domestic longhair named Micah (pictured above) and her original stray is Shinta, a 15-year-old domestic shorthair brown tabby who elected to opt-out of the photo session!

Leyanne is a native of the Santa Cruz mountains where she came to love the coastal redwoods, and woodland creatures. She was the neighborhood “cat whisperer”. At a young age her family moved to Concord where family members had farms and she got introduced into barrel racing as a teenager. She grew up with many animals over the years- her house was never without!

Leyanne began her career as a technician in 2002 where she was a veterinary assistant. She liked it so much she went to Western Career College and received her AA in Biological Science with a specialty in Veterinary Technology. Following that she got certified as an RVT and has focused a majority of her knowledge on veterinary dentistry. She also decided to become Sophia Yin Low Stress Handling Silver certified because knowing how to make your animals as comfortable and stress free in a stressful environment makes the whole experience so much easier! She has worked at hospitals from Concord to San Jose and back with all varieties of species.

Leyanne is a resident of Concord, Ca. When not at work Leyanne likes to spend time with family and friends going to festivals- especially taco festivals (ask her about her taco award!), camping, baseball games- GO A’s!, hiking, cooking, sewing, crafting. Spending time with her four legged friends is always a good time! Idget is a dilute calico who is the sweetest fat thing, The Dude is her orange sassy tabby, and her crazy lab/cane corso/vizsla rescue dog Roxi, as well as her Koi fish.

Katelyn was born and raised in Dublin, CA. She is currently attending Carrington College Veterinary Technology program. She will be graduating in October 2022, then taking her board exam to become an RVT. She has two doodles, Maverick & Murphy, and loves spending time with her friends and family outside of school and work.

Katelyn loves all breeds and sizes and is very passionate about making all animals feel comfortable and happy. Although she is new to the field, she’s making up for it as she goes!

Nina is a Registered Veterinary Technician, graduating from Western Career College in 2005. She currently has three cats: Ava, Nala, and Simba, who keep her entertained. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 4-year-old-daughter hiking and traveling around the world when she can.

Kassidy is a native to the bay area originally from San Ramon. She resided in Livermore for 23 years where she earned her Associate’s Degree in Kinesiology at Las Positas College. Soon after, she transferred to San Jose State University where she is completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology. Today, she resides in Livermore with her partner and their spoiled cat, Bandit. In her free time Kassidy enjoys painting, gaming, and gardening.

Kassidy started her career in veterinary medicine in 2019 as a veterinary assistant for weekend vaccination clinics. During her time there, she met Dr. Hardy, and recently joined the Paws of Pleasanton family as a veterinary receptionist. Her strong customer service background is an asset and we are happy to have her join the team.

Shaun Ollerdessen was born and raised in the Bay Area. He currently resides in Concord, CA, and has worked in the veterinary field for over 10 years. Always known to be passionate about working with animals, he likes to ensure they have a good experience when in the hospital. Some of his hobbies include walking, video games, and he loves to cook. A culinary career would have been an option if he didn’t have such a strong love for veterinary medicine. His goal is to one day obtain his registered veterinary technician license and expand upon his technical skillset. He has developed many great relationships over the years in the field of veterinary medicine for which he will always be grateful.

Abbie was born and raised in El Segundo, California and now lives in Pleasanton. She graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Zoology. Abbie is so excited to continue learning and improving her abilities to help animals. Abbie has a special interest in physiology and anatomy. While living in Humboldt County she rescued a pit bull mix named Chance whose favorite activities include hiking and fetch! While not working Abbie enjoys snowboarding, camping, and kayaking.