Kristina Naef, DVM - Medical Director
Dr. Kristina Naef was born and raised in the South Bay. She attended undergraduate school at Arizona State University, before pursuing a Master’s degree in biomedical sciences at Colorado State University. While living in Colorado, she worked for the Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic before moving to Indiana to complete her DVM at Purdue University. Her veterinary interests include behavior, soft tissue surgery, ophthalmology and internal medicine. She has a passion for shelter medicine and enjoys volunteering with shelter and rescue groups.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Naef loves practicing yoga and whipping up culinary delights! She enjoys music, hiking and spending time with her family, which includes two cats, Gordon and Wheatley.
Katie O'Neill, DVM
Dr. Katie O’Neill grew up in Los Angeles before heading up the coast to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science. Upon completing her undergraduate education, Dr. O’Neill returned to Southern California to earn her veterinary degree from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.
Dr. O’Neill spends her free time with her husband, her three dogs, and “Little Bit” the cat.
Julia Drury, DVM
Dr. Drury has been part of the Bixby Animal Clinic Family since early 2016. After attending undergrad at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, she went on to achieve her degree in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She then went on to volunteer and work with various shelters and clinics before joining our practice.
Dr. Drury currently resides in Long Beach with her husband and two kids as well as their two dogs and cat, affectionately named “Neville Cat Bottom”.
Dana Currier, DVM
Dr. Dana Currier joined our practice after earning her Veterinary Degree from UC Davis. She grew up in the South Bay and worked as a Registered Veterinary Technician at a local clinic before attending vet school. Dr. Currier received her Bachelor’s of Science in Animal Health from Cal Poly Pomona before moving on to UC Davis for her graduate studies.
Dr. Currier is happy to be back in Southern California with her newly adopted kitten, “Winston”. In her free time, Dr. Currier loves hiking, camping, and spending time at the beach.
Alex Tsai, DVM
Dr. Alex Tsai was born in Taiwan and grew up hanging out with his grandmother’s ten cats before moving to Irvine, California at the age of 10. He graduated from UC Davis for both his undergraduate study in Animal Biology and Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. His veterinary interests include behavior, surgery, and preventative medicine.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Tsai enjoys playing the ukulele, playing basketball, going on hikes, and spending time with his wife. He also enjoys cuddling with his Tuxedo cat, Mimi.
Paul Cechner, DVM, DACVS
Dr. Paul Cechner, a mobile surgical specialist, tends to our clinic’s more complicated surgical cases, as he does for several hospitals in our community. Dr. Cechner graduated from veterinary school in 1973 from the University of Illinois and completed his surgical residency in 1976 at Purdue, where he worked as an Assistant Professor educating future veterinarians on surgical procedures until 1983.
When he is not busy with complex surgeries, Dr. Cechner stays busy with his own 5 furry family members at home.
Jose Nuñez, DVM
Dr. Nuñez was born and raised in Southern California. He attended Mt. SAC and Cal Poly Pomona for his undergraduate studies before moving up north to complete his degree in Veterinary Medicine at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
His interests include cardiology, surgery and behavior. Outside of the clinic, he likes to spend quality time with friends, family and his German Shepherd, Puma. He also enjoys gaming, going to the movies as well as visiting the variety of places Southern California offers.
Cody Hamilton, RVT
Practice Manager
Cody brings 14 years of experience to the Lakewood team. Throughout his career he has worked with all types of animals big to small. After becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician, Cody began his journey in management quickly making his way to practice manager. Cody Loves to teach and he has special interests in Dentistry and Anesthesia.
Cody hopes to one day earn his degree as a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager and is excited to help serve the Lakewood community. In his free time, Cody enjoys working on projects at home and spending time with his two dogs.
James Patterson
Technician Manager
James brings 20 plus years of experience in the veterinary field. He is well experienced in both general practice and emergency. James is a people person who loves to share his vast knowledge in the veterinarian field to educate pet owners and his staff. His ultimate goal for Bixby Animal Clinic is to offer exceptional pet care treating every patient as if they were his own pet.
In his free time, James loves to travel and discover new places. He is also a tremendous music lover, and in his free time, he tries to attend as many concerts and shows as he can.
Angel Hall-Jones
Front Office Manager
Angel, otherwise known as “Cat Mom,” joined the Bixby team in 2020 as a Front Office Coordinator. Upon arriving at the clinic, she met a group of highly dedicated animal professionals that took her under their wing and showed her the ropes of the veterinarian field. With the help of her 15+ years of customer service experience and quick learning, Angel was quick to learn the delicate but intricate process of Bixby and was promoted to Front Office Manager. As the Front Office Manager, Angel’s main goal is to ensure that the front office of Bixby Animal Clinic makes sure the Front Office maintains a healthy balance of both customers’ needs and hospital policy.
In her spare time, you can find Angel with her plants and canoodling endlessly with her daughter Alaskah, a five-year-old Russian Blue cat with eyes of gold. Angel is also a huge crafted cocktail connoisseur and a mixologist enthusiast. She also enjoys traveling, especially to London, which can be considered as her second home. However, most of my days consist of cat mom duties and tending to her plants.
Genesis Patino
Co-Front office Manager
Genesis has been a part of the Bixby Animal Clinic team since 2020. She is known to bring the good energy to Bixby. Her favorite thing about working at an animal clinic is every day is a new day to learn something different in vet medicine. She’s a huge animal lover and proud dog mom to 7 Bichon Frisés and 1 Great Dane.
One of Genesis’s greatest accomplishments is receiving a gold medal in the Mexican Olympics. Her years of training for the Olympics led her to be disciplined, hard-working, and a go-getter. These traits help her tremendously as she assists in co-managing the front. When she’s not working, Genesis loves to power lift and spend time with her family.
Wendy Gomez
Lead Doctor Assistant
Wendy has been in the veterinarian field for 15 years and has been a part of the Bixby team for two years. Wendy started as a Front Office Coordinator and worked her way up as a Doctor Assistant. With knowing the ins and out of the vet field, she was promoted to being the Lead Doctor Assistant. Wendy is a dog mom of one sweet 13-year-old American Pitbull who inspired and motivated her to work in this profession. Wendy loves to educate pet owners so they can be active participants in their pet’s health care plan.
In her spare time, Wendy loves to go out and try new places to eat with her family and friends. Wendy also enjoys traveling and tries to go to a new destination every year to explore new places. She is currently planning an upcoming trip to Hawaii and is looking forward to relaxing beachside.
Yesenia Mendoza
Training Manager
Yesenia has been in the veterinary field for eight years and received her bachelor’s in animal health science with a minor in marketing management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Throughout her undergraduate schooling, she has managed to work in emergency and specialty medicine, urgent care, and general practice. Although Yesenia has experience in many different parts of the veterinary field, her favorite specialties are emergency, surgery, and vet medicine education. Yesenia enjoys educating her staff and pet owners so they can get a better understanding of their pet’s treatment plan and their general health.
On her free time, Yesenia enjoys spending time with her three German Shepherds, Bruno, Summer, & Chalino, and her three cats. She also likes spending quality time with her friends and family. When she is not snuggling with the pet here at the clinic, you can find her bike rising on the beach, traveling to new places, and going to baseball games to cheer on her favorite baseball team.