MEET OUR TEAM!

DVM

Dr. Mary Ashley Waikart, originally from South Carolina, started her veterinary career in Ventura, California in 2007 after graduating from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.

She has worked as an emergency vet as well as a general practitioner and surgeon in Ventura, Sherman Oaks, and Santa Barbara.

Dr. Waikart is now the proud owner of Topa Mountain Animal Hospital.

She and her husband moved to Ojai in 2015 and welcomed a precious daughter to their family in 2019. They currently cuddle up with a pitty mix named Kernel Biscuits to complete that family. Outside of work, Dr. Waikart enjoys surfing, yoga, and traveling.

DVM

Dr. Katie Sahyouni is a Southern California native. She attended the University of Southern California for her undergraduate training in Biomedical Engineering then went on to obtain her veterinary degree at UC Davis.

Shortly after, she completed a rotating internship at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group in Ventura, then a specialty internship at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center in Los Angeles where she worked exclusively with the Internal Medicine team.

She then worked in general practice in Santa Barbara and now is happily part of the team here. She currently lives in Ventura with her husband, son, and her sassy orange cat named Cheesy Puff.

In her time outside of work, she enjoys traveling, surfing, hiking, going to USC football games, and taking her baby to the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Kendall Ella, our hospital manager, is also a SoCal native, born in Ojai and raised in Santa Barbara.

Working with animals has always been her passion since she was in elementary school. She started out working at a local pet store working with small animals, reptiles, and fish and eventually graduated into working as a kennel attendant in a clinic in Santa Barbara, then as a receptionist, then a veterinary assistant, and finally a hospital manager.

She has 2 handsome cats, Bug and Pico de Gato, and a boxer named Harley, who her parents bribed her with to go to UCSB instead of UC Davis.

Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, baking, going to the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market, collecting board games, and playing video games with her partner. Kendall is proud to serve this community by helping care for all these amazing pets!

Hospital Manager

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Karen has over 30 years of experience in both general practice and emergency veterinary specialty. While she has enjoyed every aspect of my career, my true passion lies in general practice, where I cherish the chance to make a difference in the lives of pets and their families.

Karen is married and has a daughter who currently lives in Australia. My home is filled with love and laughter, thanks to my delightful cattle dogs, Ozwald the Destroyer and Rat Bag Ruby Rue. Outside of work, Karen loves spending quality time with her dogs , especially doing agility training together. she also enjoys crafting, sewing, a trip to Disneyland, and has recently started a fun new adventure in bread making—there’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh bread!

Inventory Specialist

Sergio is our inventory manager, from Oxnard, CA. Sergio has had a long history in the veterinary field, starting back in 2015 when he worked in the neurology department at a VCA specialty hospital. He’s since worked in ER, surgery, cardiology, and ophthalmology.

Sergio has had extensive experience working with rescues, as he used to be the manager at SPARC. Sergio has 2 puppies, Khaleesi (a 6-month-old Rottweiler) and Chanel (a 4-month-old Frenchie). Chanel’s favorite activity is snoring like an old man.

Outside of work, Sergio loves going to the gym, traveling, trying out new restaurants, working on cars, collecting sneakers, and building things.

Receptionist

Alyssa Clark, one of our amazing receptionists, is from Simi Valley.

Outside of work, Alyssa is an exceptionally talented dancer and even teaches dance lessons to cute kiddos!

She loves spending time and shopping with her daughter, Piper. She has a 7-year-old Chihuahua/poodle mix named Tootise (AKA Tooters, Toots), who often makes an appearance when welcoming our clients and patients into our hospital.

Alyssa has been working in this field for 3 years, and before that was a receptionist at a hair salon for 12 years!

Alyssa is our snack queen, always bringing the tastiest treats to work and she loves each and every fur baby that comes through our doors.

Jackie, from Ventura, CA, is one of our amazing vet assistants, having been with us from the beginning and before that when Topa Mountain Animal Hospital was the Animal Clinic of Oak View for 3 years!

Jackie has a not-so-furry critter at home, a 3-year-old turtle named Seaweed! When she’s not busy saving lives, Jackie loves to go to the gym and go on adventures with her son.

One thing to know about Jackie is that she’s an enchilada maker extraordinaire!

Carissa is another proud local, born and raised in Ventura County! Carissa is the owner of 2 kitties, O’Malley and Flynn Rider.

O’Malley is an 18-year-old orange tabby who knows a lot of tricks! While he’s a sweetheart at home, he’s feared by all in this field.

Outside of work, Carissa spends a lot of time at Disneyland! Carissa has been in this field for almost 20 years! She’s worked in a surgery specialty hospital, she’s worked in a cat-only hospital, and worked with exotic animals for 13 years!

Carissa is a lover of all the cats and kittens, spicy or sweet.

Annette is a native of Chicago and a recent transplant to Santa Barbara after spending the last decade in the Southeast. Her love for animals started at a young age, and her passion steered her into the veterinary field where she has been a veterinary technician for the last 10 years. Annette prides herself on loving and treating each animal as if they were one of her own and brings a compassionate and experienced skillset to Topa Mountain Animal Hospital. In her spare time, Annette enjoys singing, traveling the world, and spending time with her husband and fur babies. A fun fact about Annette – she can never have enough frenchies and she loves the color purple!

Veterinary Assistant

Victoria is another proud local resident of Ojai. She fell in love with the vet field because she loves animals and wants to make sure they get the care that they need when they are ill or injured. She has a passion for helping dogs & cats and is happy to share her love with our patients. Outside of the office, Victoria loves to try new restaurants. She also loves baking & cooking at home. Victoria has a sweet 4 yr old Dalmation at home named, Thor and loves coming home to him after a long day at work! A fun fact about Victoria is that knows ALL of the older Disney Chanel songs and can fully recite High School Musical at any moment!