David Johnson, VMD
Dr. David Johnson was raised in Southern California and received his Bachelor of Science Degree from U.C Irvine, and his veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania. During his career of over 30 years, Dr. Johnson has owned 3 veterinary practices in 3 different states. This diversity of experience and knowledge acquired proves useful in his everyday practice of veterinary medicine and interactions with clients and their pet’s medical needs.
Dr. Johnson shares his life with his wife, stepdaughter and dogs, and cats. Veterinary medicine is a family love as he has both a sister and a son who are veterinarians! Dr. Johnson enjoys spending his free time gardening, fishing and experiencing the beautiful California outdoors.
Kaley Ladner, DVM
Kaley joined us in 2017. She studied at UC Davis and received her degree at Western Health of Health Sciences. She practices both small and large animal medicine. We are so happy and proud to have her as part of our family! She makes everyone around her better!
She graduated high school at Union Mine! She is a very busy doctor and She spends what very little free time she has with her family!
Dr. Miranda Ciotti-McClallen, DVM
Dr. Miranda Ciotti-McClallen graduated from Midwestern University School of Veterinary Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona in 2023 and will be joining us in the beginning of January 2025! Her love for all animals started at a young age, growing up as an only child with her family Labrador Retriever and Brittany Spaniel, which were like sisters to her and wonderful adventuring companions. Dr. Miranda grew her experience with a variety of wildlife species working as a volunteer at San Diego Wild Safari Park on weekends during high school, and with horses as an avid horsewoman riding english/hunter-jumper throughout highschool, trail guiding in Patagonia, Argentina, Jackson, Wyoming and through the redwoods off the North Coast of CA for two seasons after college. Her varied experience working with and caring for a variety of species of animals left her with a longing to pursue a career in improving the lives of animals and their owners in an impactful and positive way.
Her passion for veterinary medicine grew as she gained experience in the field at Placer SPCA assisting in shelter medicine, and a small animal veterinary practice in Washington while finishing her college degree in Zoology. Throughout her veterinary medicine career, she has developed a keen interest in preventative medicine, surgery, dentistry, integrative medicine including acupuncture, and mixed species medicine including working with equines, farm life and limited exotics. She has a passion for client education and community outreach.
In her free time, Dr. Miranda enjoys anything that gets her outside whether it be riding her horse, hiking with her dog and husband, or enjoying a good book in the sun! She is very excited to get started at PVPC and to meet you all and your fur family!
Dr. Claire Jacobson-Bowen, DVM
Dr. Claire has always had a deep love for animals. She gained hands-on experience while volunteering at the Marine Mammal Center. She earned her B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology in 2007 at UC Davis, followed by her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2013 at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
Her experience ranges from small animal clinics to animal shelters, but she has a special place in her heart for shelter pets.
In 2014, she became certified in acupuncture, adding a holistic element to her practice. She finds great fulfillment in improving the quality of life for her patients while building meaningful relationships with the pets as well as their owners, while guiding them through their pets’ health journey with compassion and understanding.
Dr. Claire loves to spend time with her family and friends. Her two young boys keep her very busy outdoors, whether it’s playing sports, hiking, or camping. She also enjoys quiet moments at home crafting, painting, or reading alongside her five cats and dog.
Dr. Tish Starr
Dr. Starr has a deep passion for animals as they have been a central focus for her entire life. She was born in Texas, but grew up in Nebraska where her family bred and raised champion field trial golden retrievers. Her experience at a young age with this breed instilled a deep love and sense of responsibility for them.
While in undergraduate school in San Francisco, Dr. Starr worked as a bellhop in a hotel on Fisherman’s Wharf as well as worked as a driver for a pet taxi service. After finishing her undergraduate, she went to UC Davis where she graduated veterinary school and since then has gained a wide range of experience in veterinary medicine including running a veterinary house call practice in Sacramento as well as owning and operating Camino Animal Hospital several years ago.
When she is not practicing medicine, Dr. Starr spends her free time at home with her husband, three dogs, four cats, chicken, and horse.
Amy, RVT (Practice Manager & Lead RVT)
Amy has a long history of experience in veterinary medicine that started in 1987 with most of her time being spent here at PVPC. Throughout the years, Amy gained experience in emergency medicine, dentistry, and surgery which has been invaluable knowledge she loves to share with her peers. Amy has filled many roles here at our hospital as lead veterinary technician, taking over practice management in the fall of 2017, and then becoming the practice owner in July of 2021. Her biggest passion in this field of work has been the close relationships she has built with our clients and their pets, and has made it her mission to continue building those connections.
Amy has spent most of her life here in El Dorado County where her and her husband raised a daughter and a son. She enjoys spending time with her family, her two crazy Frenchies, her cats, and her menagerie of chickens.
Tylene, Office Manager
Tylene has lived in the area for over 30 years and has a professional history of working in the administration field. Her love for animals brought her onto our team here in June of 2017 where she has been able to use her managerial experience to the fullest. Since then she has been able to expand her knowledge in veterinary medicine and client education as well as use her skills in training in reception and client care. Tylene is a key asset in all things reception, client services, and computer wizardry.
Being a long term resident of El Dorado County, Tylene and her husband raised two boys, and became incredibly active in the local schools and community. Both her sons are now adults and have recently been married in the last few years, one of which made her a grandma in June of 2023. Tylene is very active in the outdoors and enjoys spending most of her time camping, road tripping, and kayaking with her husband and family.
Emily, CVA
Emily has lived in El Dorado County her entire life so far. She joined the PVPC family in March of 2012 and during the beginning of her employment became a certified veterinary assistant. Since then Emily has taken on the role of lead in patient care as that is where her passion lies so she spends most of her time in the hospital working behind the scenes. Occasionally you may see her working with the exam room assistants as she also leads in training the new employees. Emily is certainly our go-to gal and plays a key role in the hospital.
Emily lives nearby with her husband, her brother, and their menagerie of cats. She enjoys writing poetry and short stories, reading, and
spending time in her garden at home.
Helen, Assistant
Helen joined our team in 2021. She recently relocated to our area from Grass Valley. She has been in animal medicine for 20 years. Her love of animals started early on, reading James Herriot and trying to tame a squirrel. She is interested in Acupuncture and loves the different aspects of animal medicine that we encounter every day. She loves the community here and lives with her boyfriend, Jody and enjoys gardening and woodworking in her down time.
Austin, CVA
Austin recently joined the PVPC family in January 2023, but he was born and raised in El Dorado County. He is new to the veterinary medicine world as he has been working in the automotive industry for the last six years. Now Austin is on his way to becoming a certified veterinary assistant and you will see him working as an exam room assistant caring for your pets. Although he enjoys being hands-on with the animals, Austin has developed an interest in the business and management side of veterinary medicine, and is taking a consideration in pursuing that route.
Austin spends most of his time with his sister and brother-in-law, his dog, and his couple of cats at home where they all live together. He
enjoys shooting guns and working in his yard with his brother-in-law.
Sierra, CVA
Sierra has spent most of her life here in El Dorado County and graduated from El Dorado High School. Her long time love for animals inspired her to join our PVPC family in June of 2023 and since then has begun her journey to become a registered veterinary technician. In the meantime, you will see Sierra as our main exam room assistant while she takes on the task of becoming a certified veterinary assistant. Her aspiration to learn has made her a great asset to our team.
Sierra enjoys partaking in her boyfriend’s passion for riding dirt bikes and spending time with their dog and their two cats.
Doreen
Doreen has been with Pleasant Valley Pet Clinic since 2013, after she retired from a career in dispatch. She was very excited to work with animals and is our lead caretaker. She loves spending time in the kennels with everyone’s pets!
Doreen is a lifelong owner and lover of animals with a house full of dogs, almost all senior and/or disabled. Doreen has a soft spot for dogs who need extra TLC. Doreen and her husband, Dave provides a loving home for them. Doreen’s hobbies include reading, archery, and travel.
Joanna, Assistant
Joanna has only been with us since October 2025, but her quiet demeanor has been the perfect fit for our team. Although she is young, our practice is not her first time in veterinary medicine. Joanna enrolled herself into a veterinary technician program through Carrington College and while enrolled in the program, she received her initial training there then graduated in 2021. Since then, Joanna has work experience as a CSR as well as assisting for about the last five years. This long term experience makes her a great asset for our team as she is a wealth of information. Since Joanna has shown to be very skillful in more areas than one, she is most utilized at the front desk to greet our clients and assist the doctors during patient exams.
Joanna grew up in Sacramento, but has lived in El Dorado County for the last three years. When not at work, Joanna loves to hike with her two crazy Dobermans and spend time with her friends.
Amanda, Assistant
Amanda first came to us in the fall of 2017 and at the time, had no background in veterinary medicine and was simply taking a leap of faith to try something new. In the Fall of 2023 she decided she was ready to try a new path which led her to another hospital in El Dorado Hills. Although she acquired many useful skills at this other hospital, in early 2025 she decided she was ready to join the PVPC family again where she feels most at home. Since her return, Amanda has been welcomed back with open arms and she has radiated pure joy as she cares for our patients and clients while assisting the doctors in exam rooms. Once more, our team is feeling more complete to have our family together again.
Amanda was raised in Folsom, CA and continues to reside there, but over the years has become familiar with El Dorado County as she enjoys spending summer days in the mountains floating on her kayak at one of our lakes. In her year away from us, she adopted her own little dog and they spend quite a bit of time on adventures or on long walks. If Amanda isn’t crafting or snuggling with her cat at home, she spends the majority of her time with her family and closest friends outside of work as she greatly enjoys company the most.
Shelby, CSR
Shelby came to us in the summer of 2025 with many years experience in the automotive industry. Since being here at PVPC, she has more than proven her willingness to learn the ins and outs of veterinary medicine, and has come so far in the knowledge she has gained since joining our team. Shelby’s long term goal is to eventually work with large animals, but is dabbling in small animal medicine for now. Hopefully we can keep her for as long as possible because she certainly is a joy to work with!
Shelby has lived in Grizzly Flats with her boyfriend for the last few years where she is well on her way to creating her own personal farm with her menagerie of animals from dogs and cats to chickens and breeding rabbits. Farming is her biggest passion; however, she does enjoy wheeling on the rubicon and spending time with family. If she’s not outdoors, Shelby spends a lot of time cooking as well as knitting, reading, and other arts and crafts.
Evelynn, CSR
Before joining our team, Evelynn’s professional experience lies in assisting customers in a bookstore, but her childhood desire to become a veterinarian peaked her interest in seeking a job in a veterinary reception office. That interest led her straight to us in the fall of 2023 and since then she has dove into learning the swing of a veterinary hospital. We sure hope that we have helped feed Evelynn’s curiosity in our special field because she has been a pleasure to have on our team.
Evelynn has an overall love for animals, but she feels most connected to feline friends. She has always had cats in her household growing up and she currently has four kitties at home. When Evelynn isn’t at our front desk assisting our clients or at home snuggling her cats, she enjoys playing the piano, writing, drawing, and watching animated movies or shows.
Nicole, RVT
Many of you may recognize Nicole as she was born and raised right here in Placerville, CA. She graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s in Animal Science in 2017 and graduated in 2023 overseas from University of Glasgow Veterinary Science. Traveling for her education allowed her to gain a lot of experience caring for many different types of pets to build her skills and knowledge. Since then Nicole has been settling back into her home here in El Dorado County and is very happy to be back in her roots. Prior to her studies and exploration in Scotland, Nicole has worked in our hospital on and off since 2012 so she is already well loved by us here at PVPC.
Outside of the workplace, Nicole enjoys spending time running around with her niece and nephew as well as the rest of her family who live locally, and baking delicious treats at home.
Jamie, RVT
Jamie grew up in the Bay Area and later began her career in veterinary medicine. Her past experience includes working with a doctor who specialized in dentistry as well as orthopedics. Prior to joining our team, Jamie left the Bay Area and moved her family to EDC in 2017 when she took a several year break to focus on her family. During her break, she came to us as a client with her own pets medical needs until she was ready to venture back into the medical world in May of 2023. Jamie’s prior knowledge in dentistry places her as a major asset to our team especially in the surgical and dental health areas. Despite her interest in animal dentistry, that area of veterinary medicine is more of an added perk to the job. What really has drawn Jamie to veterinary medicine all of these years is the daily challenge it brings to the table. Veterinary medicine can be so complex, but so rewarding that all staff involved learn something new every day and with that in mind it really is the perfect job for a go-getter like Jamie. Not to mention her knack for those spicy pets (probably because she comes with a lot of spice)!
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors or having game nights with her husband, young adult daughter, and teenage son. When taking time for herself, Jamie enjoys reading as well as doing arts and crafts.