Dr. April Linson

Veterinarian

Dr. April’s earliest memories seem to always involve animals. As a young girl, she helped her dad care for family pets and felt that love and connection that only a companion animal can bring. Growing up in a small town in rural West Virginia, she spent lots of time outdoors and most childhood games and adventures involved at least one dog. Starting school exposed her to even more dogs in her neighborhood and many new friendships developed. Her dad could always tell when the school bus was about to arrive by the gaggle of neighborhood dogs which would assemble at the bus stop, waiting for her to get off!

Dr. April and her dad had their own rescue even before it was popular! She and her dad would find abandoned dogs and she nursed them back to health, then she and her dad worked to find them good homes. After initially thinking she wanted to be a human doctor, her passion for animals led her to realize she was destined for veterinary medicine.

Dr. April attended Potomac State College, then a year at West Virginia University before heading off to The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, she practiced in Huntington, West Virginia for a year, then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Ten years after leaving veterinary school, she was proud to be able to open up her own practice in the Cincinnati area. In 2004, Dr. April and her family decided to move to California to experience the wonderful weather, beaches, and mountains and have become spoiled!

Meeting Dr. April today, you probably wouldn’t know that she is shy but it’s true. In veterinary college, she had to find a way to communicate with pet families and she realized that there’s a common bond with everyone she meets in the office—that passion for animals! Talking with the animals as she had done all her life led to conversations with their human companions and relationships blossomed. Dr. April loves every day at work because she is working with people passionately committed to caring for animals and together, they are able to make a difference in the lives of the animals and the people visiting the office. Celebrating, sharing and protecting that bond between people and animals is a unique joy. She enjoys bringing integrative elements into her practice that many practices don’t offer, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal therapy, and laser therapy.

Dr. April is an avid athlete: she played basketball in college and still enjoys coaching her daughter’s team today. She loves spending time with her family whether it’s projects around the house, working out, swimming, playing with the pets, or simply doing nothing. In her free time, she loves reading, writing, and photography. She is a passionate Cincinnati Bengals fan. Dr. April and her wife Cathy met in 1999 and have been together ever since. They adopted their daughter Shen from China in 2002.

The family has two cats: Buddy, who came home with Dr. April for a long weekend and never left, and Cleo, who was rescued from a dumpster and hissed at everyone – but now purrs every time someone gets close enough to pet her! They also have three dogs: Stella, a pittie who loves to snuggle and adores children; Zoe, a bossy, but loving Boston; and Mea, a Boston who has never met someone she didn’t like & loves to sneak in as many kisses as she can every day!

Dr. Alaina Miller

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Alaina Miller is originally from Nashville, Tennessee and moved to Southern California in June 2015 with her husband, who grew up in Woodland Hills. She graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in 2008 and practiced as an associate veterinarian at a clinic just outside of Nashville for seven years before joining Woodland Hills Pet Clinic.

Dr. Miller wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as she can remember. She began working in veterinary clinics when she was 18 years old and has worked in nearly every position there is in a clinic – from a receptionist to a kennel worker to a veterinary assistant to a veterinarian, she has seen it all! Along the way, she was fortunate to find a wonderful community of doctors, staff, owners, and pets that helped nurture her desire to explore the field of veterinary medicine.

To Dr. Miller, being a vet is not just about practicing medicine – it is also about developing relationships. She loves getting to know animals and the people who cherish them, and she feels that this helps her provide her patients with the best possible care. Dr. Miller also enjoys discussing preventative medicine and healthy weight management with owners, and she believes that a proactive approach to pet healthcare is the best way to enjoy as many years as possible with our furry family members.

Dr. Miller enjoys spending time with her husband Sam and their two dogs Jack and Bristow. Jack is an older, one-eyed Jack Russell Terrier that is still spunky and LOVES to eat and snuggle under blankets. Bristow is an energetic mixed breed dog that continues to work on his Frisbee-catching skills and always has a “smile” on his face.

When she has free time, Dr. Miller enjoys traveling with her husband, practicing yoga, cooking, gardening, and playing with her dogs.

Kim

Managing Partner, Administrator

Kim previously owned a property management company before retiring in 2006. One day, her veterinarian and friend, Dr. April Linson, called her and said she had the opportunity to buy a practice. Kim jokingly asked her if she wanted a partner; without hesitation, Dr. Linson said yes! In January of 2007, Woodland Hills Pet Clinic opened their doors to the public.

Kim has always felt she has a knack for calming animals down, and firmly believes that animals should never be afraid to come to the vet’s office. It’s still one of the cornerstones of Kim and Dr. Linson’s practice beliefs, and they do everything they can to make animals and their owners as comfortable as possible in the clinic.

At home, Kim keeps several pets of her own. She has a Golden retriever, a ragdoll cat, a senior cat rescued from an alley, and two Tuxedo cats.

When she isn’t working or caring for her pets, Kim enjoys drawing, gardening, and building things. Kim actually designed and built the clinic’s reception desk!

Shy

Receptionist

After working in the hotel industry for eight years, Shy started to feel rather disenchanted with her job. One day, she started looking through the wanted ads in the Sunday paper and saw an opening for a veterinary receptionist position. The thought of working with animals sounded like a welcome change from the challenges of hotel management!

Around the clinic, Shy wears many hats: she serves as a greeter, a pet handler, an educator, a bookkeeper, and even a lab assistant. She’s especially passionate about client education and loves to help a pet owner understand their companion’s needs.

Shy and her husband, Seth, have three comical terrier mixes: Xena, Ralphy, and Hercules. When she isn’t spending time with them, Shy enjoys photography and finds a true sense of comfort when holding a camera.

Zaneta

Registered Veterinary Technician

Zaneta is originally from the Czech Republic where she grew up on a ranch that had many farm animals. She learned to milk a cow when she was only five years old. She came to the United States as an exchange student in 2000.

She has been studying to be an RVT (Registered Veterinary Technician) at Pierce College and has volunteered at Spunky’s Ranch and for the Hope Foundation, which cares for the pets of homeless people.

Zaneta is happily married with two children, ages twelve and four. She has a dog, two cats, a bearded dragon, and two lab rats that she adopted from school.

She enjoys cooking, baking, playing board games with my children, and reading the classics. She also likes to watch documentaries of any kind but, especially, ones on space, oceans, and the supernatural.

Celeste

Veterinary Assistant

Celeste is so excited to be a part of the Woodland Hills Pet Clinic family! She recently moved from Seattle to Los Angeles in August, and she is loving the sunshine.

Celeste has always loved animals and science,and after feeling stalled in a synthetic chemistry research path, she decided to give veterinary medicine a try. She has been working as a veterinary assistant for the past 2.5 years, and she plans to apply to veterinary school this year. She hopes to use all of the knowledge she gains from WHPC in her own practice as a veterinarian one day. Needless to say, this turned out to be the path she was always meant to take!

Celeste lives with her partner J and their two silly cats, Henrietta and Momo. In their spare time they like to travel, garden, hike, and play music. Celeste is a classically trained violinist and she also enjoys playing the guitar, bass guitar, accordion, and harmonica.

Carlos

Veterinary Assistant

Carlos knew he was going to work with animals since he was a kid. Growing up in Orlando, Florida sparked his curiosity with wildlife, exotic birds and reptiles. At 11 years old, he moved back to California with his family, where they were originally from.

After graduating high school something else sparked in Carlos and he made the decision to join the United States Marine Corps. He served in the infantry and was deployed twice to Afghanistan. Once he felt his duty to our country was complete, he was honorably discharged and he enrolled at Moorpark College immediately with the intentions of enrolling in the Exotic Animals Training and Management program to beginning his original plan of working with animals.

During his studies he decided that rather than just training animals he would like to help them medically and enrolled at Pierce College. While at Pierce College he has been taking classes in both the Pre-Vet program and in the RVT program. Carlos has also had the opportunity to work at an exotic animal hospital to build his knowledge and passion.

On his free time he enjoys snowboarding, cooking, playing pool, bowling, watching movies, and riding motorcycles. But most of all he enjoys lounging around the house with his 2 year old cat, Sushi!

Nicki

Receptionist

Nicki was born and raised in Southern California. She has been in the Veterinary field since 1998 in both Specialty medicine
and general practice. She has worked as a doctors assistant and receptionist.

She has a 15 year old Persian named “Madison” that enjoys sleeping on her head.

In her free time she enjoys being with her daughter for dance class and taekwondo, going to the beach and movies. She also enjoys music concerts and photography.

Sara

Veterinary Assistant

I’ve been working with animals for a few years now. It has been the best experience I’ve had in my life. I have four dogs of my own. They run my world. I wouldn’t change it for anything.