Hover over staff pictures for a fun surprise!
Our Receptionists
These team members are the backbone of our clinic. They help all of our clients from the first phone call to when you check out! We love our receptionists!
Dianna Pedersen
Dianna has over 10 years of experience as a receptionist and veterinary assistant. She joined the Abilene Animal Hospital staff with previous experience in the human medical field and transitioned to veterinary medicine with ease! Dianna is always ready with a smile and to help you with your companion animal needs. She serves as our office manager and keeps us running like a well oiled machine. Dianna is another cat lover and uses her creativity to make homemade cards in her spare time. She also plays the viola in the Salina Symphony.
Doug Nuttelman
Doug Nuttelman joined the AAH team in 2017. He grew up on a Christmas tree farm south of Enterprise, KS. A graduate of Missouri State University with a BFA in musical theatre, he worked many years at Great Plains Theatre, before departing in 2015. Doug lived several years in New York City and spent time living on the central coast of California. His constant companion since 2008 was his beagle Mei, who received exceptional care from AAH throughout her 14+ years. He misses her daily. In his free time, Doug paints and makes artwork, and a few of his paintings can be seen around the clinic!
Alishah Hagerman
Alishah joined the AAH team in 2021 with years of customer service experience under her belt. She has a BS in Animal Science from Kansas State University that comes in handy with animal related inquiries. Alishah is a bright face in the clinic and keeps us on the tracks even on the most chaotic days! She enjoys spending time with all her fur babies, winding down with a good book, and may have a chance at a title in professional napping.
Our Doctors
Our amazing doctors work hard every day to make sure that all of our patients are well taken care of!
We love our doctors, and we think you will, too!
Jon Gose
Dr. Jon Gose is a practicing veterinarian and part owner of Abilene Animal Hospital. His special interest is small animal orthopedic and soft tissue surgery and dentistry. He has received advanced training in orthopedic surgery and is certified to perform the TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) and the CBLO (Cora Based Leveling Osteotomy) in order to repair cranial cruciate ligament injuries. He has training from the Colorado Pet Dental Training Center and the Animal Dental Training Center in Baltimore, MD in order to perform advanced oral surgery and dentistry.
Dr. Gose received his bachelor's degree in Biology from Kansas State University after serving for four years in the United Stated Marine Corps. He then graduated from KSU with his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 2003. He and his wife, Mitzi, returned to their wonderful hometown of Abilene to be close to family and to raise their three children, Keegun, Mika and Aiden.
Megan Potter
Megan L. Potter is currently a veterinary clinician and part owner at Abilene Animal Hospital, PA. She focuses on swine research and herd health management.
She received her Bachelor of Science degree as well as her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Purdue University. Dr. Potter earned her doctorate of philosophy degree from Kansas State University in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology with a research emphasis on porcine circovirus. After graduation, Dr. Potter joined Abilene Animal Hospital and has enjoyed working with the team since that time.
Dr. Potter is licensed in the states of Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas Pork Association, and American Society of Animal Science.
She enjoys her time away from the office with her furry friends at home and loves being outside and in the garden.
Becky Rankin
Becky J Rankin is a clinician in general practice and is part owner at Abilene Animal Hospital. She received her Bachelor of Animal Science degree as well as her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University. Becky has worked in rural mixed animal practice since graduating veterinary school in 2011. Dr. Rankin enjoys working with animals of all sizes and is happy to be back working in her hometown of Abilene, Kansas.
Dr. Rankin is licensed in the state of Kansas. She is currently a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.
She enjoys running and spending time with her family.
Trevor Martin
Trevor A. Martin is a practicing veterinarian and part owner at Abilene Animal Hospital P.A. He specializes in swine population medicine. He also enjoys working with the local 4-H families with their showpig projects. Dr Martin attended Kansas State University for his Bachelor of Science degree. He followed with a DVM from Kansas State University in 2009. After graduation he practiced in northwest Iowa in a mixed animal practice working predominantly in swine before joining Abilene Animal Hospital in 2018. Dr. Martin is licensed in the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
Dr. Martin loves small town life in Abilene with his wife Rachel, their son Cash, their daughter Molly, and their Brittany Spoodle, Bodee. In his time away from work Dr. Martin enjoys sports, hunting, fishing, and Nebraska football!
Taylor Crandall
Dr. Taylor Crandall is a veterinary clinician in general practice and part owner at Abilene Animal Hospital. She received her Associates of Science Degree from Cloud County Community College and her Bachelor of Animal Science Degree from Kansas State University. Dr. Crandall graduated from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018 and has since been a rural mixed animal practitioner. Dr. Crandall's main interest is working with small animals and is very passionate about internal medicine.
In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her husband, Clayton, daughter, Reagan, and their numerous pets. Dr. Crandall also enjoys spending time outdoors and staying active!
Lisa Tokach
Lisa M. Tokach is a veterinary clinician in general practice at Abilene Animal Hospital, PA. She specializes in swine population medicine. Dr. Tokach is also the personnel director for AAHPA and is also serving as the President of Kansas Swine Alliance, Inc.
She received her doctorate at the University of Minnesota. In 2001, she was appointed as a diplomate in swine health management to the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners which was renewed in 2011.
Dr. Tokach is licensed in the states of Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska. She is a member of the American Association of Swine Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas Veterinary Medical Association, Kansas Pork Producers Council, Association of Psychological Type, and the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. In 2008, Dr. Tokach received the Swine Practitioner of the Year from the American Association of Swine Practitioners and in 2012 she was honored with the Leman Science in Practice Award.
In her spare time, Dr. Tokach enjoys backpacking, beekeeping, horseback riding and working on solutions to solve world hunger.
Anna Hickert
Dr. Anna “Red” Hickert is a Hays native, mixed animal practitioner, and cooking enthusiast. She received her Bachelor’s of Veterinary Science from Kansas State University in 2018 and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University in 2020. Dr. Red enjoys the variety and never ending challenges of providing care to both large and small animals. In her free time, Dr. Red enjoys trying new culinary techniques, restoring old furniture, spending time with friends and family and going on multi-state road trips with her partner, Steven, on their Indian Challenger motorcycle. Steven and Dr. Red have made it a goal to make it to 49 of the 50 states on the back of a motorcycle.
Anthony Hemman
Anthony Hemman is a mixed animal practitioner working at Abilene Animal Hospital. He is a native of Seneca KS and graduated from Benedictine College in 2019 with a bachelors in biology. He received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University in 2023. Anthony enjoys working with all species but takes a special interest in production animal species. Dr. Hemman is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American association of Bovine Practitioners, and the American association of Swine Veterinarians. Outside of veterinary medicine, he enjoys hiking and keeping up with his seven siblings.
Our Technicians
This group of people have the biggest hearts! It's their goal that your pets feel safe and comfortable during their appointment or stay at AAH.
Shelli Gugler RVT
Shelli Gugler joined the AAH staff in 1987 upon completion of her degree as a Veterinary Technican from Colby Community College. In addition to her laboratory and primary animal care responsibilities, Shelli is a surgical and anesthetic technician. She has received advanced training in canine semen analysis and frozen semen technology. She is a cat lover and avid photographer!
Kristin Remmenga
Kristin was born and raised Nebraskan who grew up loving all sorts of animals on her family farm. Kristin was active in 4-H showing cattle, horses, and meat goats. She graduated from Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in 2012 with an Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology. She came to us with over 4 years of experience as a veterinary technician. Cattle, llamas, and horses have a soft spot in Kristin's heart. She started here as our Large Animal Technician in 2017. Kristin and her family live on a funny farm near Talmage.
Emily Hafner RVT
Emily got her start in the veterinary field right here at AAH. She was a kennel attendant throughout her high school years and graduated from Colby Community College in 2016 with her Associates degree in Veterinary Technology. She later passed her national exam and registered with the state to obtain her license as a Registered Veterinary Technician. Emily spends most of her time performing dental cleanings, running anesthesia and assisting doctors in surgery. She has a special interest in Orthopedics and is part of our Orthopedic team here at AAH. She enjoys working with all small animals but Labradors have a special place in her heart.
Dawn Gabel
Dawn joined our staff in 2002 as a part-time kennel manager and quickly became a full-time asset to our hospital team. Dawn is an important part of our companion animal team as she provides pre-operative, surgical and anesthetic assistance along with post-surgical care of our patients. She is a big dog lover and avid mushroom hunter!
Kathleen Hand
Kathleen was born and raised in Abilene, Kansas. She graduated from Abilene high school in 2015. She went to Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas and graduated in May 2019 with an associates degree in applied science for veterinary nursing. In November 2022 she finally landed her dream job here at Abilene Animal Hospital as a veterinary technician! Kathleen has always had a passion for animals. She has three dogs, Maggie and Noelle who are lab mixes and Brynlee, her pitty mix. She has four cats, Nins, Aiden, Colby, and Sapphire. She also has two chinchillas named Tillie and Billie, as well as a corn snake named Kasper. Last but not least, she has a 55 gallon tank full of different varieties of fish!
Mercedes Moody RVT
Mercedes joined the AAH team in 2021 with 8 years of assistant/office manager/technician experience with both large and small animals. A native Kansan, she spent her grade-school years in California before coming back to Clay Center where she calls home. She completed Colby Community College’s Distance Learning Program with an Associates degree in Veterinary Technology in 2018. She passed her national exam and registered with the state to obtain her license as a Registered Veterinary Technician. Mercedes has known she wanted a job where she works with animals since she was 3 years old, and now she is living the dream! She loves cats, playing pc games, and reading. Mercedes is a Cat Friendly Veterinary Professional, and she also designed our website!
Our Worker Bees
These are the individuals running the clinic behind the scenes. They are often heard, but rarely seen and keep the lights on in more ways than one!
AJ Jones
AJ earned a BS in Biology from Kansas State University with skills in laboratory diagnostic procedures. She is the primary receptionist for the swine department, and manages our in-house laboratory. She is knowledgeable in all areas of animal export and interstate movement of animals. Her hobbies include wildlife rehabilitation and dog training.
Heather Bohannan
Heather is a hometown girl from right here in Abilene, Kansas. Heather has over 20 years of experience working in an office setting.
In August of 2021, Heather joined the Abilene Animal Hospital team where she manages the Abilene VetMeds program along with other duties as needed including inventory and accounting. Heather loves helping clients, keeping them supplied with all their animal health needs.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time hunting with her husband and son, being outdoors, gardening, and doing crafts. Heather enjoys helping her family work cattle. Labradors are Heather’s favorite dog, especially of the chocolate variety like her current pet Rowdy.
Ryan Spillman
Ryan was brought on to the team in 2022 as a kennel attendant and is now being trained part-time as a veterinary assistant. She's always had a love for animals and is very excited to learn all she can to help them.
She enjoys reading and spending time with her feathered companion, Daiquiri, as well as her close family and friends.
The Boss
Meet our boss, Wiggles! This guy handles all of our day to day business and ensures our clinic runs smoothly. From ripping into our pet food bags, to making us all jealous of his amazing ability to nap through anything, we couldn't do what we do without Wiggles!
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About Us
Abilene Animal Hospital was initially founded as a single doctor, large animal practice. Over the years it has become a thriving multi-doctor, mixed animal practice. Each of our veterinarians have a special interest area including swine herd health management, equine reproduction, dental health, orthopedic surgery, canine reproductive technology, feline medicine, surgery, and physical therapy.
This is what our building started out as!
Our History
The Abilene Animal Hospital, PA was founded in 1946 by Dr. Frank W. Jordan. Dr. Jordan was a Beloit native who received his degree in veterinary medicine in 1939 from Kansas State University. He spent 1 year as a professor in the veterinary science department at Mississippi State College and then entered the United States Army in 1940. After his discharge from the service in 1945 he returned to Abilene where he owned and operated the Abilene Animal Hospital until his retirement in 1975. Dr. Jordan was president of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association in 1955, Kansas Veterinarian of the Year in 1960, and received the KVMA Distinguished Service Award in 1972. Dr. Jordan was also well known for his community activities and philanthropic support of Kansas State University as well as local charities.
Dr. Frank R. Jordan received his degree in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 1964 and then joined the United States Air Force. After his discharge in 1966 he returned to Abilene to join in practice with his father. He became a partner in the practice with Dr. Mike Whitehair in 1975 upon his father's retirement. Dr. Jordan retired from practice in January 2003 and was named Kansas Veterinarian of the year that same year. He passed away in 2016 and is missed sincerely by the veterinary community.