Dr. Holly Merker's passion for veterinary medicine began at the age of 16, when she started volunteering at a practice in San Diego.

She earned her B.S. in Biology from UCLA and later a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) with honors from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where she was a proud member of the Phi Zeta Society.

With a career spanning various roles in veterinary practices throughout California and Las Vegas, Dr. Merker brought her expertise and compassion to Tucson in 2012. In 2022, alongside her husband, Dr. Walter Merker, DVM, she became the co-owner of Orange Grove Animal Hospital.

Dr. Merker finds joy in staying active, watching her sons play soccer, and traveling -- her favorite adventure has been to Costa Rica!

Dr. Walter Merker received his BS in molecular, cell and developmental biology in 2005 from UC Santa Cruz. In 2010, he received his DVM from UC Davis in California.

He spent two years in Las Vegas in a small animal and exotic practice before joining the Tucson, AZ veterinarians at Orange Grove Animal Hospital in the summer of 2012.

When not treating our exotic mammals, reptiles, and dog and cat patients, he is writing articles for REPTILES magazine and participating in the Tucson Herpetological Society.

Dr. Merker has two dogs: Grady, a Norwich terrier, and Greta, a boxer mix; two cats, Melon and Einstein; and numerous reptiles and amphibians.

Dr. Gordon has been associated with veterinary care for as long as she can remember. She began working as a kennel tech for a large animal hospital while still in high school and went on to graduate from Texas A&M and then from Ross Univ. in 2006.

As a General Practitioner, Dr. Gordon emphasizes preventive medicine. She believes in the partnership between pet owners and doctors and strives to develop the best treatment plan for each situation. Dr. Gordon always has the best interest of both pet care-givers and their pets at heart.

When not working Dr. Gordon enjoys walking her dogs, trying new restaurants, and spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Kimberly Spalding grew up in Tucson, AZ, where she began working in stables at a young age and decided early on that she wanted to pursue a career in taking care of animals.

She studied biology at Northern Arizona University and went on to receive her DVM from Michigan State University in 2015.

Dr. Spalding completed a one-year internship in equine medicine and then joined our team here at Orange Grove Animal Hospital back in her home of Tucson, AZ in 2016.

She spends time riding and caring for her horse, Velvet. Kimberly also enjoys traveling and all things true crime.

Dr. Sophia Valdez received her doctorate of veterinary medicine through Colorado State University. She holds the highest level of Fear Free Certification Elite and is Low Stress Handling Silver certified.

Despite falling in love with the woos of Colorado, the Arizona quail, the curious nature of lizards, and the beauty of monsoon season called her home to Tucson.

Prior to vet school, Dr. Valdez was both an intern zookeeper and a service dog trainer. The zoo and service dog world solidified Dr. Valdez’s love of conservation and animal behavior, making her an advocate for all creatures around us. After all, "A person’s a person, no matter how small."

Bio coming soon!

Angela started as an intern with Orange Grove Animal Hospital in 2013. She completed her certification as a veterinary technician at Pima Community College in 2014 and received her formal certification in 2015.

After graduation, she was hired as one of our main surgery technicians.
Angela is a mother of three wonderful children. She is also a mom to eight dogs, four tortoises, two box turtles, two iguanas, two bearded dragons, one leopard gecko and sixteen snakes.

Angela is also a full-time Senior Forensic Technician for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. She quips that her spare time is spent sleeping, but who are we kidding?? She has no spare time!

Jazzy was born in Garfield Lake, Ohio and grew up in a family that loves animals to include dogs, cats, birds and numerous reptiles.

She received her CVT training through Pima Community College and first came to Orange Grove Animal Hospital as an extern in 2015. She loves and cares for many pets of her own, including seven large dogs, two cats, one monitor lizard, one Veiled Chameleon and four snakes. Jazzy is a skilled veterinary technician
with special interests in exotic animal medicine and animal behavior. Jazzy enjoys art and the outdoors. She spends her spare time rock climbing, traveling, creating miniature clay sculptures and exploring nutrition science.

Ehryn grew up in farm country in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She has always had an undeniable love for animals and moved to Arizona in 2005 for a change of scenery and to raise
her two young sons.

Ehryn attended Pima Community College and PMI, where she received her veterinary assistant certificate. She started working at Orange Grove Animal Hospital in 2013 and has held many positions here as she learned and developed her technical skills through the years.

She loves the outdoors, traveling, swimming and hanging out with her family and her three dogs (Marcel, Klaus and Fiona) and cat (Tiger).

Zach was born in Tucson, AZ where he grew up in a family of six with numerous pets, including dogs, chickens, a bearded dragon and even a tarantula!

He completed his Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Arizona and came to Orange Grove Animal Hospital as a volunteer hoping to gain experience in the field of veterinary medicine. He has been working with us since 2016, first as an overnight kennel technician and now as a daytime veterinary assistant.

Outside of veterinary medicine, he spends most of his time with his family or re-watching his favorite T.V. show “The Office” for the 20th time.

Angela graduated high school a year
early and immediately went to college to pursue her passion -- a career working with animals. She has veterinary assistant certificates from both Pima Community College and Pima Medical Institute.

Angela joined our team in 2019 as a kennel technician, and now works as one of our treatment technicians, helping doctors and other technicians with diagnostics and animal care.

When she is away from the practice, Angela enjoys spending time at home with her family. She has two dogs, two guinea pigs, two shubunkin goldfish, two tortoises, a corn snake and a bearded dragon.

Elisa completed the Carrington College Veterinary Assistant program in 2014.

She has special interests in small animal surgery and exotic animal medicine.

Her pets include a cat named Charlie and two dogs, a Boy Named Sue and Patsy. She also has a Box Turtle named Turtle and a Green-cheeked Conure named Henry.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband.

A graduate of the University of Arizona’s Veterinary Science program in 2010, Krystal has been a technician at Orange Grove Animal Hospital in various capacities since 2005.

She became Dr. Jarchow’s full time technician in March of 2010.

Caring for Dr. Jarchow’s clients and patients are only part of her day, she also spends time caring for our hospitalized reptiles and is the acting supervisor on the weekends.

Outside of work, a very active and adorable son and three pugs, Daytona, Talladega, and Pocono, keep her and her husband on their toes.

Debbie completed her veterinary assistant certification through Carrington College in 2017. She did her externship at Orange Grove Animal Hospital and was hired immediately thereafter. She enjoys working at Orange Grove Animal Hospital and refers to the staff as her “second family.” Debbie is a detail-oriented person, remembering birthdays and special events for her colleagues and always making sure that animals are sent home looking their best after surgery.

She has four cats, three dogs and a baby Sonoran Desert Tortoise at home. In her free time, she enjoys swimming and hiking. She donates what she can to local animal shelters in remembrance of her dog that passed away in 2021.

Connor Danley has nurtured a deep passion for animals since childhood, always captivated by the zoo and Animal Planet. A Tucson native, Connor pursued this passion academically, earning an associate degree in applied science with an emphasis on veterinary technology from Pima Community College. 

At home, Connor's love for animals is evident in his personal "zoo," which includes two snakes, two dogs, a cat, and a desert tortoise. His blend of professional expertise and genuine love for animals makes him an invaluable asset to our team and OGAH patients.

In addition to his dedication to animal care, Connor enjoys playing board games and escaping to Show Low to spend time on the lake.

Jaclyn has been passionate about animals since childhood, initially caring for her pets and discovered her true calling as a veterinary technician, finding joy in directly caring for and treating animals.

Her journey began with volunteer work at a cat annex in Sierra Vista during the Monument Fire in 2006. The experience inspired her to pursue her education at Pima Community College, earning her veterinary assisting certificate in 2016 and graduating from the veterinary technology program in 2019. Jaclyn returned to OGAH in 2023, where she had previously worked in 2018.

Jaclyn enjoys spending time with her pit bull, cats, and ball python, and has her 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo – which she practiced for 10 years!

Damon is a lifelong Tucson resident who loves animals and has been taking care of them his entire life. He grew up with a large animal family of four dogs and three cats. As a teenager, his first job was being a pet sitter for dogs, cats and reptiles. He also used to work for the app “Rover” caring for and medicating dogs while their owners were away on vacation. He has volunteered as a technician and has been a technician assistant and kennel technician for Orange Grove Animal Hospital since 2018. Damon attended Pima Community College, where he majored in Computer Science. He is an avid tech geek.

Allison started with Orange Grove Animal Hospital in January of 2022 after getting her Veterinary assistant certification from Carrington college in 2021.

She’s born and raised in Tucson, AZ and grew up around many animals and always knew she wanted to help them.

Dogs especially have her heart and she has two dogs, two lizards and a cat herself, but her house has many different animals. In her free time you can always find her with her fur babies Blondie and July.

Jason has been a part of the veterinary field for over seven years. He completed The Veterinary Assistant Course through Carrington College in 2013.

Jason got his start in the veterinary field in 2015 when he began working as a Kennel tech/Patient Care Assistant in a Veterinary ER here in town.

Jason is the proud pet dad of two chihuahuas named Duke & Fido, a banana ball python named Kaa, and a rat named Splinter.

Serena was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. She completed the Veterinary Assistant certification course through Animal Behavior College and is currently working toward her Veterinary Technician degree through Penn Foster College.

She enjoys working in the veterinary field and strives to provide compassionate care for patients and clients. Her home zoo currently consists of one dog and one fantastic cat, but she hopes to expand the menagerie when she completes her education. Outside of Veterinary Medicine, she enjoys fishing, venturing to new places whenever possible.

Sherri was born in Honolulu Hawaii and grew up an Army brat spending about 20 years in West Virginia.

She has always loved animals and currently has two dogs and snakes.

She has spent over 20 years working customer service from training computer systems across the US to reception here at OGAH. She is an avid tattoo collector and spends her spare time creating resin art as a hobby.

Azaree is currently working on her Veterinary Technician Associate Degree through Penn Foster College.

She loves animals, especially reptiles, and has a little zoo of snakes, a gecko, a tortoise, and two cats named Faber and Atlas.

She grew up in the Sonoran Desert, riding horses and catching the critters in her yard. She enjoys working with all animals, big and small.

When she’s not at Orange Grove Animal Hospital, she’s probably in the desert somewhere looking for snakes or at home studying with the cats.

Carrie joined the Orange Grove team in 1993. First as a receptionist at Sonora Animal Hospital (our previous location off of Oracle), then as the assistant manager.

She has worn many hats over the years with the company and her experience in all aspects of the clinic make her a vital component to the day to day running of our practice.

When she isn’t running the day to day operations here at Orange Grove, Carrie runs a busy household of two school aged girls, two dogs, Emily and Pixie, three rats, Butterscotch, Lily and Dandelion, and her husband who is also a small business owner.

Dennis has been with the company since almost the beginning.

First as a kennel/veterinary technician, then as a receptionist and for many years as our practice manager.

When he isn’t working hard to keeping the behind the scenes financial aspects of the practice running smooth, he occasionally steps in to help with trauma and emergency cases.

Outside of the practice he is kept busy thanks to a very active son, his lovely wife and their energetic adopted chihuahua, Duke.