Meet Our Team!
Veterinarians
Dr. Kate Larson Nikbakhsh
Veterinarian, Practice Owner
Dr. Nikbakhsh graduated from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005. After completing an internship at an emergency and specialty hospital in Lynnwood, she officially joined our staff in July of 2006. However, she has been a part of this hospital since the days when she would go to work with her Dad to play with the animals. As a young child, she spent many hours walking dogs, cleaning cages and poop scooping. Even after doing all that dirty work, she knew that caring for animals was her passion and loves that she was able to join Dr. Larson in serving the veterinary needs of our community. Her interests include emergency medicine and surgery.
When not working, she enjoys running, gardening, making wine and playing with her 20 chickens! Her three children keep her pretty busy too.
Dr. Gary P. Larson
Veterinarian
Dr. Larson graduated from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1977. He and his wife moved to Los Angeles to complete an internship at West Los Angeles Veterinary Hospital in 1978. In 1983, they returned home to Puyallup to be closer to friends and family and purchased a small practice that fit in our current parking lot.
In September of 2006, Dr. Larson was able to fulfill a dream that was over 20 years in the making. With some creative building and planning, the current state-of-the-art veterinary facility was built around the original office. Over the course of a long weekend, the equipment was moved out of the old building and into the new building and the doors to the current facility were opened the following week. Since then, the team has grown and expanded to better serve the Puyallup community and continue to provide high quality medicine using cutting edge techniques and technologies. Dr. Larson now feels honored to spend a majority of his time doing the complex and challenging surgeries that he loves most. After many years of hard work and dedication, he and his wife, Debra, are very proud of what South Hill Veterinary Hospital has become under their leadership.
Outside of the hospital, Dr. Larson is an active member of the Puyallup Community where he was born and raised. His many volunteer commitments include serving on the boards for NWTrek and the Puyallup Schools Scholarship Foundation.
Dr. Melissa Deprez
Veterinarian
Dr. Deprez originally joined us as a Kennel Staff member. She earned her certification to work as a Veterinary Technician and then eventually left us to go to veterinary school. We were extremely excited when Dr. Deprez graduated from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1996 and re-joined our team as a doctor that same year. She has been a valued member of our team of doctors for over 20 years now. Dr. Deprez has a strong interest in diagnostic ultrasound and critical care.
During her nights and weekends, she is very active. She enjoys cycling, hiking, mountain climbing and performing in triathlons.
Dr. “Cindy” Yihsin Chang
Veterinarian
Dr. Chang completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at Texas A&M University in 2009. Shortly after graduation, she moved to the beautiful state of Washington and had been in small animal practices as a general practitioner. She joined the team at South Hill Veterinary Hospital in early 2014 and fit right in. She enjoys doing soft tissue surgeries as well as working up internal medicine cases.
Outside of work, she loves spending time with her dog, Tayto, and three cats, Noah, Blue, and Mimi. She also loves traveling to experience different cultures and landscapes and enjoys outdoor activities such as kayaking and hiking.
Dr. Kyle Johnson
Veterinarian, Medical Director
Dr. Johnson graduated from Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018, where he soon moved back from Pullman. He originally started at South Hill Vet in 2006 as Kennel Staff! His main interests in Veterinary medicine include soft tissue surgery and orthopedics.
Dr. Johnson is a Puyallup native and is happy being back at home. Outside of work, he spends time with his wonderful wife and 3 dachshunds. They all love to go hiking and cuddling up to watch movies of all kinds.
Dr. Skyler Hallquist Charron
Relief Veterinarian
Dr. Charron grew up in Enumclaw, Washington. After high school, she moved to Colorado where she completed her bachelor's degree in Equine Science from Colorado State University in 2015. She moved on to Pullman, Washington where she became a veterinarian after graduating from Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2019.
During the summer breaks in veterinary school, Dr. Charron worked as a veterinary assistant and a veterinary technician at South Hill Veterinary Hospital and fell in love with small animal medicine. She enjoyed it so much she continued at South Hill Veterinary Hospital as a doctor after graduation in May of 2019.
When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, horse and two cats. She also enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking and gardening.
Dr. Clara Kappelman
Veterinarian
Dr. Kappelman grew up on Vashon Island where she developed her love of small towns, ferry boats and farm fresh chicken eggs.
After high school, she moved to Minnesota, earning her bachelor’s degree in biology at Carleton College in 2014. She returned to the PNW and worked with an equine/farm animal veterinarian for two years. Looking for a taste of big city life before veterinary school, she moved to Chicago and spent time working in a small animal ER. She graduated from Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021 and was lucky to join the South Hill team shortly after.
When not working, her happy place is in the mountains. Expect to see a silly grin on her face if she is hiking, backpacking, biking, skiing or kayaking. She lives in the shadow of Mt. Rainier with her adventure pal and 10/10 good dog, Tucker and her dog-in-a-cat’s-body, Havarti. She eats as much cheese as possible and loves a bubble bath with a good book.
Office Staff
Karoline, Hospital Manager
Leah, Inventory/Pharmacy Manager
Toni, Administrative Assistant & Auditor
Licensed Veterinary Technicians (LVTs)
Jaime, Technician Supervisor
Diane
Carolyn, Veterinary Assistant Supervisor
Stephanie
Tiffany
K’Lee
Kristina
Jesalyn
Maggie
Gracie
Veterinary Assistants
Betsy
Lorelle, Client Service Representative Supervisor
Kendra
Makayla
Delinda
Mary
Hannah
Nastasja
Kelly
Makai
Client Service Representatives
Lori
Maegan
Kelsi
Maria
Grace
Alisha
Breann
Ashley
Kennel Staff
Karen
Holly, Kennel Supervisor
Jessica
Cydnie
Bailey
Ashleigh
Patricia
Grooming
Aaron, Groomer
Fill in
Christina
Alexis, LVT
Stacy, LVT
Seasonal Employees
Amy
Divinity
Nicole
Interested in joining our team? Click Here!