Practice Excellence
Diverse in talents, united in our mission.
Team
Driven by compassion and purpose, here is the team who will work to make a difference in your pet’s life. Every single visit.
Driven by compassion and purpose, here is the team who will work to make a difference in your pet’s life. Every single visit.
Dr. Faulkner has been a veterinarian at Central Houston Animal Hospital since 2007 and has owned the practice since 2008. Her desire and path to become a veterinarian started when she was in the second and third grade and hasn’t wavered since. She grew up in East Tennessee riding horses and began working as a kennel assistant at a small animal hospital at the age of 15. Through her college years, she worked as a veterinary technician while obtaining a BS in Biology, Cum Laude, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her Doctor of veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Tennessee in her home town of Knoxville.
Dr Faulkner relocated to Texas in 2001 and worked as an associate veterinarian until purchasing CHAH. She has a passion for internal medicine, geriatric care, and soft tissue surgery. Finding the cause of an illness and treating that rather than putting a bandaid on the problem is very important to her. In 2022, Dr. Faulkner became a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner and has loved adding those treatment modalities to alleviate pain and help to restore and maintain function.
In addition to rehabbing injured cats and dogs, helping homeless pets in Houston and surrounding counties is an important mission of Dr. Faulkner’s. She works with various rescue organizations and finds joy in being part of a process to those pets finding a forever home. She lives in Houston with her husband, two children and five dogs and occasionally finds time to ride her horse in her free time.
Dr. Darcy Reid has been with Central Houston Animal Hospital since 2004. Growing up, Dr. Reid and her military family travelled extensively and animals were a joyful comfort in a world full of exciting change. She has always had a love of animals and values the important and unique relationships she formed with her pets over the years.
Dr. Reid received her undergraduate degree in Business Analysis from Texas A&M University and achieved success in the computer consulting industry here in Houston. She continued to feel a strong connection to the world of animals and medicine and began moonlighting at a cat only practice at the encouragement of her then veterinarian. Instantly hooked, Dr. Reid was highly motivated to complete her prerequisite courses and later graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine.
Marriage brought her back to Houston and she joined the Central Houston Animal Hospital team in 2004.
Dr. Reid is grateful for the opportunity to improve the health and well-being of her patients and therefore their families and has enjoyed nurturing these relationships over the years. She believes that open communication, practicality, and attention to detail are vital to the process and appreciates that each family has a set of guidelines and expectations that are unique to them. Excelling in the long-term management of chronic diseases, Dr. Reid also enjoys wellness care, preventive medicine, internal medicine, and soft tissue surgery. She is a member of the AVMA, TVMA and Harris County VMA. Dr. Reid is thrilled to work in the middle of such a vibrant and diverse city. When she is not caring for her patients, she is caring for her family – her husband, two sons, daughter, and rescued animals including two dogs, two cats, and many fish. You can usually find them outdoors enjoying various sporting activities as well as the many parks, bayous and walking trails that Houston has to offer.
Education
Dr. Smith has been with Central Houston Animal Hospital since 2014.
Dr. Natalie Smith was born and raised in Houston. Veterinary medicine was a natural fit for a child inclined to bring home every animal she found. Her desire to heal them sprang from the sad fate of a lizard named Buttercup. Dr. Smith’s love for animals later found an outlet with the Future Farmers of America in high school. Dr. Smith first practiced at a rotating internship in Long Island, New York, where she nurtured an interest in emergency medicine. She continued emergency and critical care medicine at East End Emergency and Specialty Center for two years. After braving Northeast winters, Dr. Smith gladly returned to her home state of Texas. She accepted an emergency position at North Houston Veterinary Specialists where she was part of the clinic’s 24-hour emergency service team. She found herself seeking the long term relationships that come with general practice and thus joined the Central Houston Animal Hospital team in September of 2014.
Her interests include emergency medicine, surgery, and oncology and she is a member of TVMA and AVMA. Outside of her veterinary practice, Dr. Smith loves to spend time with family, waterski, train for endurance events, and help all the animals she can. Her goal is to treat and heal every animal she meets – without being bitten.
Education
Dr. Holmes has been with Central Houston Animal Hospital since 2019.
Dr. Christine Holmes was born and raised in Houston, TX. Her love and passion for animals started at a very young age. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Animal Science, Magna Cum Laude, from Texas A&M University in 2012. Dr. Holmes then received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Cum Laude, from Texas A&M University in 2017. She has worked in small animal private practice ever since. She is a member of TVMA and AVMA. Her special interests include internal medicine, preventative care, and dermatology. Dr. Holmes feels very blessed to have the privilege of being a veterinarian. She is dedicated to serving her community by providing care to all her patients and those who love them.
Dr. Holmes lives in Houston with her husband, Kevin, and their two kids. In her spare time she enjoys spending time in the Texas Hill Country and Galveston with her two dogs, Fischer and Lucy.
Education
Dr. Ayla Brown was nine years old on vacation in South Padre Island, Texas, when she first realized that she wanted to become a veterinarian. She found a Monarch butterfly unable to fly, and immediately brought the creature back indoors to nurse it back to full health. Young Dr. Brown made sugar water for the butterfly to eat and watched over it as it regained its strength. After a few hours, she watched her patient fly away. At that moment, Dr. Brown knew exactly what she wanted to do for the rest of her life!
Dr. Brown was born in Flower Mound, Texas, but grew up in Sugar Land. She started working here at Stafford Oaks Veterinary Hospital as a Technician Assistant while she was in high school, and then moved on to study animal science at Texas Tech University. Next, Dr. Brown gained acceptance to Oklahoma State University’s veterinary program and earned her Doctorate in May of 2019. Now, she’s thrilled to return to where it all started—right here at Stafford Oaks Veterinary Hospital—as an Associate Veterinarian!
Medically, Dr. Brown is passionate about surgical procedures and working with large-animal and exotic patients. Most of all, she loves to work closely with her clients to solve behavioral problems through a better understanding of the pet’s needs. Dr. Brown is especially proud to have received the World Animal Care Foundation Award in 2019 for her understanding of and appreciation for the human-animal bond.
When she’s not at work, Dr. Brown enjoys traveling, trying new foods, and exploring the great outdoors by scuba diving, rock-climbing, hiking, wakeboarding, or skiing. She has four pets of her own at home: A dog named Tina who runs the house; Charlie Brown the Chiweenie; Dexter, a cat who tends to act more like a dog and a pet fish named Butters.
Kristina was born and raised in Katy, Texas. She discovered her passion for veterinary medicine at the age of 16 with her first job working as a veterinary/kennel technician assistant. After high school she obtained her veterinarian paramedic certification. . During her fist year at Lone Star College – Tomball, she was awarded the Candice Howard Scholarship. She earned her associates of applied science and became a licensed Veterinary technician in 2011.
During her preceptorship at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists, she fell in love with the rehabilitation and fitness department. After accepting a permanent position with the department, she obtained her certified canine rehabilitation practitioner (CCRP) certification from University of Tennessee in 2014.
Kristina loves constantly expanding her rehab knowledge to better help her patients in every way. She is always researching and taking extra continuing education classes to further develop her skills as a practitioner. She is a member of American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians (AARV) and International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM).
Kristina is currently working towards her veterinary specialty in physical rehabilitation (APRVT). Her professional interests include alternative pain management for patients recovering from surgery and chronic osteoarthritis, in conjunction with developing a strong client patient bond to achieve all goals for each patient.
Outside of practicing rehabilitation and pain management, she enjoys spending time with her fur baby, Gus, a Terrier mix. Gus was adopted from school as he one of Kristina’s surgery patients. Outside of loving her fur family, she enjoys staying active and anything to do with the great outdoors.
Dr. Jessica Marziani has wanted to be a veterinarian since a very early age. Growing up on a small family farm in northeast Indiana, she knew the best career for her would be one surrounded by animals.
Dr. Marziani’s family farm had a little bit of everything. If it lives in a barn yard, Dr. Marziani has probably owned one or more! She was very active in 4-H growing up, completing ten years of 4-H showing livestock, horses and even doing crafts and baking. Her family history is deeply rooted in 4-H as she is a fifth generation member.
Dr.Marziani also actively competed in the Indiana Paint Horse Association show circuit and will tell you stories about the most influential animal of her life, Gretta, any time you want to hear them!
Dr. Marziani attended undergrad at Central Methodist University and vet school at the University of Missouri (Mizzou). After vet school, Dr. Marziani completed a grueling one-year rotating internship at Arizona Equine Medical and Surgical Centre. Dr. Marziani’s main interest going through school and her internship were lameness and getting horses back to competition. Having had injuries take her out of the show ring growing up, she wanted to be able to help keep horses moving at their best. After her internship, Dr. Marziani spent several years in equine medicine helping countless horses overcome injuries and making them comfortable. All the while, Dr. Marziani herself dealt with pain from years of horseback riding and strain on her neck. During this time, Dr. Marziani tried countless western therapies to try to reduce her neck pain without any success. All the while, she had witnessed several patients of hers improve dramatically through acupuncture therapies. This compelled Dr. Marziani to try acupuncture herself. After waking up for the first time in years without a headache, thanks to acupuncture therapy, Dr. Marziani was a believer! She knew this was a therapy method that she had to learn to help her patients even more.
Dr. Marziani attended the Chi Institute and became certified in mixed animal acupuncture. Once practicing acupuncture, Dr. Marziani started realizing that disease and injury prevention is a more effective service than simply reacting to ailments. She added chiropractic medicine to her tool belt by attending Parker University’s animal chiropractic course and becoming certified by the American Association of Veterinary Chiropractic. Practicing chiropractic exposed Dr. Marziani to cases that needed rehab, some due to surgery and some just due to lack of muscle mass from skeletal frame misuse. Wanting to know how to isolate a muscle and engage it to help build its mass lead to Dr. Marziani becoming certified in canine rehabilitation therapy by the Canine Rehabilitation Institute. Now Dr. Marziani believes her career has come full circle. From her childhood dream of getting her horse back into the ring after an injury, to being able to not only help patients recover from injuries, but help them prevent injuries in the first place!
Next time you’re at the Houston Zoo, keep your eyes out for Dr. Marziani. You just may see her rolling her bag around the zoo visiting some of the animals there and providing complimentary veterinarian therapies. Dr. Marziani has been volunteering her services at the zoo since September of 2014 and enjoys every second she gets to spend there.
Briana is avid Pitbull lover who has been working with animals for 9 years (2 years with CHAH!). She loves meeting new patients and making sure they get plenty of love and treats. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, listening to music, and roller-skating.
Born in Iowa, Carrie began her grooming career in a small shop in her hometown as bather, assisting groomers. There, she learned that she was a natural talent at grooming. In 2004 she moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she honed her skills learning all breed specific cuts and became quite skilled in hand scissoring and show cuts. She has now relocated to Houston, Texas and lives at home with her husband an 2 pets (Kyla, yorkie mix and Diego a maine coon mix. They enjoy cooking and riding motorcycles, or a quiet movie night at home. Carrie truly loves and enjoys her profession, and she believes that her relaxing and gentle nature makes a more enjoyable experience for pets. She is always happy to meet with you to learn exactly what you want out of a groom. Carrie is available Monday thru Friday for grooming appointments. Come by and see her!
Circe was born in Mexico City. She has always had a love of animals and discovered her passion for veterinary medicine. She studied Veterinary Medicine in her native country and graduated, obtaining the title of veterinary doctor. She moved to Houston, Texas with her family in the year 2019. She is part of the CHAH team of veterinary technicians. Circe loves to constantly expand her knowledge to better help patients in every way. She is constantly studying and taking additional continuing education courses to further develop her skills and knowledge. She also likes to spend time with her family and her four-legged friend Asher, a Chihuahua that was adopted from CHAH.
Lori is from Pasadena, Texas. She has been working in the veterinary field since 2010. She has 3 dogs – Bentley, Deku, and Ollie. She enjoys helping other and in her free time enjoys watching movies, bowling, and spending time with her family. Her favorite part of the job is meeting new clients and their pets and assisting them in every way to make their experience go as smoothly as possible.
Since an early age, Michelle has always been passionate about animals and their well-being. From her childhood dog, to her current patients at work, she has thrived in providing animals with intricate care and aiding them to live out the comfortable lives they deserve. Throughout her high school and college career, her volunteer work has centered around her passion for animals. Michelle volunteered with Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center where she participated in dove banding and record keeping. At Waller Equine Hospital, she was able to observe a melanoma removal and reproductive processes including semen collection from a stallion to then study under a microscope. She was also a temporary foster and adoption assistant for the Pup Squad. Michelle graduated from McNeese State University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Animal Science, and then earned a Master’s degree in Environmental and Chemical Sciences. She became a credited author after writing and presenting her thesis: The Evaluation of Factors Associated with Pre-Race Behavior in Thoroughbred Race Horses. For her research, Michelle spent hours at Delta Downs Racetrack observing race horses and their behavior just prior to their races, identifying stress factors and dynamics. The goal of her research was to potentially allow trainers and handlers to alleviate the racehorse’s stress level and improve their overall welfare more quickly. After graduation, Michelle continued to work in the animal industry and became an employee at Central Houston Animal Hospital as a kennel technician in 2018. Just a few months later, she was promoted to being a veterinary technician where she had the pleasure of witnessing Dr. Marziani treating her patients. This immediately sparked interest for Michelle and encouraged her to want to learn and develop her career in the field of rehabilitation and pain management. She joined Central Houston Animal Hospital Rehabilitation and Pain Management Department in January of 2022 and is currently in school to receive her CCRA (Certified Canine Rehabilitation Assistant) from the Canine Rehabilitation Institute. This is the same program and curriculum that Dr. Marziani did when she became certified in rehab. With further education in this field, she hopes to provide the best care to each patient that she encounters and help increase their overall welfare, while also maintaining a relationship with the client and making sure they feel comforted and educated throughout the entirety of the process.
Bex is a native Houstonian that grew up in East End before moving around the west coast while raising her son, Logan. She worked in customer service for 10 years before finally pursuing her dream of working in the veterinary medical field. She graduated from Vet Tech Institute of Houston December 2021 and has since been working in animal clinics and hospitals. She has been with CHAH since November of 2022. She is currently studying for national and state exams to become a licensed Veterinary Technician. Her favorite patients are generally small, long-haired dogs. She has a special love for chihuahuas. In her free time she is either sleeping, eating, or watching horror movies.
Tanya has been with Central Houston Animal Hospital since 2005. Tanya was born and raised in Mexico. After obtaining her BS degree in Computer Science she moved to Houston, Texas. She started her journey in the veterinary industry when she joined CHAH 18 years ago. She began to gain experience as a kennel technician, surgery technician and years later in inventory management. Today she continues to expand her knowledge in the field as an assistant manager. Tanya lives in Katy with her husband, their two daughters and their adopted dog Max. She enjoys traveling to Mexico and visiting her family often.
Virginia has been with Central Houston Animal Hospital since 2022. She is a native Houstonian, and lives in the Katy area with her husband, two girls, and menagerie of pets. She graduated from Vet Tech Institute in 2010 and worked in a critical care setting before discovering her passion for leadership. Her favorite part of being a practice manager is being able to develop longterm bonds with both clients and patients as CHAH helps them through their variety of needs.
Lynell has been working with animals for 23 years, and at Central Houston Animal Hospital for nearly 16 years. She loves placing catheters, drawing blood, and interacting with clients. She also loves working with the fur babies – puppy breath is the best! The best part of her job is helping them feel better. She wakes up every morning knowing that her day will be filled with wagging tails and purring cats and kittens. She loves working at CHAH due to the family feel.
Tristen has been a veterinarian technician for over a year after graduating from Vet Tech Institute. He has a passion for helping animals and currently owns a dog as well as two leopard geckos.