AZPetVet Animal Hospital at Verrado & Grooming

Dr. Briana Jaye Staten-Hunkler

I was born in Germany but grew up in Elizabeth City, NC. Ironically, I was a bit timid around animals as a small child until I had the opportunity to save a kitten’s life! After that, I volunteered with a feral cat colony to help other cats in need. I moved to Arizona to attend Midwestern University to earn my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, and fell in love with everything this state has to offer.

At home I currently have two cats and two dogs, and hope to adopt a goat into my four-legged family in the near future. I love small animal medicine, and am excited by the opportunity to also care for small ruminants (like goats) and pot-bellied pigs someday like some of our AZPetVet doctors do at a couple of our sister hospitals. I look forward to meeting you and your pets!

Dr. Johanna DeKing

I am originally from the Midwest and spent time growing up in Illinois and Wisconsin before moving to Arizona with my family. I attended Arizona State University, graduating summa cum laude. I then earned my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University in 2009 and graduated as a member of the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society. Following graduation, I completed a one-year internship at Washington State University to further expand my knowledge in areas of emergency and critical care, oncology, internal medicine, and surgery. I then returned to sunny Arizona and have spent the last 10 years of my career with AZPetVet.

While I enjoy all aspects of clinical medicine, my particular interests are in surgery, dentistry, and in the care of senior patients. Senior pets can have so many special needs and often require a fine balance of multiple diseases and/or medications. My goal is to make their senior years as content and pain-free as possible.

I share my home with my husband, Chris, two children, Hayden and Carter, and our five rescued dogs, Jack, a rottweiler mix, Sawyer and Emmett, both large mixed breed dogs and two lovable pitbulls, Gus and Lea. I’m an avid Chicago Cubs and Arizona Cardinals fan and also enjoy hiking, cooking, reading, and spending as much time outdoors with my dogs as possible.

I so look forward to meeting and caring for the pets of Verrado!

Dr. Kelsey Hall

I was born and raised in Peoria, Arizona – in fact, I am a member of one of Arizona’s Founding Families – my ancestors moved West before Arizona was a recognized state. I started working as a Kennel Tech in high school, and shadowed a number of vets during my time in college to learn as I worked.

I did my undergraduate degree at University of Arizona, graduating in 2013. I attended Veterinary school at Oklahoma State, graduating as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2017. My areas of specific interest are Dentistry and Chiropractic for animals.

My husband and I have two horses, Mandy and Splash, and two dogs, Pixie and Roux. My hobbies are horses, horses, horses! I regularly compete in the three-day events, which are the triathlons of the equine world. They’re challenging and lots of fun. As a new member of the AZPetVet family, I’m looking forward to getting to know our pet patients.