Everything you could possibly want for your pet in one location!
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Our Staff
Dr. Philip Nelson was born and raised in Minnesota. He grew up in the western suburbs and has always been interested in animals. "It seems the injured ones always ended up at my house." He graduated with his DVM from the University of Minnesota in 1972.
In December of 1976 he bought a veterinarian business, which was then located in a storefront near 25th street and Central Avenue northeast. Later, he moved his veterinary hospital to its current location on Central Avenue Northeast and it has been there for 33 years. Dr. Nelson enjoys overseeing a staff of skilled veterinary specialists and is highly dedicated to his clients. He believes in a practical and common sense approach to Veterinary Medicine and has never talked anyone into spending money that they should not spend. "I believe that if you take care of people, they will take care of you."
Copyright 2010 Pet Central Animal Hospital: Veterinary Hospital. All Rights Reserved.
Designed by Sandy Nelson
Veterinary Specialists Staff
For Dr. Nelson, The welfare of the pet has always come first. "I try to do the best that I can and treat them as I would my own."
Dr. Nelson spends his free time with his family. Two of his seven children ski race in the winter, and he enjoys racing homing pigeons in the summer. Dr. Nelson has a cat, a dog, a Boa constrictor, 6 chickens and 150 homing pigeons.
Dr. Mary Ngo has always lived in Minnesota and grew up in St. Paul. Her grandfather had a farm that she visited frequently during her childhood and has always been interested in animals. Dr. Ngo attended the University of Minnesota - Veterinary College and earned her Doctor of Veterinarian degree in 2006. She has been working with animals in one form or another for 13 years and has been with Pet Central Animal Hospital since 2006. When Dr. Ngo has time off she likes to quilt, scrapbook and cross stitch.
She also enjoys taking her dogs for long walks. In addition to her two dogs, Mika and Sumo, Dr. Ngo also has five birds: Boyd the Cockatiel; Jinx, Noodle, and Indi the Parrotlets; and Lydia the African Grey Parrot.
You can meet Lydia, the African Grey Parrot, when you visit Pet Central Animal Hospital.
German is a Veterinarian Technician and is also bilingual. German attended college at the University of Minnesota. He has an Associate degree and a Bachelor Degree in Animal Science. He also has a Veterinarian Technician Degree.
German is from Cañada Ombó, Argentina and grew up in Vera, Argentina. He has always worked with animals including cattle, horses, sheep and lambs and has five or six dogs on his family farm in Argentina. German has worked in the Veterinary field for six years and has been with Pet Central Animal Hospital for three years.
German speaks both Spanish and English fluently and is able to help us explain our services to Spanish speaking pet owners. In his free time, German enjoys spending time with family and friends. German has two dogs: Carmen, a white Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Benito, a brown and tan Chihuahua.
Samantha is from Lino Lakes, Minnesota. She is a Certified Veterinary Technician. Samantha graduated from Argosy University in 2008 with an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Veterinary Technology.
Samantha has always been able to connect with animals right away. She has worked in the veterinary field for three years. "Nothing makes me happier than helping animals."
When Samantha has free time, she enjoys fishing and shopping. She also manages an apartment building. Samantha has two cats: A Ragdoll cat named Chanel and a tuxedo cat named Oliver.
Amy is our Hospital Manager and is from Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Amy is a Certified Veterinary Technician and has an Associate in Science from the Medical Institute of Minnesota.
Amy became interested in veterinary medicine because it is an ever changing and challenging field. "It provides an opportunity for those of us who love animals to make a difference in their lives, which is very rewarding."
When Amy is not at the animal medical clinic she enjoys spending time with her many animals and doing volunteer work with horses.
Toni is our receptionist here at Pet Central Animal Hospital and is the first person you are likely to see when you come through the front door. Toni grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and attended Hennepin Technical College where she earned a degree as a Health Unit Coordinator in 1995.
Toni was always around animals growing up. She would always bring home stray animals that she would find. "I just knew I had to work with animals." Toni started out working at kennels more than 25 years ago. This fall marks her sixth year with Pet Central Animal Hospital.
When Toni isn't multi-tasking at Pet Central Animal Hospital she likes to play Disc Golf for fun with her family. She also enjoys fishing, biking and baking. She and her family consider themselves pizza connoisseurs. They will travel great distances to find the ultimate pizza. Toni and her family have a nine-year-old black cat named Chance and a gray and white Dwarf Hamster named Nike.
Lori is from Saint Anthony, Minnesota and attended both Argosy University and Bethel University. She is a Certified Veterinary Technician, a Registered Nurse and has a Bachelor of Science in nursing.
Lori has always enjoyed the peace and happiness that animals fill peoples' lives with. She has been in the veterinary field for five years and has spent all of that time at Pet Central Animal Hospital. "I strive to meet client satisfaction!"
In her free time, Lori is involved in missionary work and studies. She also enjoys cooking, baking, learning languages, traveling, scrapbooking and playing soccer on a women's soccer league. Lori has two dogs: Shadow, a Siberian Husky and Cain, a Lab mix.
Holli is a Veterinary Technician from Spring Lake Park, Minnesota. She is currently working on her degree at the Minnesota School of Business. Holli has been working with animals for five years and has been part of Pet Central Animal Hospital for two years.
"My mother had a big influence on me becoming involved with animals." Holli chose a career in the veterinary field because she has always cared for animals and wanted to make a difference.
When Holli has free time she enjoys going fishing, walking her dog and going bowling.
Holli has two cats, Kitty and Sisco; two Bearded Dragons, Buddy and Lola; and a Labrador named Dakota.
Lydia is an African grey parrot. African grey parrots are considered by experts to be one of the smartest birds. Because of their gentle nature and ability to mimic speech they have become quite popular as pets. African grey parrots may be the best talkers of all birds as they can easily learn hundreds of words and sounds. A male African grey parrot named Prudle is in the Guiness Book of World Records having a vocabulary of over one thousand words.
African grey parrots have been kept for pets for thousands of years. The Egyptians, known for their belief that the cat was sacred, are thought to be the first to keep African grey parrots and are said to have depicted them in their hieroglyphics. The Greeks also valued the African grey parrot as did the Romans who kept them in ornate cages. Even King Henry VIII of England kept one as a pet.
African Gray Parrots mate for life, though in the wild they often live in large flocks. They also play an important role in their habitat. Not all of the seeds they eat are digested so many of these seeds are passed through the bird's guano helping to propagate the forest. African grey parrots live for more than fifty years. In fact, because they live so long, many times they outlive their owners and need to be listed in their owner's will.
Lydia isn't actually a staff member but she adds a pleasurable ambiance to the already positive environment of Pet Central Animal Hospital. Come in to Pet Central Animal Hospital and see Lydia. She might just greet you with a surprising "hello."
Dr. John Dirksen grew up on a farm in Iowa where he developed a strong passion for animals. He graduated from Iowa State University in 2001, returned to school and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota in 2011.
Dr. Dirksen has a special interest in preventative medicine, surgery, and dentistry.
He lives in New Brighton with his wife, Allison, and their two Labrador Retrievers, “Jade” and “Ria”. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with family and friends, training his dogs and doing anything outdoors including running, gardening, hunting, and visiting the family farm
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Michelle Full Time Certified Veterinary Technician
