Our Staff
Veterinary Staff | Practice Management | Client Care Staff | Patient Care StaffVeterinary Staff
J. Burner, DVM, MS
Dr. Burner graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1996 and has been practicing veterinary medicine for over 14 years. He completed a one-year internship in cardiology and internal medicine at California Animal Hospital before entering into general practice. Most recently, Dr. Burner practiced in a feline specialty hospital in Orange County.
Dr. Burner has a great deal of experience and interest in ultrasonography, internal medicine and cardiology. He is committed to practicing quality medicine and strives to treat every animal as if it were his own. Dr. Burner lives in Oxnard with his wife, Kirsten, daughter, Sophia and their other "furry kids"; dogs - River and Kodi, cats - Felicia, Blaze, Ophelia, and Wobbles, and their tortoise Stompy.. In his off-duty hours, Dr. Burner enjoys surfing, reading, good food and spending time with his family.
Stephanie Lipp, DVM
Dr. Stephanie Lipp graduated from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1997. She immediately entered general practice in Northern California before returning to her native Southern California roots. Dr. Lipp began consulting at Anacapa Animal Hospital in May of 2010. Dr. Lipp has a strong interest in veterinary dentistry and internal medicine. The human-animal bond is what attracted her to veterinary medicine and it is her personal and professional goal to nurture and enhance this special connection between her clients and patients with every visit.
Dr. Lipp lives in Thousand Oaks with her husband, daughter, son, 3 dogs, 2 cats, hamster and several goldfish. Along with spending time with her family and numerous pets, she also enjoys playing piano, snow skiing, reading and volunteering for animal rescues.
Karen Lovelace, DVM
Dr. Karen Lovelace graduated with high honors from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2004. After graduating from Kansas State she immediately began working with Dr. Gary D. Norsworthy at the prestigious Alamo Feline Health Center in San Antonio, Texas where she gained early and extensive experience in soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, and feline behavior. Following these passions, she moved to Southern California to work with Dr. Valerie Creighton (then president of the The American Association of Feline Practitioners - AAFP) at The Cat Doctor of Thousand Oaks. Dr. Lovelace most recently practiced at the The Cat Doctor in Thousand Oaks and Ventura.
Dr. Lovelace enjoys writing and editing and has published her writings in a popular clinical textbook on feline medicine. She has also contributed original work to the Journal of Veterinary Toxicologic Pathology, and is currently working on several chapters for a new veterinary technician reference.
In addition to these contributions, Dr. Lovelace has special interests in small animal behavior, diagnostic medicine, surgery, wellness/quality of life, and senior care. She has worked with canine patients on a part time basis and is very excited to incorporate canine diagnostic and preventative medicine, behavior, and surgery into her full time repertoire. Her future pursuits will include certification in veterinary acupuncture.
Dr. Lovelace lives in Ventura. She enjoys hiking, camping, cooking, reading, relaxing with her two cats, Melaena and Smudge, and volunteering in the community. In the past she has particularly enjoyed pet therapy with Great Danes, and most recently, volunteering her surgical skills for spay/neuter clinics at the Santa Maria Humane Society.
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Kirsten Burner, MBA - Hospital Adminstrator 
Kirsten or "Mrs. B." as she is known at the practice is the co-owner and Hospital Administrator at Anacapa Animal Hospital. Kirsten received her Bachelor's degree in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Master's in Business Administration from California State University. During her undergraduate studies she worked in various veterinary hospitals to help pay for college. After graduating from UCSB, she worked at the speciality practice, California Animal Hospital, with Dr. Stephen Ettinger where she gained her first insight into practice management.
After obtaining her MBA she pursued an interest in e-commerce. She worked as a Director of Global Web Services, Director of e-Strategies, and E-Store Producer for companies in the action sport and youth travel industries. She returned to her first passion, veterinary medicine, when she and her husband purchased Anacapa Animal Hospital in 2006.
In her spare time she enjoys hiking, walking, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. She lives in Oxnard with her husband, J., their daughter, Sophia, and their menagerie of pets.
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Nancy: Receptionist
Nancy joined the Anacapa team in April of 2006. In addition to her love of all animals, Nancy is also interested in fashion design.
She has a Jack Russel Terrier named "Mona" who she enjoys playing
with in her spare time. She also enjoys shopping, playing video games
and spending time with her fiance.
Emma: Receptionsit/ Technician Assistant
Emma grew up in Ventura but has spent the last year and a half in Bakersfield. She joined our team in January of 2010. While in Bakersfield she worked at a 24 hour emergency veterinary hospital. Emma loves animals and thinks it's great that she gets to work with them. She plans to go back to college soon and would like to be an RVT.
Emma lives with her husband and her three dogs (Tucker, Sasha and Brandy.) In her spare time she likes riding her bicycle, hiking, boxing, taking her dogs to the beach, and spending time with family and friends.
Roseann: Receptionist
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Patient Care Staff
Tracy: Patient Care Supervisor
Tracy was born and raised in Orange County, CA and moved to Ventura in 2008 to join the Anacapa team as Patient Care Supervisor. Tracy has been working as a veterinary technician since 1995 and became a Registered Veterinary Technician (R.V.T.) in 2001. In 2005, she was awarded the Outstanding RVT of the Year in Private Practice award by the California Veterinary Medical Association. She had worked for 12 years in a feline specialty hospital and has prior experience working in critical care and equine practices. In 2008, Tracy was one of the first RVTs in the nation to become a Veterinary Technician Specialists (VTS) in the area of small animal internal medicine. Tracy is also a member of a National Veterinary Response Team, which is a team of veterinary professionals that are specially trained to respond to national disasters where animal care is needed. One of her most recent deployments was in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 where she was sent to the New Orleans area to assess damages to the animal agriculture community, treat search and rescue canines in the field, as well as to care for the thousands of pets displaced by this tremendous event. She was also deployed the following year to Georgia in preparation for Tropical Storm Ernesto. Tracy also volunteers her time and skills to Rural Area Veterinary Services, a non-profit organization that provides veterinary medical care to animals in remote areas of the country where veterinary care is not available. She has traveled to indian reservations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and even Alaska in order to provide medical care and preventative care education to the people and pets of these communities.
Tracy lives in Ventura with her husband Eric and their three cats, Nate, Jimmy, and Minky and their three dogs, Harry, Jake, and urban search and rescue dog, Ben. In her spare time she enjoys outrigger canoeing, photography, gardening, walking her dogs on the beach and watching movies.
Holly: Veterinary Assistant/ Boarding Lead
A Massachusetts native, Holly relocated to the Ventura area with her husband Rey and began working at Anacapa in July 2007. Rey and Holly were relocated to California when Rey was told he would be stationed at Port Hueneme Naval base.
Holly has always loved animals and obtained an Associate Degree in Animal Care from Becker College. She most recently worked as an ICU technician for an Emergency Clinic in New Hampshire. She has five cats back home (Tiger, Smokey, Blacky, Oreo & Naila) that she misses desperately. Lucky for us, Holly transfers all of that love to the care she provides for our patients. When she's not at the hospital she enjoys spending time with her husband and going to the movies and beach.
Erika: Veterinary Assistant
Erika was born and raised in Ojai, Ca. She began working at Anacapa Animal Hospital in 2006 but moved out of state for a couple of years before returning to the sunshine of California. Erika lives with her husband, Jake and five and a half year old daughter, Bree in Ojai. She has a beautiful black lab named "Betty Bulldozer" and a cat, "Meow Matey."
Erika loves being able to help care for all of the patients at Anacapa Animal Hospital. She also loves the fact that she learns something new every day despite having worked in the veterinary field for over 7 years. In her spare time she enjoys camping, hiking, swimming and cooking.
Kendre: Veterinary Assistant
Kendre grew up in Ventura, Bakersfield, and Glendale. She currently lives in Ventura with her grandparents, sister and "Kloe" her blue Russian mix cat.
Kendre is currently attending Ventura College where she is working on her general studies. She hopes to transfer to Moorpark College and pursue the exotic animal training program in the next few years.
In her spare time, Kendre enjoys going to the beach, reading and spending time with friends and family.
Brittany: Technician Assistant/Kennel Attendant
Brittany was born and raised in Ventura and began working at Anacapa Animal Hospital in December of 2009. She has been working with and around animals for years having volunteered her time at the UCSB Marine Science Institute, the S. B. Nat. Hist. Museum Ty Warner Sea Center, and the S. B. Zoo. After earning her A.A. from Ventura Community College, she continued her education at UCSB and completed her B.S. in Zoology in 2007. She is thrilled to finally have the opportunity to be a part of such a great medical team. Currently she shares her home with two dogs (Duke & Ginger), a Crested Gecko (Gigi), a Snowy Mallard (Bunny), and five fish.
In her spare time she works in private homes and offices setting up and maintaining salt & fresh water aquariums. She enjoys SCUBA diving, traveling, swimming, surfing, gardening, knitting, and playing roller derby for the West Coast Derby Knockouts (Veronica Leggs # 36").
Tracy: Technician Assistant/Kennel Attendant
Carly: Technician Assistant/Kennel Attendant
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