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Dr. Leah Carpenter - Owner
Dr. Carpenter grew up in Lancaster, Ohio on a farm with horses, cattle, sheep, goats, cats and dogs. She spent a great deal of her time working with horses up to and throughout college. She went to Ohio University and earned a Bachelor Degree in English, with an emphasis in creative writing in 1990. In 1992, she received her Master’s Degree in English from Ohio University. Dr. Carpenter went on to teach at Wright State University for a year before deciding to return to school to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine. In 1999, Dr. Carpenter earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University. It has been a long time dream of hers to have her own veterinary clinic that is much like the family-oriented practice that she grew up with. That dream came true in June of 2007, when Cheshire Crossing Animal Hospital opened its doors.
Dr. Carpenter has a strong interest in behavior medicine and strives to make your pets visit as stress free as possible. She is recognized as a Fear Free℠Elite Certified Professional and a certified Low Stress Handling veterinarian. ​
Dr. Carpenter also enjoys feline medicine, pain management, internal medicine and providing both palliative and hospice care for chronically ill patients. .
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When not at Cheshire Dr. Carpenter enjoys quilting, rug hooking, gardening and hiking.
Dr. Hollie Connell
Dr. Hollie Connell grew up in Northeast Ohio on a small farm riding and showing horses. She was surrounded by a menagerie of animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, pigs, birds and a variety of pocket pets.
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She attended Lake Erie College in Paynesville, Ohio. While at Lake Erie she continued to ride horses. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1999. She went on to attend The Ohio State University and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2006.
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After graduation, Dr. Hollie moved to Northwestern Ohio and worked at a mixed animal practice for five years before returning to the Columbus area where she focused on small animal medicine and surgery. Her primary interests include soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology and dentistry.
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Dr. Hollie lives in Columbus with her husband and cats - Tobin, Sprout and Detective Cheetoe Bobrovsky. In her free time, she can be found going to concerts, riding dressage, playing outdoors, and gardening.
Gina Swearingen, RVT, Hospital Administrator
Gina Swearingen, RVT, grew up in Pataskala Ohio and attended Columbus State earning an associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology in 1999. She has been with us since 2011. Gina has a special interest and is well experienced in animal behavior. She assists Dr. Carpenter with many of her behavior cases and oversees ongoing client communication for these special patients.
When Gina isn’t at work, she enjoys a rich and fulfilling social life with her husband, Matt, and their two children, Mason and Makenna. Being a mother has been her greatest reward. Now that both children have graduated high school and are building bright futures as young adults, she is embracing this new chapter of family life with fresh appreciation and joy.
Gina also enjoys camping, coaching high school girls rugby, working out, taking trips to the beach and hanging at Buckeye Lake on the weekends with her large group of friends.
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Tucker is Gina's sweet Am. Staff/Am. Bulldog mix that is often in Gina's office when you head to the scale for your pet's weight. Gina rescued Tucker at 7months in 2020. Yep one of those C@#!D dogs. He is Gina's Velcro dog 100% and he loves to be in the office with her or waiting for her -- or any treats offered to him.​ Gina also has 2 kitties. Maverick and Goose. These 2 couldn't be more opposite but they are a great pair. They live their best life doing whatever they want.
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We have a new addition to the family, Nash is our Pit mix pup we adopted from RESCUEDohio at 8wks old in August of 2024. What a sweet blessing he has been for our family. He's made himself Tucker's BFF from day one and Tuck has been the best big brother. Nash and Tucker along with our live-in granddog Jagger make the most versatile threesome you can ever imagine. Everyday is an adventure in our house.
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Olivia Slykhuis, Client Services Director
Olivia has been in the veterinary field since high school, so that is over 25 years of experience. She is happily married to Rob and has a son, Wilson. She has a GIANT dog, Giovannni and 2 cats, Garbanzo and Gabriella. She likes to cook, hike, camp, garden, photography. But she really spends most of her time with her active son and his activities.
Berkley Brown, Client Services
Berkley graduated from The College of Wooster in 2015 with a degree in Communication Studies and Early Education. She has always been an animal lover. She has two precious pups of her own: Stella and Disco. Her hobbies include taking Disco to the dog park, reading, and making clay earrings. Her favorite artist is Taylor Swift and you will likely catch her playing it in the lobby when working.
Molly Tuchfarber, Client Services
Molly lives in Marysville, Ohio. She has an older sister who is married! Molly has two dogs. One is a Maltese dachshund whose name is Addy and the other one is a Jack Russel Dachshund who’s name is Mitchie.
Molly has a Business degree from Columbus State. In the Fall of 2024 Molly will be attending Columbus State to get her Vet Tech degree. Ever since she went to Seaworld with her family on vacation she knew she wanted to work with animals.
When Molly isn't working with animals she can be found both coaching and doing gymnastics. Molly also enjoys going camping with her family,traveling and going to concerts with her best friend.
Grace Wells, RVT
Grace is a lifelong Delaware resident who married her high school sweetheart, Leo, in September 2023. A devoted animal lover from an early age, she found her passion for veterinary care after high school when she began working at the clinic. She’s been a valued member of the Cheshire team since 2018. Grace pursued her Veterinary Technician degree at Columbus State Community College and proudly graduated in May 2024. She especially enjoys diagnostics, treatments, and surgical anesthesia.
Outside of work, Grace spends much of her time at the barn with her beloved horses, Cinch and Harley, competing year-round in Quarter Horse events. At home, she’s also a proud dog mom to Lucy Lou, a pitbull, and Agatha, a boxer.
Mandy Bible, RVT
Mandy grew up in Worthington and has always been a lover of cats and dogs.
She has been working in the veterinary industry for over 20 years. Originally she started out as a receptionist and is now a Registered Veterinary Technician.
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Mandy has one dog named Poppy, a black Pit Bull. She also has 2 cats, Buddy Keekers and Monster who are all rescues.
Megan Ward, Veterinary Assistant
Megan is a Delaware native. She has always had a passion for animals. She is the proud owner of Toby, a 6-year-old Yorkie Bichon. She has worked at Cheshire as a Veterinary Assistant for 3 years. Her favorite things about working at Cheshire are running diagnostics and treatments. Megan is currently enrolled in Columbus States Veterinary Technician Program. Her expected graduation date is Spring of 2026. In her free time, she loves cuddling with Toby and going out for hikes. She has 2 furbabies, a Himalayan named Tinkerbell, and a pitbull named Malibu.
Cece
Maddie
Oliver
