RAINTREE ANIMAL HOSPITAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Fort Collins Location
Dr. Holwegner is a Colorado native, growing up in the Denver Metro Area. She attended Colorado State University for her undergraduate degree, studying Zoology and Music.
Upon graduation, she remained in Fort Collins where she met her husband, Steve, worked as a veterinary technician and continued on to attend veterinary school at Colorado State University. Dr. Holwegner has worked in small animal private practices in northern Colorado and Thornton prior to joining the Raintree team. Her interests include internal medicine, diagnostic imaging, and the human-animal bond.
Blair and her husband share their home with their dog Evie, their cat Griz, and their parakeet Charlie. She enjoys singing, gardening, being outdoors, and is an avid bird watcher.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Fort Collins Location
Dr. Amanda Lor was born and raised in Duluth, Georgia and earned her Bachelor's degree in Animal Science at the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!). She then continued her education at the University of Georgia for her doctorate degree in veterinary medicine and graduated in 2019. After graduation, Dr. Lor moved to Fort Collins and worked in a small animal practice in Milliken before joining the Raintree team this year. She has a strong interest in soft tissue surgery, dentistry, caring for our senior patients, and preventative medicine.
Dr. Lor currently lives in Fort Collins with her husband Jacob, two dogs Lilly and Harper, and cat Gus. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, camping, hiking, gardening, and reading.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Fort Collins and Timnath Location
Dr. John Arnold was born in Seal Beach California and has practiced as a veterinarian in Nevada, California, Oregon, and Colorado. John is a proud CSU Ram, he attended Colorado State University for his BS in Zoology, MBA, and DVM. While attending the CSU School of Veterinary Medicine he met his future wife who is now a Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon and Surgical Oncology Fellow. Both Dr. Arnold and his wife graduated with the class of 2006.
John's proudest accomplishment is being a father to his daughter Rylee Rose, who was born in May of 2015 and is quickly turning out to be an avid rock climber and hiker like her dad. In addition to enjoying rock climbing and hiking with his family and border collie mix, Lucy, he also enjoys playing ice hockey, soccer, and traveling. Dr. Arnold first joined the Raintree family in 2008 and in addition to practicing traditional veterinary medicine is also AAVMA Certified in Veterinary Acupuncture.
Some of his professional interests include cancer management, pain management, surgery, anesthesia, dermatology, and strengthening the human-animal bond. You may see John climbing or biking around Horsetooth or up Poudre Canyon… or enjoying his favorite meal (Brunch) with his daughter downtown. John is still actively involved at CSU. He serves on the Curriculum Committee for the CSU Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. You may see him on campus giving presentations to the Pre-vet club or meeting with graduate students on what life is like as a practicing veterinarian. John also started a mentoring program at Raintree that gives future veterinarians an idea of what life is like at the hospital.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Timnath Location
Dr. Joyce Thompson is a Colorado native and attended Colorado State University for BS in Microbiology, MS eligible in Anatomy/Neurobiology, and DVM in 2004. She became certified in medical acupuncture in 2013.
Prior to her veterinary career, she was a certified pet dog trainer and Head of Behavior and Training at the Longmont Humane Society for 10 years. Behavior and training are still integral facets of her veterinary practice today. She practiced at a high-quality, small animal general practice in Arvada for the majority of her career and moved to Windsor in 2017. In 2019, she became the veterinarian at the Wild Animal Sanctuary and Refuge where she cared for nearly 700 wild animals from lions and bears to coyotes and camels. While these amazing exotic animals held a special place for her, she missed working closely with clients and their furry families, which prompted her return to small animal general practice. She joined Raintree Animal Hospital in November 2022 and will be at the Timnath location. Her special interests are pain management including acupuncture and laser therapy, dental care, behavior, and wellness medicine for all life stages, and emphasizes gentle low-stress handling.
In her time away from work, she enjoys traveling, camping, hiking, reading, and knitting. She shares her life with her husband Brad, step-daughter Madi, and their furry crew, Labrador Dallas and black kitty Daisy. She looks forward to working with you and your furry family!
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Fort Collins Location
Dr. Kathryn Touran is a native of Petoskey, Michigan and grew up roaming the wild lakes and forests, developing a close bond with all the animals of the land. She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Zoology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also competed at the national level with their Division I Track and Cross Country teams. She continued her education at Ross University of Veterinary Medicine, and Colorado State University-College of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences, where she earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in January, 2009. Prior to becoming a member of the Raintree team, Dr. Touran worked in both ER and general practice for over ten years in Northern Colorado. Dr. Touran's professional interests include surgery, dentistry, and multi-modal pain management, and she is particularly excited about keeping our older companions active and comfortable long into their twilight years. In her free time, Dr. Touran can usually be found working on her property with her husband, Pedro. She also continues her lifelong running passion, raises Thoroughbred horses, and loves to spoil her four dogs, three cats, macaw, and little flock of chickens.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Timnath Location
Dr. Leigh Browning grew up in the Boston area and completed her undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. A career change to veterinary medicine brought her west to Fort Collins, where she received her DVM from Colorado State University in 2017. After completing a small animal rotating internship at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center, she returned to settle in Fort Collins, where she has been working in both ER and general practice ever since. Dr. Browning is the newest addition to the Raintree Timnath Location and is so happy to be a part of this new community and team. As a Fear Free Certified practitioner she loves working with clients and patients to make visits low stress. Her other professional interests include internal medicine, urgent/emergency care, dentistry, and preventative care.
Dr. Browning lives in Fort Collins with her husband Dan, children Ari and Annette, dog Birdie, and three babydoll sheep (Cinnamon, Sugar and Nutmeg). She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, cooking, being outside, and dreaming up home improvement projects.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian - Timnath Location
Dr. Shannon Lu grew up in Westminster, CO. Her love for animals began in late high school when she started fostering dogs for a local rescue. She earned her Bachelor's in Science at the University of Colorado Denver in 2014. She moved to Fort Collins for her veterinary degree at Colorado State University, graduating in 2020. Prior to becoming a doctor, she worked as a veterinary assistant since 2012. Her passions in veterinary medicine include dermatology, behavior, and dentistry. She earned her fear-free certification in September 2020. She‘s excited to join the Raintree team for the new location in Timnath 2023.
Dr. Lu currently lives in Timnath with her partner, Ben. In their free time, they do Latin dancing, so you may see them around town teaching bachata social dance lessons or performing with their team. They also love spending time cuddling with and caring for their pets - a chihuahua (Soybean), a 50-lb mutt (Katana), a black kitty (Diamond), and an axolotl (Bacon).
Job Titles:
- DACVS - SA, ACVS Fellow, Surgical Oncology
Originally from western Montana, Dr. Barrera received her undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and her DVM degree from Colorado State University in 2006. She then completed a rotating internship at Animal Surgical and Emergency Center in Los Angeles, CA, followed by a surgical internship at Oregon State University. Dr. Barrera then returned to Colorado State University to complete a residency in small animal surgery in 2011, followed by a one-year fellowship in Surgical Oncology at Colorado State University's Animal Cancer Center in 2012. Dr. Barrera has presented and published articles in the areas of endocrine and minimally-invasive surgery and loves showing how fun surgery can be to general practitioners, lecturing at conferences, and teaching surgery continuing education laboratories multiple times a year. Dr. Barrera enjoys all aspects of small animal surgery, with particular interests being surgical oncology, soft tissue and orthopedic minimally-invasive surgery, and endocrine surgery. Dr. Barrera is very excited to partner with her amazing technicians, Michaela and Megan, to bring specialty surgery to Raintree Animal Hospital.
Outside of veterinary medicine (and most importantly!), Dr. Barrera enjoys spending time with her husband John, daughter Rylee, cat Mango, and mountain mutt Lucy Goose. As a family, they love to travel, do road trips in their family camper van Huckleberry, hike, go backpacking, cook, and read.