DOCTORS

Christopher Forsythe, DVM
Dr. Forsythe is a 1997 graduate of Purdue University. He purchased Altimira Veterinary Hospital in 1999 and has devoted his time to providing the highest quality veterinary care in a warm, comfortable environment. He shares his home with the stately Bulldog Muldoon
and a tabby cat named Emily who is
the queen of the house.

Dr. Mercado
Dr. Mercado graduated with a degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University, then worked for a few years as an auditor the government. Then I went back to school to fulfill my dream of being a veterinarian- the rest is history. I graduated from U.C. Davis Veterinary School in June 2005. I worked for a little over two years in Petaluma. I started in January here at Altimira Veterinary Hospital and love the team I work with! We have digital x-rays which makes processing and reading x-rays easy. Come with your pets and visit me here.

As far as my own pets, I have Mosquito the cat, Tony the turtle, Whity the fish who lives with Tony. When I am not at work at Altimira Veterinary, my hobbies are fixing up my new "fixer-upper" home, walking and hiking. Also, my husband is teaching me how to play catch.
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STAFF

Stephanie Goss
Stephanie joined our staff as office manager in October 2007. She comes with a background in veterinary business having spent 4 years at Memorial Beach Veterinary Hospital as Assistant Manager.
Stephanie attended Sonoma State and holds a BA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Management. Stephanie began teaching Health Sciences at the high school level during her time at SSU and taught full time for her last year there, while attending classes in the credential program.
Stephanie took a short break from her duties here at Altimira Veterinary Hospital to get married in November. She and her husband Jason just moved to Sonoma and are happy to be living right here in town!

TECHNICAL STAFF
Human hospitals have nurses. Veterinary hospitals have veterinary technicians, or “techs” as they are most often affectionately known. Patient care is probably the reason technicians enter the field to begin with. But did you know that they are also educated in radiology, critical care, CPR, laboratory, post-operative care, wound care, dentistry and anesthesia, to name just a few? This is why the term technician is used instead of nurse. They are technically proficient in each of these areas. In addition to medical training, technicians are trained to properly restrain and lift animals for care. Sometimes the most docile of pets will have unpredictable behavior. The proper handling during exams and treatment makes your pet’s visit that much easier.

Heather Silloway
Heather worked with Dr. Forsythe several years ago, but took a “leave of absence” to start a family. Now that her two beautiful boys, Jacob and Joshua, are school, Heather has rejoined the Altimira Veterinary Hospital team.

Heather’s animal family includes two horses, three dogs, six cats and one rabbit. Heather also participates in race horse rescue.

When she is not at Altimira Veterinary Hospital, Heather can be found managing and waiting tables at The Red Grape here in Sonoma. She loves the challenges that come with veterinary medicine. She is a lovely and talented addition to our veterinary team.

Monica Cabral
Monica joined Altimira Veterinary Hospital in the summer of 2007. She has lived in Oakland, Modesto and White Salmon, WA. Now, with two beautiful children of her own, she has finally settled in Santa Rosa.

Monica has her hands full at home since her dog Athena just had a litter of puppies and her cat Nissa recently had a litter of kittens. She is also “mom” to dogs Pepper Jack, Raiden and Suri.

Monica loves working with animals & learning as much as possible. She definitely feels that she can make a difference in pet's lives. She is beginning classes to become a Veterinary Technician and hopes to one day become a licensed RVT.

We are extremely lucky to have Monica working with us. Her quiet, pleasant nature is a real asset to our practice & our animal friends.

Suzanne Rittman
Suzanne is a temporary but amazing addition to the team at Altimira Veterinary Hospital. She is in the process of moving to her dream home in Colorado but is on loan to us in the time between her move. Suzanne brings years of experience in Emergency medicine to our hospital, having worked at Colorado State’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital in their critical care unit.

Suzanne is also a talented massage therapist and when she is not working here at the hospital or giving massages, she is spending time at home with her adorable daughter Hazel and her artist husband Mark.

We feel very privileged to have (even temporarily) a technician with Suzanne’s quiet poise and talents. We will miss her very much when she leaves us in February.

Becky Hollman
Becky joined Altimira Veterinary Hospital shortly after graduating from San Francisco State University with a bachelors degree in Psychology and a minor in Counseling. Becky made a drastic career change when she landed here, but she has taken to veterinary medicine like a duck to water! She loves animals and enjoys the interaction between people & their pets in her new position as Client Care Specialist.

Becky is "home grown" right here in Sonoma and Napa. She now lives with her mom and her dogs Roxie, Lucy and Ricky, who are all shelter adoptees that help round out her family.

When Becky is not caring for our clients and their pets, she can be found working on her hobby of photography around our beautiful scenic town or snowboarding in Tahoe.