A Special Team
With a special approach.
Your Kennel Staff
Elida
Kennel Technician
Groomer
Natalie
Groomer
Kennel Technician
Groomer
Dr. Diane Wilkie has had a love for animals since she was a little girl. She graduated from Texas A&M University, and has been practicing veterinary medicine for 29 years. Dr. Wilkie grew up in Argentina, Iran and Egypt. She came back to the United States to attend college and pursue her love of veterinary medicine. It had been her dream to open her own practice, and she is so happy to have doctor Gallagher as her partner! She has two beautiful children, two Yorkshire Terriers that were a gift from a dear client, and a rescue German Shepherd named Port.
Dr. Randall Gallagher attended Texas A&M University for both undergraduate studies and veterinary school. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science, and Cum Laude as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He was born in New Orleans, but grew up overseas and lived in Singapore, Norway, and Egypt. He moved to Houston in 1985, and, aside from seven years in College Station, Texas, has been here ever since. His family includes his wife, Heather; three children, and two cats. His clinical interests are internal medicine, with an emphasis on feline medicine, and soft tissue surgery.
Dr. Hansen is a native Texan whose roots go back four generations in El Paso, Texas where her family still resides today. After leaving El Paso, she attended Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado and received her undergraduate degree in Equine Science. She went on to attend Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine graduating in 1998. After graduation, she stayed on and completed a one year Internship in small animal medicine, surgery and emergency medicine. Upon completion, Dr. Hansen moved to Houston for the next 5 years. She and her husband later moved to Seattle, Washington where they owned a practice together for 6 years. They returned back to Houston to be closer to family and enjoy all the things they love and missed about Texas!
Dr. Hansen’s interests and hobbies include vegetable gardening, orchids, water gardening, camping, hiking and traveling the world with her husband. She also trains Pointing Labradors, loves bird hunting, shooting sports and motor sports namely Formula 1, MotoGP and NHRA drag racing.
Dr.Hansen has a large menagerie at home that includes Halo the Labrador, 3 house rabbits Truffle, Sam and Dean Winchester , 10 Bantam Chickens (Mostly Silkies) , a desert tortoise named Doris and about 25 goldfish.
Dr. Riley is a “born and raised” Houstonian. While she loves everything the city has to offer, she finds that the pet-loving community is who she identifies with the most! She has more than 10 years of experience working in the inner loop area of Houston. Dr. Riley is excited to join the team at Richmond Avenue Animal Hospital. She strives to be a resource to assist and help your pet live their best life. Whether you have just adopted your very first pet, you’re a dog person living with a cat for the first time, or you have so many animals you could practically run a petting zoo, Dr. Riley is looking forward to meeting you and hearing your story. Dr. Riley’s professional interests are broad and easiest to describe as “comprehensive care” – everything from preventive care to pet hospice, and all the ups and downs in between – she will partner with your family to make the plan that works best for your pet(s).
Dr. DeWees was born and raised in San Antonio. He attended Texas A & M University at Galveston and received an undergraduate degree in Marine Biology and then attended Texas A & M University College of Veterinary Medicine graduating in 1998. He lived in Houston for 5 years before moving to Seattle with his wife, Dr. Helen Hansen, to own their own practice for 6 years. While in Seattle, he and Dr. Hansen were terribly homesick for Texas so they moved back home in 2010. Dr. DeWees has a special interest in dentistry and oral surgery and has spent an enormous amount of unpaid hours shadowing many of the area local dental specialists to expand his skills and expertise. He has joined the Richmond Avenue Animal Hospital family on Wednesdays and Fridays to perform our dentistry and many of our general surgeries. He is able to do complex dentistry such as extractions, sealants, gum surgery, oral mass removals and full mouth extractions. He enjoys fishing, bird hunting with Halo his Labrador, gardening, travelling and working on his hotrod collector cars in his free time. We feel very lucky to have his skills and knowledge as an addition to the Richmond Avenue Animal Hospital team.
Melissa joined our team in 2019 and had been an amazing asset to Dr. Wilkie’s team. She is great with handling cats and has brought many new ideas to the practice. She started as a groomer and now has been a technician for over 8 years, expanding her knowledge from the exterior of the animal to the interior.
Patty has been with RAAH since 2017 working on Dr. Wilkie’s team. She has over 5 years of veterinary experience including working with exotic animals. Patty has always loved cats and enjoys working with others who love animals as much as she does. When she is not here at the clinic she loves exploring and creating new amazing makeup looks. Patty is also a proud new mom to a beautiful baby girl and we are excited for welcome her to the world!
Alex has been with us since 2018 and works on Dr. Hansen’s team. Don’t let her youthful looks fool you as she came to us with over a decade of experience as a veterinary technician. Her knowledge of medicine has proven to be a great asset for our team. When Alex is not helping with wellness exams, she loves to work with our senior pet population.
Mary is the Practice Manager for RAAH. Her background was in grocery retail but she came back out of retirement to help run the practice alongside her twin sister Dr. Wilkie. Mary is the proud mom of two daughters and is always fostering little kittens. If she isn’t up at the clinic she tries to head down to Galveston to enjoy the beach and manage her rental property.
Jessica found her way to RAAH in 2018! She helps at the front desk and with our social media with her outstanding photography skills. Her love of animals, especially golden retrievers, inspired her to enter the veterinary field with over 8 years of experience. Jessica has a heart of gold and loves helping save stray animals. She personally has 2 cats (Josie and Comet) and 2 dogs (Clover and Scout).
Corey recently joined the RAAH team as a receptionist in 2022 and brings with him decades of customer service experience. He greets clients with a welcoming smile and is always willing to help with tasks such as helping clients carry their pets to and from their car. He strongly believes that a warm smile and a compassionate heart can go a long way and strives to help clients and their pets get the best care possible. Currently, he has no pets of his own, but he says it’s destiny that he’ll most likely adopt a kitten or two.
Natalie joined us in 2011 as a kennel technician. Her ultimate goal was to become a Pet Groomer, so RAAH assisted with getting her through Grooming School. She has since graduated and is now our full time groomer! She enjoys grooming all dogs and cats but her favorite breed to groom are the amazing Schnauzers! When she is not corralling her special needs dog Milo (mini poodle), Nat is a mom of two fantastic young boys who keep her hands full. Schedule a groom with her today and tips are always welcome!