Dr. Kim Bercovitz is Castro Valley Companion Animal Hospital’s Practice Owner since January of 2018. She is an East Bay native, having grown up right here in Hayward, California and attended Moreau Catholic High School. From there she went to the University of California at Davis where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. As an undergraduate, Dr. Bercovitz demonstrated the combination of intellectual curiosity and a desire to be of service by acting as a peer counselor, studying American Sign Language (ASL), and doing research using a goat model for human Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Expanding on her interests in medicine and animal care, she then went on to receive her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. Ever a local gal inside she returned to Castro Valley to establish her practice in the field, helping animals and their human caretakers alike.

Dr. B as her clients like to call her lives in Castro Valley with her husband, two children, and three dogs. Dr. B volunteers with Early Alert Canines and in her free time enjoys camping, reading with her book group, and spending quality time with her “fur” and “not-furred” kids.

One of the most common things we hear is about Dr. B’s incredible bedside manner. She truly cares about both her patient’s and her client’s well-being, while also practicing the best medicine.

Dr. Rene Gandolfi, founder of Castro Valley Companion Animal Hospital, brings extraordinary experience and resources to the hospital. Dr. G, as we fondly call him, graduated 2nd in his class at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1981 and continues to attend their yearly symposiums. After his graduation, he began to serve the Castro Valley Community since 1987.

Dr. Gandolfi is a board-certified specialist in Canine and Feline Animal Care, recognized by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, and is a recognized expert in exotic species, including ferrets, bats, and fish. He attended the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine in 2014 and became certified in Veterinary Acupuncture. He routinely lectures on a variety of subjects at veterinary symposiums and conferences and is a strong advocate for the legalization of ferrets in California.

Dr. Gandolfi is one of the founders of Fix Our Ferals, an all-volunteer spay and neuter clinic for homeless cats, and served as it’s Veterinary Director for over 12 years. He taught the critical care course for the RVT Program at Western Career College and sat on the College’s Advisory Board. He also conceived and acted as Veterinary Director of the 1991 Oakland Firestorm Lost Pet Hotline. Before becoming a veterinarian, he taught high school Chemistry, Astronomy, and Algebra.

Dr. Karen Harper grew up in Fresno County. She grew up around A LOT of animals her entire life, and always knew she wanted to work with them. Dr. Harper later attended UC Davis as an undergraduate studying zoology, and then went on to receive her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and has been practicing in the East Bay Area since 2000.

When not helping to improve the lives of animals, she is at home with her husband of 18 years, her 15 and 12-year-old daughters, her three cats and a mouse. Dr. Harper joined our team in 2015 as a relief doctor for Dr. Gandolfi one day a week. When the opportunity presented itself to have her join us full time in 2018, she took it. And we are so very thankful she did. She is incredibly thorough and kind, always giving her all to every case she works with.

Dr. Kirsten Krick is a Bay Area native and after graduating from Smith College, she worked and traveled all over the United States. She received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine cum laude from Colorado State University (CSU) in 2004 and received her acupuncture certification through CSU and the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association that same year. She worked in both private practice and emergency clinics in the San Jose area. Her associations include the California VMA and American VMA, and she regularly attends continuing education seminars to stay at the forefront of veterinary medicine and surgery. Dr. Krick has a special interest in small animal pain management and offers individualized treatment plans blending Western medical options with alternative ones. Outside of work, Dr. Krick enjoys spending time with her family, travels as often as possible, and reads voraciously. She always appreciates book recommendations!

Alisa was born and raised in the Bay Area and has worked in the Castro Valley area since 2002 as a Veterinary Technician. Alisa graduated from Western Career College in 2002 earning her AS degree. She went from a full time tech to Practice manager in March of 2023.  Some of her favorite things to do in her downtime is to go to the movies, go for walks, and go shopping, but her very favorite thing to do is spending time with her family. Alisa’s family consists of her husband Shad of almost 20 years, and her two children, Mikayla and Jason, along with her newest fur baby Cleo, who just turned one. 

Since Ariele was a little girl she has always wanted to help animals and that passion has led her to pursue a career in Veterinary Medicine. She received her Veterinary Assistant Certificate in 2019 through Foothill College and plans to continue her education by becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician. Ariele really love extra large breed dogs and wishes she had more space at home to own them as well. Ariele spends her days off with her fur baby, Whiskey, typically enjoying a lazy day with a few playful rounds of tug-a-war.

Anjela started in the veterinary work at the age of 15, when she was still in high school. Ever since she could remember she has always loved animals and can remember having lots of her own. When Anjela was young she would always carry a dog book with her and her father would tell everyone she would be an animal doctor one day. Her passion and respect for animals has grown due to the wonderful doctors and technicians that have paved her way in the direction of good veterinary medicine. Anjela feels very blessed as she celebrates over 30 years in the veterinary field in a career she can be truly proud of.

In Anjela’s spare time she loves to go hiking, hunting and going to the gun range with her boyfriend Chris, and her pitty Luna, and blue tick coonhound Cooter. At home Anjela has 6 cats, Mother, who is 22 years old, Dre, PAC, Snoop, Mary Jane, and the newest addition little Diesel.

Rebecca was born and raised in Hayward and hasn’t lived a single day without an animal in her life. Her parents used to show Dalmatians, and her mother worked in the veterinary field as well, so she had no choice but to love animals. She started working as a receptionist/kennel assistant at 17 years old in 2008 at the same previous clinic as Dr. B. She then went on to get an education at San Jose State University, majoring in Biology. After her father had a serious work accident, she decided to come back home and work at the clinic again. There she ended up following Dr. B, her mother, and a few other techs and receptionist to Companion Animal Hospital in 2011. She would begin to take on more roles in the practice, helping out as a receptionist and tech assistant. After a few years she became lead receptionist, but decided she would be happier being more hands on with the animals and has become a technician. She has completed RVT school in 2017, but has not yet got her license.

Rebecca has sadly only 1 animal at home now: Frankie, a 7 year old Ragdoll cat. For hobbies, she enjoys swimming, baking, and being a homebody.

Diane was born and raised in the Bay Area, and has always been very athletic. She played sports throughout high school, college, and her adult life. Before COVID Diane participated in a Senior Softball League as an outfielder and designated runner. Diane spent her career in law enforcement, and takes extreme pride in her community and customer service. She has also been a coach for over 33 years, and has coached at James Logan High School, Moreau Catholic High School, Mission Valley Track Club, OPAL Track, and is a certified USATF track coach.

Diane has always loved animals and since the 1960’s has had numbers pets, from dogs, birds, rabbits, and fish. Her mother at one time said there were a trail of ant’s and if one was out of line Diane would push it back in line.

Diane is a coach, mentor, pet lover, volunteer, athlete’s mother, grandmother (8), great-grandmother (3), and fur baby mom to Kameo, Bob, Hershey, and Chewbacca. She spends her free time with her family, working in the yard, volunteering, playing with her fur babies, cooking and baking.

It was a dark and stormy night when he was born. Raised by monks and trained in the art of animal care. Was kept in solitude except for his animal companions. Only to find his way to Castro Valley Companion Animal Hospital. Here He joined as valued member of the team.

Tara was born and raised locally, and attended Castro Valley schools throughout her childhood. She rescued her first dog when she moved to South Lake Tahoe. That dog changed her life and her love for animals began to flourish. After managing a popular tri-valley rescue she landed in vet med. She has been working as a veterinary assistant since 2017. She has developed a special interest in winning over the hears of the more scared and aggressive pets

Tara lives in Mountain House with her husband and 3 daughters. She has 5 dogs, 3 cats, and a bearded dragon named Leo. She is also the sole owner and operator of an Etsy shop, creating cremation jewelry. When she has free time, she enjoys spending time at the beach or road trips with her girls.

Anamaria was born and raised in Oakland Ca. Since the age of 5 she knew she wanted to be a Veterinarian but as she got older she realized that she wanted a more hands on approach so she decided to pursue a career as a Vet Tech. She enrolled in Carrington  in 2019 and received her Associates Degree in 2022. She worked as a technician for about a year before going on to become a Nanny. Though she loved being a Nanny she really missed her job as a Tech and decided to join the field once more and joined CVCAH in Feb 2024. In her spare time Anamaria likes to spend time with her dogs Dandy (13 yr old chihuahua) & Máximus (1yr old Great Pyrenees) & Ricky Bobby (12 yr old Quarter Horse).

Lorenza is one of our receptionists here, and joined our team during COVID. Lorenza has been working in the field since 2010, and went to Carrington College and got her degree for their Veterinary Technician Program. Her plan was to get her Registered veterinary Technician License, but along the way fell in love with working with clients at the front desk. Lorenza is a fur mommy to her little pomchi (Pomeranian Chihuahua) Mia and has a son name Juan who is 4 years old.

Marianne grew up in Castro Valley, and has remained here a majority of her life. On her off time she loves reading and has a large collections of books with various genres.

Marianne always knew she wanted to work with animals and has loved animals since early on. Marianne started in 2001 at Redwood Animal Hospital where she met Dr. B. After 10 years together at Redwood Marianne took a bit of a break, and then came to join the team, and Dr. B again at Companion Animal Hospital where she has been apart of the team since. Even after almost 20 years in the veterinary field she still has not lost her passion for animals… even those feisty cats.

Currently Marianne has “two little terrors,” as she likes to call them, at home. Neo, is a 16 year old Torti, and Colby Jack, a 4 year old orange tabby.