Meet Our Veterinary Team

Dr. Israelsen attended veterinary school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, graduating with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1995. He then went to Oregon and worked in a very busy mixed-animal practice until 1997, when he and Dr. Hillegass had the opportunity to purchase Mountain View Veterinary Health Center from Dr. Richard Jones, who was retiring. Dr. Israelsen is certified in Animal Chiropractic, adjusting performance horses, working dogs, and companion animals for numerous problems. He has a special interest in internal medicine and enjoys the challenge of aiding pets through difficult illnesses.

Dr. Hillegass attended veterinary school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, graduating with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1995. She then went to Oregon and worked in 2 separate hospitals, including a 24-hour emergency clinic. In 1997, Dr. Hillegass and Dr. Israelsen purchased Mountain View Veterinary Health Center from Dr. Richard Jones, who was retiring. Dr. Hillegass is trained in Acupuncture and Herbal medicine and is interested in pet nutrition. She is a highly skilled surgeon and particularly enjoys soft tissue surgery.

Josefina joined our team in August 2013 as a Technician and continued on to become our Head Technician. She is from Logan, Utah. Josefina has been in the veterinary field for ten years. She graduated from Bridgerland Technical College’s Veterinary Assisting program in 2009. She is currently attending Utah State University and working towards becoming a Certified Veterinary Technician. Josefina has two dogs: Zoey, the sheltie mix, and Jack, the labrador retriever. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and being surrounded by nature. She loves exercising and spending time with friends and family.

Team Development Manager

Rylan joined our team in August 2018 as Client Relations and then continued to Head of Client Relations. In January 2021, she became our Team Development Manager. She is from Idaho Falls, Idaho. She has an Associate in General Studies from Idaho State University and is currently attending Utah State University’s Business Management program. Rylan has one dog, Hayzel, an Australian Shephard and Shar Pei Mix. She loves learning new things about veterinary medicine and furthering her knowledge. She also loves getting to love on any pets that come in! In her spare time, she loves camping, riding four-wheelers, and playing games with friends and family.

Elise joined our team in Client Relations in October of 2022. She is originally from Mesa, Arizona, but her family moved to Cache Valley when she was six years old and has lived here since then. Elise completed the Animal Sciences program at Bridgerland in 2019 and plans to study to become a Veterinary Technician. She has been working in the veterinary field for about two years prior to starting with us. Elise has a Russian Blue cat named Juno and a gray tabby named Ava, who are both 3-year-olds, and she also has a 6-year-old Australian Shepherd named Quorra and a 7-month-old lab/heeler mix named Wren. Elise’s favorite part of the job is meeting all the different dogs and cats and learning about the different breeds of both species. Elise also enjoys all sorts of art. She loves to paint and draw, and one of her favorite classes throughout high school was the ceramics class.

Megan grew up in Garland Utah, but moved to Smithfield a few years ago. She has worked with us for the past three years and loves to meet all the different patients who come in. She has seven animals in total, four dogs Nala, Daisy, Kona, and Odie and three horses Ace, Lily, and Guy. Megan loves barrel racing! She spends most of her free time with her horses, she has been training horses since she was 13 and some day hope to have a training facility in Texas.

Aubrey joined our team as a Technician Assistant in September 2022. She is from Mendon, Utah. Aubrey obtained the Skilled Technician Assistant certificate in the Animal Science program from Bridgerland Technical College in 2022 and plans to begin schooling for a Veterinary Technician license through Penn Foster. Aubrey has two cats (an American Shorthair and an American Longhair) and a dog (a German Spitz). Aubrey’s favorite part of this job is getting to help the animals feel better and seeing them progress. Aubrey loves playing video games, her favorite game being Final Fantasy XV, painting, and cooking – especially General Tso’s Tofu.

Jayme joined our team in November 2018 as our Groomer. She is from Logan, UT. She has been grooming for over ten years. In 2019 Jayme completed training in Fear Free grooming practices. Jayme has two dogs; Kiba a miniature poodle and Renji a miniature schnauzer. Jayme loves working with dogs, seeing their unique personalities, and the creativity of giving dogs new styles. In her spare time, she makes sculptures and jewelry out of clay.

Danielle took on the role of Inventory Assistant in June 2020 and Financial Officer in March of 2023. She is from Hyde Park, Utah. Danielle has an Australian Shepard/Border Collie named Rascal. Danielle enjoys gaining a better understanding of how a business works from the inside perspective and interacting with the people and animals she works with. In her spare time she enjoys hiking and being out in nature, especially if she can take her dog.

Team Development Manager

Rylan joined our Client Relations team in August 2018, and then continued to Head of Client Relations. In January 2021, she became our Team Development Manager. She is from Idaho Falls, Idaho. She has an Associates in General Studies from Idaho State University, and she is currently attending Utah State University’s Business Management program. Rylan has one dog, Hayzel, an Australian Shepherd and Shar Pei Mix. She loves learning new things about veterinary medicine and furthering her knowledge. She also loves getting to love on any pets that come in! In her spare time, she loves camping, riding four-wheelers, and playing games with friends and family.

Jens has worked for the clinic in different capacities for almost nine years, though his specialty is Information Technologies rather than veterinary medicine. He loves working with computers and making friends with the dogs along the way. Jens took a “creative” education path, originally went to U of U in the architectural program and started an IT services business with his self-taught IT skills. After the business took off, he dropped out of the architectural program and was self-employed for five years at various IT contracting gigs. Jens then left his business and began teaching IT and business courses at a local high school, and has happily been doing that for almost nine years now. Recently, he decided to pursue a “proper” education in IT and is currently working on his master’s degree in Information Technologies at Western Governors University. Jens has a dog named Kess and a bird named Kahn. His hobbies include aquariums, knowing all the facts about Star Trek, photography, and woodworking.