About Our Clinic
Our mission at East Lancaster Animal Hospital is to provide high quality, affordable veterinary care to anyone who comes through our doors. The doctors and staff here are dedicated to this purpose and, according to our clients, we're doing a pretty decent job of accomplishing it.
Please scroll down to meet the doctors and staff...and cats:
Roberto Verzosa, DVM (aka "Dr Bob")
Dr Bob is the owner of East Lancaster Veterinary Hospital. Born in the Philippines, Dr Bob earned his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine in 1976. He moved to the U.S. in 1979 where he interned in veterinary hospitals in New York City, Peoria and Ft. Worth including a 3-year stint performing herd health management duties at a 3,000 cow dairy operation in Fort Worth.
After receiving his Board Certification, he worked for several vet clinics in Ft. Worth and Arlington before starting his own practice in 1989. In 2007, he bought the East Lancaster Animal Hospital, one of the oldest and best-established vet hospitals in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. After a smooth transition, Dr Bob has grown the clinic steadily and they are now seeing more Fort Worth pets than ever before in the clinic’s 30-year history.
Dr. Bob’s down-to-earth approach and his calm, gentle demeanor make him an excellent small animal veterinarian and his clients and their pets love him. He is a resident of Fort Worth and lives with a Yorkie named Bulilit (which means "small fry" in Filipino).
Joseph Austin Rizon, DVM (aka "Dr Jeff")
Born in 1976 in the Philippines, Dr Jeff earned a B.S. in Animal Science from Xavier University in 1998 and his DVM from the University of the Philippines in 2002. Immigrating to America, he did a lengthy internship (2003-2005) at Westchester Animal Hospital outside of New York City before earning his certification from Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. After passing the Boards and Licensure Exams, he worked for a large veterinary chain for 2 years before joining Dr. Bob at East Lancaster Animal Hospital.
His primary interest in veterinary medicine is soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, and he recently completed study at an orthopedic conference at Texas A&M where he learned the latest techniques for patella and ACL repairs.
He is a resident of Benbrook and is an avid triathlete, currently training for the Ironman competition in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. This is a race composed of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike race and finally a 26.2 mile run – if he didn’t love animals so much, we’d think he was crazy! He lives with a cat named Jaeger, a dog named Bomber and a snake named Kaa.
Our Staff
Kathy
My name is Gizmo. I live at East Lancaster. Kathy (also in the picture) is one of two managers of East Lancaster Animal Hospital. She started working as a veterinary technician in 1981 and worked for the same doctor from 1981 until he retired in 2007 (that’s almost 30 years!) When that doctor sold his practice to Dr Bob, she stayed on to help run the place. She is a resident of Granbury on a 30-acre farm where they have raised and showed Boer Goats imported from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. In fact, she is member #22 of the American Boer Goat Association! She currently lives with 2 dogs, 6 cats and 12 birds. It’s pretty obvious why Kathy works with us here.
Laura
Our names are Paris and DJ. Laura here is our other manager. Laura started at East Lancaster Animal Hospital 20 years ago. When she’s not here, taking care of our client’s animals, she runs a rescue organization for abandoned dogs called Grrr Village and she raises and shows Boston Terriers at Two Spirits Kennel. She’s currently living in Weatherford with only 26 dogs, as Grrrr Village had 7 recent adoptions (thank heavens!) She also does in-house behavioral counseling for clients that are having a hard time handling their dogs and will board your dog on several acres out in Weatherford if you want. (We don’t have much boarding capability here at the hospital.)
Sara
My name is Patty LaBelle. I live at East Lancaster. Sara (in the picture next to me) is the youngest member of our team. All through high school she waited tables at the only restaurant in Rio Vista, TX (Fat Alberts). One day, her uncle was playing golf with Dr Bob and mentioned that his niece was looking for a job. Dr Bob told him to send her in for an interview and the rest is history. She started at East Lancaster in August 2008 and we trained her as a veterinary technician ourselves. She is currently a resident of Euless where she lives with 3 cats.
Patty
Our names are Morgan and Luna. Patty (holding us) worked as the office manager for a manufacturer of oil drilling supplies for 18 years. Later she started a company rebuilding and refurbishing furniture with her son. When the business slowed down, she went to work in 2005 at a vet clinic where she met Dr Bob. When he bought East Lancaster Animal Hospital, she joined him. She’s been a veterinary technician here since 2007. She lives in Ft Worth with 2 dogs and a cat.
Rachel
Patty LaBelle here again. This time I'm posing with Rachel. Rachel here started riding horses when she was 5 years old and got her first horse when she was 10, so taking care of animals has always been in her blood. She started working as a veterinary technician in 1998 while still going to college at Our Lady of Holy Cross in New Orleans, where she graduated with a degree in Biology. Although she's been hired away by other companies in the past, she keeps coming back to her first love, veterinary medicine. She loves to educate clients on how to keep their pets happy and healthy, but is also real handy to have around when an emergency comes in the door. She lives in Ft. Worth with 1 dog, 4 cats and a horse named Hero.
Dee
My name is Jewel Belle. I’m the oldest clinic cat here at East Lancaster. My friend Dee has been a veterinary technician since 1998. She met Dr Bob when he was doing relief work for a vet clinic in Hurst. Later, when she found out that he was hiring experienced vet techs, she came right in. Before becoming a technician, she worked with the National Cutting Horse Association and has also raised and shown dogs for years. She lives in Ft Worth with 2 Pugs and 1 Chihuahua.