Our Team

Nathanial Stewart, DVM
Veterinarian and Owner

Dr. Stewart has practiced dog and cat general and emergency medicine, dentistry and surgery since 2000, after earning his Bachelor’s in Veterinary Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from Washington State University. Dr. Stewart also has extensive experience in equine medicine and dental health. He enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 sons along with Henry the Pomeranian and Dusty & Tristan the Quarter Horses. He enjoys horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, rapier fencing, and karate.

Aleisha
Inventory & Office Manager

Aleisha has been with West Olympia Pet Hospital since 2002 and serves clients and patients with compassion and empathy. Aleisha’s love for animals began at a very young age and ranged from rescuing and rehabilitating dogs, cats, and horses, to being an active part of the 4-H community. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two young sons, horseback riding, breeding working line German shepherd dogs, and photography. She has also served as Thurston County Rodeo Queen for two terms. Her pets include 2 cats, 20 chickens and 7 dogs.

Kaya
Lead Receptionist

Kaya joined the WOPH team in 2019 and has been working in the veterinary field since 2016. She’s passionate about animals and customer service, and loves being involved both at the front desk and hands-on with patients in the back. Originally from the Bay Area and Southeast Alaska, Kaya now calls Washington home. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and family, going on walks, and visiting relatives in California. In her free time, she also enjoys playing with, shopping for, and simply watching her very entertaining feline quartet – Jodye, Kenny, Bootz & Donna.

Rellen Zheng
Veterinarian-In-Training

Rellen is a licensed Veterinarian in China, graduating from China Agricultural University in 2022. She moved to the US from Guiyang, China and graduated from UC Davis with a Masters Degree in Preventative Veterinary Medicine in 2024. She has always loved animals and has been volunteering at local shelters and assisting in vet hospitals since she was 15 years old. In her free time Rellen enjoys playing soccer, tennis, and spending time with her heeler-mix, Erwon. Rellen is currently working on her U.S. Vet license to become a Veterinarian and can speak Mandarin and some Korean.

Monica Thomas, LVT
Licensed Veterinary Technician

Monica has been a Licensed Veterinary Technician since 2004 and spends her free time as a volunteer firefighter, working with 4H, and is the president of the Backcountry Horsemen. She loves to spend her time horseback riding, bird hunting, and doing pretty much anything outdoors. She loves all kinds of animals and has dogs, cats, horses, ducks, turkeys & geese, and often rescues turtles, reptiles, exotics/small animals, and amphibians.

Lisa, LVT
Dental Technician/Licensed Veterinary Technician

Lisa has been a Licensed Vet Tech since 2001 and always delivers exceptional care, especially high quality dental care, to our canine and feline patients.

Edi
Veterinary Assistant/Technician in Training

Edi has 18 years of experience in the veterinary field and comes to us from his hometown of Dallas, Texas. Edi, his wife, and their young daughter Aspen have 3 pets – Gio and Kruska the cats and Emma the dog. In his free time Edi likes to fish, do home/auto repairs and spend time on his favorite hobbies like R/C and motorcycles.

Sam
Receptionist

Sam is WOPH’s newest addition, joining the team in 2025. Sam earned her Veterinary Assisting certificate in 2012 and has always had a passion for animals. She grew up in Washington but loves to travel and explore new places. Sam enjoys crafting, crocheting, and cooking in her free time as well as going on hikes with her husband and two dogs, Murphy and Luna. Sam has a passion for helping people and loves learning new things everyday as our front desk receptionist.

Linda Stewart, PhD
Business Partner

Linda earned her Doctoral degree in Business from Washington State University in 2003. Aside from teaching and consulting, she helps Dr. Stewart with business decisions and making sure our clients and staff are well taken care of. Linda enjoys cooking, gardening, traveling with her husband and two sons, and spending time with her friends and family. Linda has a small farm with horses, dogs, and cats.

Liz

Veterinary Assistant/Technician in Training

Erica

Veterinary Assistant/Technician in Training

Clinic Pets

Crow “The King of Treatment”

Crow was found in a barn, emaciated and weighing only 4 lbs. As well as almost no hair on his belly and legs. We performed blood work on him that showed he was in kidney failure, even though his chances for recovery were slim our team wanted to give him a chance. We started him on kidney medications and a renal diet. He was also given subcutaneous fluids daily. Every day he was getting stronger and after about a year his kidney values had returned to a normal level, his weight was up to 8 pounds and he had a beautiful coat. He is now off all kidney medication and thriving. We continue to monitor his kidney values to make sure we keep him happy and healthy. You may catch Crow sleeping on a chair in the lobby, zooming from room to room, or even drooling on someone’s shoulder, there is never a dull moment with this boy around!

Gabby “The Queen”

Gabby was Dr. Mitchel’s house cat for a few years, and in 2013, she became our clinic’s mascot in his memory. She can usually be found sleeping in Dr. Stewart’s Chair. Gabby loves to speak her mind about needing more food or attention. She enjoys grooming her pet kitty, Opie, and getting petted herself.

Opie, “The Jester”

Opie was found by Aleisha when she was just 7 weeks old, when we first saw her it was hard to tell whether she was in fact a kitten or a baby Opossum, so she earned the name Opossum or “Opie” for short. We like to say that she is Gabby’s pet, you can always find them snuggling in the office or on a reception chair together. Opie and is very playful and adventurous do not be surprised if she crawls into your purse or pets carrier. Opie enjoys welcoming new pets and their people. She can turn anything into a cat toy. She loves typing on the computers with her paws and even attempted to change our hospital’s name to “hospicat.” Opie loves greeting everybody and hanging out with her new friends she gets to meet every day at the clinic.