Dr. Leanne Parker is the owner, president, and head veterinarian of Parker Animal Care. In 1994, Dr. Parker graduated from Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine with the honor of magna cum laude. Her years of experience in combination with her compassionate nature and leadership qualities guide our hospital team in offering outstanding care to clients and their pets.
Her career in veterinary medicine began on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1994. After moving to Austin in 1996, Dr. Parker soon became the lead associate veterinarian at Parker Animal Care. Several years later, in 2002, she purchased the practice and has been dedicated to its growth and success ever since.
Dr. Parker realized she wanted to work with animals at a young age. She recalls, “My family’s dachshund had several serious illnesses when I was a child. I remember feeling so powerless and wanting to be able to help him. When he would come home from the vet, he was like new again and I thought, ‘what a great profession!’ What could be better than caring for pets all day and helping them get healthy? It seemed like an amazing job to me and it is.”
Before attending veterinary school, in 1990, Dr. Parker earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical science with the honor of summa cum laude from Texas A&M University. While working towards her degree, she proudly received the Gathright Award for two consecutive years for earning the highest grade point average in her major.
With the dream of becoming a veterinarian, Dr. Parker started working with the kennel staff at a local veterinary hospital for her first job. One of the technicians sensed her enthusiasm and quickly took her under her wing. Dr. Parker explains, “She helped me learn how to run tests, prepare for surgery, and so much else. It was so interesting and she made everything fun to learn.”
An avid volunteer, Dr. Parker volunteers her time with PALS (Pets Assisting the Lives of Seniors) and she also supplies donations to support Austin Pets Alive. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and Texas Veterinary Medical Association, and has professional interests in internal medicine and dermatology.
At home, Dr. Parker and her husband, Owen, share a home with their sweet canine companions, Tilly & Penny. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and traveling.
Dr. Lisa Pocernich is an Associate Veterinarian at Parker Animal Care. She began working in the veterinary industry in 1999, and graduated with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2007 from the University of Wisconsin’s Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. Her areas of professional interest include feline medicine, surgery, internal medicine, and preventative care. She is also a USDA Certified Veterinarian - this means she’s available to conduct International Health Certificates for pets traveling internationally. Be sure to check out our International & Pet Health Travel Certificates page for more information.
Dr. Pocernich says the best part about working in veterinary medicine is building long-term relationships with the animals and her clients, while being able to treat pets during all life stages.
Originally from a small town in Northern Wisconsin, Dr. Pocernich currently resides in South Austin with her spouse, five cats, and chihuahua. When she is not practicing veterinary medicine, she enjoys traveling, reading, and gardening. A fun fact about Dr. Pocernich is that she has undergraduate degrees in both Political Science and Women’s studies.
Carolina do Carmo is an Associate Veterinarian and Medical Director at Parker Animal Care. She was born and raised in Brazil, where she completed her veterinary degree in 2019, from Universidade Federal de Lavras. Then, she received her veterinary medicine license in the United States in January, 2022. She first started practicing in Iowa and moved to Austin in 2024.
Carol had many dogs and cats growing up. Her mom would always help the stray animals in her neighborhood and that was what made Carol decide to attend vet school. Carol loves all large and small animals. However, in school, she fell in love with small animal medicine and decided to follow that path. During her time at the university in Brazil, she got a scholarship to study in the US in 2015. She attended college for a year and a half and that is when she met her husband. She returned to Brazil in 2017 to finish her degree and then came back to the US in November of 2019.
She currently lives in Austin with her husband and their cats, Lua and Fabio. Carol loves traveling, reading, exercising, cooking, hanging out with friends, and watching food-related shows on tv with her husband and cats.
Our in-house bookworm and Practice Manager, Jessica is one of the most essential people in the place. As if being a Senior Veterinary Medic wasn’t hard enough, she has the responsibility of hiring and training all new medics. But it definitely does not end there, she also helps, supports and guides the staff as a whole, is the inventory guru, all general medic duties and the most excellent patient care. As soon as she earned her Associate’s Degree she jumped right into the vet world and has been working hard for over a decade. From a kennel tech to her current boss lady role, she is one of the most knowledgeable and passionate people in the hospital. She fell in love with emergency animal medicine very quickly, she says “I could not see myself doing anything else. The relationships I get to build with the patients are priceless”.
At home, Jessica has a crazy blue-eyed dog named “Sadie”. As aforementioned, Jessica is an avid reader that devours one book right after the other. She is a great mom who values spending time with her family and watching her sons grow into little men. Her mom skills come in handy at the hospital too.
Vanessa is way more than just a good head of hair, she is Parker Animal Care's very own Communications Manager, and she has been working her way up to big dog status with Parker Animal Care since 2007. As Communications Manager, Vanessa wears many hats. When she isn’t creating and sharing social media posts, working on website pop-ups, or guiding our media efforts, Vanessa is training and teaching new Veterinary Assistants. Under her guidance, V.A's have thrived, become more confident employees, and even moved up in the chain to become Veterinary Medics. In addition, Vanessa also works tirelessly to make sure the interior of the hospital is clean and functional for our clients and staff.
The total love for animals is a lifestyle and if you ask Vanessa how many pets she has, her response is, "We have 2… Actually 4… 5… 6, we definitely have 6 animals. My husband just says it's too many". Her family consists of 1 husband Damian, 2 children, a bichon named "Miss Tina Tula", a pitbull named "Cash", 2 senior cats named "Mae" and "Lux", and a younger kitty named "Leeloo." With so much to do at work and all that love waiting for her at home, it is only natural that her favorite things to do are hang out with her family, listen to vinyl, and paint at her house on her free time. Enjoy that relax time, Vane, you deserve it!
Janice obtained an Associate of Applied Science degree in Veterinary Technology in 2012. She has professional interests in ophthalmology, intensive care, and large animal medicine.
As an Austin native, one of Janice’s favorite parts about working at Parker Animal Care is forming positive relationships with clients and their pets. She also enjoys working on tricky cases, and seeing a patient’s condition improve and knowing she helped him or her to regain their health and happiness. To her, this is the most rewarding experience of all.
Janice shares a home with her three children, along with Lulu, a senior Chihuahua, and a Cane Corso named Dax. A few of Janice’s favorite things include dancing, listening to music, and the Red Golden Retriever breed. If you’re in town and looking for good Mexican food and even better margaritas, Janice highly recommends visiting Jardin Corona. You won’t be disappointed!
From a very early age Adriana has always been an animal lover with a wild spirit. From majestic horses to elusive wolves to our friendly neighborhood cats and dogs my life has been an array of animal encounters that continues to fuel her dedication to their well-being.
Born and Raised in the State of Texas, she lives on 100 acres in a cozy brick house with her fiancé and their lively bunch of fur-babies. Their two dogs, Libby and Morris, their cat, Frankie and last but not least their guinea pig named Binks. However, when she is not tending to her beloved animals, She is indulging in her passion for the arts. Whether it's painting a canvas, losing herself in a good book, or jamming out to her favorite tunes, creativity and expression are a vital part of her life. And when it's time to unwind or break a sweat, she and her partner and enjoy immersing themselves in the world of video games and honing their skills in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
With a zest for life and a knack for bringing smiles to others, she is always up for a good laugh and a great time!
Myrhissa knew from a young age that she wanted to be involved in veterinary medicine as she grew up in South Texas surrounded by animals of all kinds, including dogs, cats, chickens, and parrots. In her freetime, Myrhissa enjoys spending time with her family, especially playing with her nieces and napping with her silly dog Maia. She likes to read, cook, and be active as much as she can. Her favorite form of exercise is indoor rock climbing!
Ty grew up in rural East Texas right by a lake and was always fascinated with wildlife, whether plants or animals. That fascination continued as an adult and he studied biology in college with a botany emphasis at SFASU. Ty is also a lifelong musician but in 2022 he felt heavily drawn to the vet med world, starting as a veterinary assistant elsewhere before becoming a technician here in 2024. Ty is definitely a cat person and has two cats, Harold and Ruth, but also has a very deep love for dogs as well, and, being a newer technician, is learning more and more about how to care for animals each day.
Kayti has been in veterinary medicine since 2018, starting as a veterinary assistant in San Angelo. Her love for animals and veterinary medicine have brought her here to Austin. She enjoys hanging out with her animals, exploring and eating good food in her free time. Her dogs Mango and Tiny, as well as two cats Sushi and Pinecone keep her busy. She is excited to be in a new city and eager to help the pets of Austin.
Rowan has loved animals ever since she was a little girl, even though she moved around a lot she always knew she was gonna be in veterinary world. She’s lived in California, Nevada, and Texas. She has been in Texas for 9 years, and is very excited to be apart of Parker Animal Care! Her hobbies include drawing and country swing dancing. She loves doing competitions for dancing and is one of her main hobbies!
Sergio has worked in the veterinary field for multiple years, both in emergency and regular vet care. He is excited to meet your pets!
Located in the South Lamar neighborhood in South Austin. Directly off of US-290 between Bluebonnet and Oltorf.
Phone: 512-448-2676
