
Loretta North, CVT
Practice Manager
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in August 2007
Loretta grew up riding and caring for horses in Michigan and showed for years on the hunter/jumper circuit. She has fond memories of riding her first pony Becky while wearing a dress—something that she doesn’t often wear now. In 2005, Loretta graduated from Bel-Rae Institute in Denver, Colorado as a Certified Veterinary Technician. She then interned and later worked for Littleton Large Animal Hospital in Littleton, CO before relocating to Florida. She is experienced in ICU care, emergencies, radiology, and anesthesia and always greatly enjoyed patient care. Following the birth of her first child, Loretta focused on administrative work, and in 2016, she became the practice manager. Loretta lives with her husband Will (an awesome professional chef), sons Henry and Blake, and two thoroughbreds, Cherokee and Flash, aka “the boys.”
You may contact Loretta at lnorth@brandonequine.com.

Pamela Prysner
Director of Marketing & Client Relations
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in September 2007
Pam performs a variety of project work for Brandon Equine, including maintaining the website, social networking, event planning, and client outreach. Pam is a Florida transplant who lived in Connecticut, Virginia, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts before putting down roots in Florida in 1997. She had owned horses throughout her life but has given up her western saddle for a road bike saddle. Pam enjoys participating in charity bicycling events, including the annual SMART Ride, whose course covers 165 miles from Miami to Key West. She and her husband Dennis have three adult children and just recently welcomed their first grandchild.
You can contact Pam at pprysner@brandonequine.com.

Kristine Rusch
Accounts Receivable Clerk/Receptionist
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in September 2018
A lifelong Floridian, Kristine began riding horses at the age of seven. Kristine is very much at home in the saddle and worked exercising racehorses before joining Brandon Equine. She currently owns three horses and travels throughout Florida as a competitive barrel racer. When not barrel racing, Kristine enjoys fishing with her boyfriend Austin and co-parenting their Australian Shepherd Chaz.

Heidi Irvin
Administrative Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in September 2019
Animals have always been a passion of Heidi’s with horses being a big part of her life while growing up on Tappan Lake, Ohio. Along with her daughter (now a Gator at the University of Florida) and identical twin boys, Heidi relocated to Florida in 2007. Heidi enjoys spending time outdoors with her two horses, a donkey, three dogs, and three cats.

Betty Lewis
Administrative Assistant & Ambulatory Technician/Nurse Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in December 2006
For those of you that don’t know me, I am the oldest living employee at Brandon Equine. I’ve been with Brandon Equine off and on since 2006. We’ve occasionally parted ways, but I just keep popping back up like a bad penny. I’ve held most positions here: barn technician, surgical technician, administrative assistant, and ambulatory technician. I am currently an administrative assistant to Dr. Richter and the ambulatory technician/nurse assistant to Dr. Young. My hobbies include keeping my walker upright and remembering how to dress myself. No, seriously, I barrel race and won a senior state championship in 2012. I enjoy fishing, kayaking, and working around my farm.

Trinity Shepherd
Inventory Supervisor
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in August 2010
Trinity’s first position at Brandon Equine was as a veterinary technician. She now holds the position of inventory supervisor. Trinity has been around horses her whole life, so joining the Brandon Equine team was a natural fit. She considers it a true honor to help alleviate the suffering of horses. One of her patients, Captain (an off-the-track thoroughbred), literally became her own several years ago and is her pride and joy. When not working with the horses, she is busy being a mom to her son Wyatt and taking care of their many critters.

Mary Ann Zwirko
Technician Assistant & Client Care Coordinator
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in January 2014
Mary Ann grew up and spent the majority of her life in New Jersey. She was an elementary school teacher, as well as a high school and college coach. She earned two master’s degrees along the way before moving to Florida in 2014, when she began working at Brandon Equine. She currently lives in beautiful Clearwater and enjoys working with and learning from the incredible doctors here at Brandon Equine. Her well-behaved and much loved dog Pirate enjoys working here at Brandon Equine and makes a wonderful office dog as well.

Mariah Perez
Technician/Nurse Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in February 2015
When I was younger I lost my first horse to colic. Since that moment, I knew that I wanted to help save horses when I grew up so that no young boy or girl, or even bigger boys and girls, would have to go through that same pain! My love for all animals big and small has lead me to have a small zoo of my own with two of my own horses: my old retired mustang Bentley and my Chincoteague pony Spirit. I also have chickens, turkeys, rabbits, dogs, cats, pigs, and a few others! I have two beautiful daughters and an amazing husband that puts up with me bringing home all sorts of critters! I love teaching and watching my daughters love and care for all the animals!

Lindsay Staffieri
Technician/Nurse Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in November 2016
Bio coming soon!

Lauren Lanier
Technician/Nurse Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in June 2017
Bio coming soon!

Jessica Hosegood
Certified Veterinary Technician
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in April 2019
Bio coming soon!

Addison Donnell
Technician/Nurse Assistant
Addison Donnell grew up riding and showing western pleasure horses in Missouri. She decided to travel to Florida to earn her bachelor’s degree at the University of Tampa, where she is currently studying biology and chemistry in preparation to apply to veterinary school in Fall 2020. Addison started at Brandon Equine in Spring 2019. She quickly fell in love with the practice and the field of equine medicine, motivating her to focus on equine medicine when achieving her veterinary school dream. Outside of school, Addison enjoys hanging out with friends, exercising, and enjoying the Florida sun.

Alyssa Rodriguez
Ambulatory Technician/Nurse Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in September 2019
Bio coming soon!

Eliza Cappello, CVT
Certified Veterinary Technician
Eliza graduated from St. Petersburg College in December 2020 with an Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology. Upon graduation, she continued her education and earned the designation of Certified Veterinary Technician. Eliza has been passionate about horses since the young age of eight when she began riding and showing hunter jumpers. She later fell in love with eventing and, along with her beloved horse Piper, continued in that discipline. Eliza’s other interests are in the circus arts, where she specializes in aerial silks and trapeze. Eliza is excited to have found a place at Brandon Equine and is happy to be part of the team!

Julia Strickland
Technician/Nurse Assistant
Joined Brandon Equine Medical Center in June 2020
Julia recently graduated from the University of Florida (UF) with a Bachelor’s of Science majoring in Animal Science. She is currently applying to UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine with the hopes of attending in the Fall of 2021. A native of Plant City, FL, Julia grew up riding horses and, while attending UF, worked for a veterinarian on a Morgan horse farm. Julia loves to spend her free time on her family’s Zebu cattle farm with her bottle calf Millie.
Expert equine care in Brandon, FL.
From our board-certified horse surgeons and board-certified internists to our professional and courteous staff, at Brandon Equine Medical Center, we are committed to the health and well-being of all breeds and sizes of horses. In the field, as an outpatient, or when admitted to the horse hospital, we treat every horse like our own and every client as the most important.
Contact Info
Phone: 813-643-7177
Fax: 813-643-5877
Email: info@brandonequine.com
Hours
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Emergency care available: 24/7/365
Location
605 E Bloomingdale Ave
Brandon, FL 33511
Click here for directions.
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