Dr. Jay Johnson is the founder and owner of Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital, the Valley’s first animal hospital devoted exclusively to the care of exotic pets. As a boy growing up on the outskirts of Tucson, he was fascinated with exotic pets, especially reptiles. He kept a variety of these unique pets throughout his childhood including snakes, lizards, turtles, tortoises, tarantulas, rabbits, a cockatoo, pigmy goats, as well as more traditional pets like dogs and horses.
Medical Staff
Staff Doctors
Dr. Lamb has always desired to provide good health, happiness and care to all exotic pets. She grew up in Las Vegas, NV. After graduating from UNLV with a B.S. in Biology, she attended veterinary school at the University of Minnesota. After finishing veterinary school she performed a one year internship in avian and exotic medicine followed by a two year residency in avian medicine and surgery.
Dr. Pilny is a native New Yorker but joined Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital by way of Los Angeles, California. Dr. Pilny is a graduate of the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Klein grew up in northern New York and is here to stay in Arizona where the days are warm and sun is bright. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Zoology at SUNY Oswego before moving on to obtaining her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. She has recently completed a rotating internship in small animal and exotic medicine and surgery at VCA Valley Animal Hospital.
Dr. Lewis hails from Indianapolis, IN but has also lived, studied, and worked in TN, NJ, and NY. After graduating from Purdue University, she attended the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. She has completed multiple internships, and a residency in exotic companion mammals, always caring for a wide variety of species including birds, mammals, and herptiles.
Dr. Brandy Kragness grew up in Minnesota and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Minnesota. She went on to complete a one-year rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr.
Dr. Walth is originally from Colorado Springs, CO. He received his veterinary degree from Iowa State University. He completed a small animal rotating internship in Tucson, AZ followed by a residency in zoological medicine and surgery at the University of Georgia, as well as a concurrent master's degree in comparative biomedical science - zoological medicine.
Dr. Gilbert is originally from Houston, Texas and completed veterinary school at St. George University with her clinical year at the University of Illinois.
Mike Corcoran is a 2008 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University (Go Cougs!).
Interns
Dr. Fitzsimmons grew up in San Jose California. He obtained his bachelor's degree in biology from UC Berkeley (Go Bears!) before obtaining his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. He has always had a special interest in turtles and tortoises and has raised his sulcata tortoise, Marshmallow, for the past 16 years. He is interested in specializing in reptile and amphibian medicine.
Residents
Dr. Asrow grew up in Chicago, Illinois. After attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for her Bachelor’s degree, she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She then completed a year-long small animal internship in New York and a year-long specialty exotics and emergency internship in San Diego.
Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Zion developed a strong passion for non-traditional species from an early age: owning birds and turtles, and as avid zoo attendee. While a city boy at heart, Dr. Zion is excited to explore the natural beauty and warmth Arizona has to offer.
Originally from southwest Pennsylvania, Dr. Willig obtained his Bachelor's degree from Arcadia University outside of Philadelphia. He then attended Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine before completing a rotating internship at BluePearl Pet Hospital in North Carolina.