Dr. Erica Merrill grew up in Colorado and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006. She took a four-year break to spend time in the workforce and did a six-week trip to Arusha, Tanzania. There, she volunteered at a nursery school, as well as a hospice and orphanage for those affected by HIV and AIDS. Dr. Merrill graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2014 and completed a year-long internship at VCA Mission Animal Referral and Emergency Center in Mission, Kansas.

She always had a soft spot for the PNW, having spent summers at her grandmother’s house in Indianola, Washington. She accepted a position in Washington and worked in the emergency field for her first three years in the area. While the emergency practice was exciting, Dr, Merill missed the continued client and patient interactions and decided to move into general practice.

Dr. Merrill has a Whippet mix named Buster, a Chihuahua mix named Ollie, and two Siamese mixes named Monty and Beth. In her free time, she enjoys walking, spending time with her pets, playing the piano, spending time with friends, and watching movies of all genres. She has a special place in her heart for angry Chihuahuas and nervous Greyhound breeds and loves all of the dogs and cats that walk through the doors of Renton West!

Dr. Jenny Lakritz grew up in Wisconsin with her parents, two older sisters, and a loving
Australian shepherd named Roxy. She attended the University of Minnesota where she
completed her undergraduate degree in Animal Science in 2016. After college, Dr.
Lakritz traveled to Australia for an externship working at the Bunbury Wildlife Rehab
Center. Among other activities, she helped nurse native Australian animals back to
health such as kangaroos, King parrots, and Wombats. Following this, Dr. Lakritz
attended Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine located on the island of St. Kitts
and Ohio State University for clinicals.

While in school, Jenny fell in love with a stray puppy during a community outreach day
on the island of Nevis. Her name is Talia and the two have been inseparable ever since
she brought her home. They have traveled across the United States all the way from
New York to Washington! Dr. Lakritz fell in love with Washington after visiting her sister,
who currently resides in Newcastle. She had planned to move to the Seattle area after
graduating in 2021. She loves hiking with her dog, team trivia, and watching the Packers
defeat the Seahawks! Dr. Lakritz is eager to explore the Pacific Northwest and is
excited to be a part of the Renton West family. We are so happy to have her with us!

Mary Tremblay-Crouch was born in Washington, D.C., and has lived all over the United States. She went to high school in Bloomington, Minnesota, and attended college at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI where she ran track on a partial scholarship. She graduated with a BA in Psychology and Communications. Immediately after graduation, Mary joined the Peace Corps as an English teacher in the French-speaking country of what was then Upper Volta (now Burkina Fosse) in Africa. Mary eventually found her way to the Pacific Northwest where she now resides. She remains passionate about horses and animals of all kinds.

Mary came late to the veterinary field having worked in various occupations – one of which was owning her own business working with physicians of all specialties for ten years. When she sold her company, Mary was fortunate enough financially to be able to take a “temporary” job as a kennel assistant. It’s funny how life does not always work out the way one envisions. In Mary’s case, it turned out so much better. She began a long-standing love affair working in a field with both animals and people. Mary says it “feeds her soul” and she means it!

Mary has been in the veterinary field for over twenty years. She started working at Renton West at the end of November 2019. Working alongside Dr. Merrill and Dr. Kraneburg is exciting and she feels blessed to be a part of this dynamic and growing practice. Mary looks forward to many more years of service to the community.

Cydney was born and raised in Kenmore, WA. Cydney started working with animals in 2005 – volunteering at MEOW cat rescue in Kirkland. From there, she worked her way up in the veterinary field in various positions such as kennel attendant, receptionist, veterinary assistant, ER/ICU, and triage nurse, hospital and practice manager, and unlicensed veterinary technician. She has grown up with and cared for various exotic animals such as rodents, fish and aquatic animals, and small reptiles. She is currently enrolled in Pennfoster to get her veterinary technician license. Cydney moved to Renton two years ago with her boyfriend Geoffrey, their 12-year-old beagle Brady and 11-year-old domestic short-haired gray and white cat Charlie. She started working with the amazing team at Renton West Veterinary Hospital in March 2020 after searching for the right hospital to call home. In her free time, Cydney enjoys playing video games, listening to music, watching e-sports, and exotic animal medicine shows; she also helps out with her boyfriend’s audio and karaoke business. Cydney is the cat whisperer on our team!

Jensen was raised in the Greater Seattle area and graduated from Kentlake Highschool. She is currently enrolled in Penn Foster Veterinary college, where she is pursuing her Veterinary technician’s license specializing in feline and canine care. She joined our dynamic team in August of 2020 and she brings so much to the table! Jensen is exceptional at handling frisky kitties. She loves working and learning alongside our amazing team! In her free time, you can find Jensen hiking and exploring our great Pacific Northwest. If she’s not out and about, you can find her lounging with her favorite feline, Izzy. Jensen is an awesome addition to our team and we are so grateful to have her on board.

Raised on her grandpa’s farm in Springdale, WA, McKenna was surrounded by animals before moving to West Seattle as a young girl.  During her summers at Vashon High School she volunteered in Tanzania, Africa at a primary school teaching the children English.  She helped build desks, garden and paint the school.  McKenna also traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand to teach English and build bathrooms at an orphanage.  During these two humanitarian trips McKenna’s love for animals grew as she spent time bathing elephants and making natural medicines for them, explored animals in their natural habitats, and sadly saw many dogs and animals in need.  She hopes to return to do humanitarian vet work internationally.  McKenna attended PIMA Medical Institute where she received her Veterinary Assistant Certification in 2021, with plans to become a Veterinary Technician.

McKenna has a black lab whippet named Stoney and loves looking after her roommate’s dogs.

Emily grew up in Renton and is proud to call this her hometown. She started in the veterinary field in 2015 and was thrilled to be able to work with cats, dogs, pigs, goats, chickens, bunnies, and pet rodents. Several years ago, Emily decided to venture out to California where she followed her passion for disaster response and animal rescue. In 2017, Emily was able to travel to Texas after Hurricane Harvey to work with a team of locals handling intake and medical issues for strays and misplaced pets. While in California, Emily also worked as a veterinary assistant for a local SPCA as well as volunteering on an outreach team to provide medical care and vaccines to low-income and homeless families.

In December of last year, Emily moved back to Seattle to be closer to friends and family.  While she misses California, she is very excited to enjoy the beauty of the PNW again!  Emily has a chihuahua/yorkie mix named Mashed Potato and a wire-haired terrier mix named Lulu. Both dogs were of course foster fails!  Emily loves to talk about them as much as she loves being around them!

Some of the other things Emily loves: everything Disney (often caught at work wearing something Disney), doggie kisses, mac and cheese, winning cats over with treats, making coffee…and drinking it too!  Renton West is so fortunate to have her and we hope she will stay with us for many years to come!