About Us

Dr. Sunil Kakarla, an experienced and compassionate veterinarian in Cary, NC, grew up in India. After graduating from the College of Veterinary Medicine in India, he practiced as a companion animal veterinarian for five years in a metropolitan city in India. He moved to the United States in 2005 with a passion for practicing high-quality veterinary medicine in an advanced setting. During that process, he pursued his MS and Ph.D. in a renowned lab at Marshall University in West Virginia.

As a graduate student, Dr. Kakarla performed cutting-edge research and had several high impact publications to his credit. While pursuing graduate studies, he simultaneously completed the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE) in 2010.

Soon after this accomplishment, he began volunteering at several local animal hospitals. He completed his clinical experience program and obtained his license to practice in the US the same year.

In 2011, after graduating with a doctoral degree, he joined a small animal practice in Durham/RTP where he established a huge clientele and treated about 6000 to 7000 pets per year.

With his continued passion to provide the best quality veterinary care, he joined the state-of-the-art Walnut Street Animal Hospital in June 2016. As a veterinarian in the RTP area of NC, he strongly believes in quality care for pets and in being available to his patients when needed.

Sunil Kakarla is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and has special interests in dermatology and soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, as well as emergency medicine. Dr. Kakarla is married and has a son and a daughter. He enjoys spending quality time with his family, including his 1-year-old Golden-Doodle, Brownie, and a 4-year-old Poodle, Milky. He enjoys serving his community by actively helping rescue groups and shelter pets, and in his free time, he plays volleyball.

After graduating from the College of Veterinary Medicine in India, he practiced and managed a companion animal hospital for twenty years. He moved to the United States with a passion to work as an associate in advanced-setting animal hospitals. His main aim is to cultivate a positive, happy, and inclusive working environment for the staff, providing a friendly and welcoming environment for all the clients. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his better half, Jyotsna, and their two children, Bhuvan and Rutvi.

Dr. Gonipeta has been a veterinarian since 2012 and part of our group since 2020 (Pandemic period!!). His professional interests include small animal medicine with an emphasis on preventive care, client education, dermatology, geriatric medicine, and surgery.

After obtaining his DVM degree from India, Dr. Gonipeta went to graduate school at Michigan State University (MSU) and obtained a master’s degree in Immunology. After finishing graduate school, he worked at Michigan State University as a postdoctoral fellow and continued his research work.

His focus of research was in the areas of “development of mouse models for studying food allergies and polymicrobial sepsis.” He spent 5 years in active research at MSU and published his research findings in many international journals.

In 2012 he returned to small animal practice to continue his passion for providing the best quality veterinary care for companion animals. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and The American Association of Immunologists (AAI). When not in the clinic, Dr. Gonipeta enjoys reading a book or spending quality time with his family, which also includes a very opinionated 4-year-old long hair chihuahua named Peanut!

Sarah is an NC State graduate with double majors in Animal Science and Applied Nutrition. She has lived with animals her entire life and has always had a special place in her heart for them. She has been with the company since 2019, and she loves her job. Not only does she have the opportunity to meet new people and pets on a daily basis, but she also gets to help those fur babies stay happy and healthy with their families. Her favorite things to do outside of work include spending time with her furry kiddos; two dogs named Ochi and Denali, and two cats named Juniper and George. When she’s not at work, you can find her hiking with her dog, or taking part in any other activities in which she can include them.

Hello! My name is Caitlin, and I have been with Walnut Street Animal Hospital since 2017. I started out as a receptionist and after being with this practice for a year, I was promoted to Manager and transferred to our sister location, Capital Boulevard Animal Hospital. I absolutely loved the experience of opening a new clinic and getting acquainted with all of the rescues. I am excited to start my new role as Client Coordinator with the company. I have always loved working with clients and making sure the owner and furbaby have a positive experience. In my free time, I am with my 2 human kiddos as well as my own furbabies.

Tabatha’s family and friends call her Tab. She has been with the practice for a little over a year. She has worked in this field off and on since 2008. She loves working with animals as she learns something new every day. She has one fur baby (Nala, a cat). In her free time, she loves spending time with her two daughters and boyfriend. They love going to the lake, traveling, and trying new foods.

Estefania has been working as a veterinary assistant for eight years, three of those years at this location. She is fluent in Spanish and English. She loves working with animals as it has been her passion since she was a little kid. She has three dogs, two lizards, one bearded dragon, and four parakeets. She has one son that loves animals as well. She loves learning new things and when not working at the clinic she loves spending time with her family.

Bio coming soon!

Victoria really loves animals of all species because she can learn and observe so much about them. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science with a minor in Biochemistry. Her favorite color is purple and she wants to see every animal flourish and blossom.

Scotty studied animal/lab animal science and theater at NC A&T. She has been in the vet field for 3 years now and hopes to expand to wildlife in the future. While she is not working, she is a part-time elementary school dance teacher.

Mariangel is trilingual and can speak English, Spanish, and intermittent French. She is currently trying to learn German. She is a junior at NC State, pursuing a degree in Animal Science to become a veterinarian in either small animals or exotics. She is the proud owner of Milo, her chihuahua, and Simba her cat.

Amanda moved to North Carolina in 2019 with her husband and three kids. She started working with a mobile vet clinic part-time and fell in love with the vet field. She is currently in school to become an RVT. During her free time, she loves to spend time with her family and her fur babies. She also loves to travel around the world.

Zoey has been working in veterinary medicine for three years. She has two sassy cats and a very energetic dog but her favorite animals are sloths and mini cows.