Meet the Team

Daniel Sweet, DVM

Daniel Sweet, D.V.M.

Veterinarian, Owner


Dr. Daniel Sweet attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obisbo for his Bachelor’s Degree. He then went on to graduate from the University of California of Davis in 1986 with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. In March of 1995 Dr. Sweet opened the practice with his wife, Carole Sweet.

Dr. Sweet has been an active member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners for 35 years. He has a special interest in podiatry, reproduction, and sports medicine.

Dr. Sweet loves spending time with his family and riding his cutting horses, Sydney and Cooper. He hopes to continue trail riding and horse-camping with his horses.

Kimberly Hauck, D.V.M.

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Kim Hauck grew up in San Marcos in North San Diego County. She completed her Bachelors in Animal Biology at the University of California of Davis. he then continued at UC Davis in the School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Hauck graduated with her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2016.

Dr. Hauck has a special interest in emergency and disaster medicine, as well as preventative care. She is a member of the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corps and has orchestrated several successful equine emergency rescues.

Outside of work, Dr. Hauck enjoys camping, boating, and spending time with her husband, Eric. She has two dogs, Balou and Linus. She also has a mustang named Arrow, which she adopted from an equine rescue in El Dorado Hills.

Carol Van Hoogmoed, D.V.M.

Associate Veterinarian


Dr. Carol Van Hoogmoed grew up in the Central Valley. She attended Fresno State, where she got her Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science. She then went on to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

While she has over 20 years of experience as a licensed veterinarian, she has also been a licensed veterinary chiropractor since 2015.

Dr. Carol is training in disaster medicine. She also has experience in veterinary research and has published many articles. She belongs to: AVMA, CVMA, NSJVMA, CoAc, AAEP

When she is not working, Dr. Carol enjoys spending time with her family and their dog Harla. When she is not working, Dr. Carol enjoys spending time with her family and their two cats, Kiwi and Percy.

Anne King, D.V.M.

Associate Veterinarian


Dr. King originally comes from Canada but was drawn to California for the warmer weather. She completed a Bachelor's in Animal Biology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, then went on to graduate from the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. King completed a one-year internship at Moore Equine Veterinary Centre, a busy emergency hospital in Alberta, Canada.

When she isn't working, Dr. King spends her time riding, hiking, and climbing mountains. She also has two cats Belay and El Katipan that she is currently teaching to rock climb.

Carole

Carole Sweet

Practice Manager

Carole grew up in Fresno county with her three sisters. She was out riding horses with the cowboys before she could even walk. Carole graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Management. In 1995 she helped her husband, Dr. Dan Sweet, open Sweet River Equine Clinic, Inc. She has remained at the clinic as the Business Manager.

Carole enjoys fun days out carriage driving with her horse John. She also likes to go horse-camping with her trail horse, Nauttman. If she is not with her horses, Carole is oftentaking classes in crafting arts.

Brianna Sweet

Brianna Sweet

Office Manager

Brianna grew up here in the Modesto area and has had horses her entire life.. Brianna grew up right here at the Clinic and has had a lot of experience assisting her dad, Dr. Sweet. Brianna currently works in the office and assists the vets when needed. She has been working at Sweet River in the office since 2019. You might even catch her riding one of her horses in the arena!

When Brianna is not working or riding her horses, Katie and Derby, she enjoys spending time with her dog Belle.

Nikki Hawn, RVT

Hospital Manager/Lead Registered Veterinary Technician

Nikki is the Clinic Manager and Lead Registered Veterinary Technician at Sweet River Equine Clinic. She is originally from the Fresno/Clovis area. She started as a veterinary assistant in 2006, and graduated from San Joaquin Valley College in Fresno in 2007 to become a Registered Veterinary Technician. She has been in veterinary medicine for 17 years, 16 years in small animal.

Nikki and her husband, Jared, recently bought a house in Oakdale. They have four horses, Opera, Candy, Rodeo, and Smokey, and one English Bulldog, named Rowdy. In her spare time she likes to barrel race and gymkhana with her horse Candy, and work on home improvement projects around their house.

Elizabeth Hicks, RVT

Registered Veterinary Technician I

Elizabeth has been in the veterinary world since 2020. She graduated from Carrington College in 2021. She has been working at Sweet River Equine Clinic since June 2023 and we are so happy to have her here.

Shortly after she started she got her RVT license and is our second Registered Veterinary Technician on staff.

She lives in Turlock with her husband and her cat, Truly. In her spare time she enjoys playing video games with her husband and playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friends.

Barbara Riner

Assistant Office Manager
Barbara grew up in Escalon, California. She grew up surrounded by lots of animals, family and love. She went to school at Modesto Junior College and graduated with an AS in Business. While she was at MJC she took some Equine Veterinary classes and took a special interest in Equine Reproduction.
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Barbara has been working with us since May 2022, and she has been a wonderful addition to our team. She is the first face you see when you enter our office and will help you with all of your needs.

In her spare time she is spending time with her husband and two boys, Brantley and Austin. She also enjoys riding her horse, Frosty, playing with her two dogs, Maggie and Ruger, and her cat, Ariel.

Cassidy Pehl

Veterinary Assistant I

Cassidy started volunteering for us in 2021 while she was finishing up her bachelor's degree at UC Davis. Once she graduated, we hired her on full time and has been working with us for a few years now. She is currently applying to veterinary schools and we are very excited for her.
When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her twin sister, Caitlin, or her animals. She has three cats, and one Golden Retriever who take up all of her time.

Paris Bettencourt

Veterinary Assistant II

Paris has been working at Sweet River Equine Clinic since Spring of 2022. Since she was a young age, Paris has enjoyed spending time with animals. She showed animals in 4-H and FFA. She went to school at Modesto Junior College following the Veterinary Technician Path.

In her free time she plays video games with her husband and is currently training her cows to pull a cart. She has two heifers, Tootsie Roll and Cookies N'Cream, a dog, Rose, and one Crested Gecko named Toast.

Dezmine Washington​​​​​​​

Veterinary Assistant III


Dezmine was born and raised in Turlock, California. She is a lifelong rancher at her grandparents’ place. She rides and drives her horses whenever she can. In her time off you can see her and her ponies at a Mini Petting Zoo or Kids’ Horse Educational class. She has always loved horses and is very interested in learning more about their reproductive habits and changes in equine welfare.

She currently has three horses, Ducati, Dakari, and Shango, and one adorable mini, Twilight, who is used for driving as well as local equine education. She also has a pet Peahen named Ambrosia Salad.

Dezmine started as a hard-working volunteer before she was hired. We are very excited to have her officially on our team and we look forward to seeing her progress.

Chelsea Rouse

Receptionist
Chelsea has been working at Sweet River Equine Clinic since June 2023 and we are so happy to have her in the office. Chelsea has a long history of animal loving. She has worked at a few animal facilities before coming to Sweet River Equine Clinic and we are happy to have her. She has 6 dogs that take up all her time and enjoys taking them hiking or to the dog parks.

Everardo Lopez

Facilities Maintenance

Everardo started at Sweet River Equine Clinic in November 2019. He enjoys taking care of the horses and maintaining our yard and facilities. He is always around to give us an extra helping hand.

When he is not working he enjoys spending time at home with his girlfriend Leti. His favorite drink is the Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino's.

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