Meet The Team

Meet the Houston mobile veterinarian team.

Doctor Katie Eick

CEO & Founder, DVM

Dr. Katie Eick, the Founder and CEO of Rockin’ Pets, Rollin’ Vets, is a 1998 graduate of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. She graduated as the recipient of the Gentle Doctor Award, which is given to the student who demonstrated exceptional and compassionate patient care. Dr. Eick initially practiced in Virginia, where she established and developed a brick-and-mortar veterinary practice before relocating to Alabama, where she engaged in relief work. Finally, she landed in Texas, where she worked in a no kill shelter in Austin, before finally settling down in Houston in 2013.

With extensive experience across various facets of veterinary medicine, Dr. Eick recognized a significant demand for in-home mobile veterinary care. In 2016, she launched her full-service mobile veterinary practice under the name "South By South Vets," which has since evolved into the well-known Rockin’ Pets, Rollin’ Vets. Dr. Eick currently resides in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Mike, and their companions: Cooper, Raoul, Flower, Gladys, Rocky, Felipe, Pax and Petunia.

Doctor Carrie Nealon

Medical Director, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Carrie Nealon received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Kenyon College in 1992 and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2003. She started her career as an Associate Veterinarian in Chicago, practicing in a small animal practice on the north side of the city. She later moved to a feline-only practice located in downtown Chicago, working as both the practice’s Medical Director and lead veterinarian.

In 2014, she relocated to Houston to join a small animal practice specializing in both feline and canine medicine. Dr. Nealon has special interests in managing senior patient care, feline and canine dentistry, along with overall wellness medicine. She enjoys spending time with her extended family, as well as her own two elder pets.

Doctor Jennifer Penland

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Jennifer Penland is a proud native Houstonian. Early on in her education, Dr. Penland embarked on a summer job where she worked at a local veterinary clinic, which ultimately led her to her passion and career in veterinary medicine. After graduating from Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Behavior and a minor in Theatre, Dr. Penland went on to obtain her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ross University and additional clinical training at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Penland has special interests in behavioral medicine, geriatric medicine, and pain management. Dr. Penland and her fiancé share their hearts and their home with Gladys, her Golden Retriever who has been her constant companion since college, along with Kat, a goofy cuddle bug Catahoula/Pit mix, and Edith (affectionately referred to as Screamith), a tiny but very vocal cat.

Doctor Leslie Freeman

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Freeman has practiced in the Houston area for many years, spending most of her time between private and corporate practices. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a major in Animal and Dairy Sciences, while dreaming of becoming a veterinarian. Before attending vet school, Dr. Freeman worked at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists as a radiology technician where she ultimately decided it was time to make her dream a reality. She attended St. George’s Veterinary School on the island of Grenada, West Indies for 3 years before completing her final year at the University of Georgia. There, she fell in love with small animal practice, primarily because she shared a passion for connecting with her clients on a more personal level.

Her special interests are dermatology, radiology, senior care, and wellness/client education, plus she speaks Spanish fluently. She is married and has 5 fur-babies Kingston (a “pothound” rescued from Grenada) and Lady (Labrador mix) are her 2 dogs, and her 3 cats are Charlie, Ivy and Marco.

Doctor Leslie Jenkins

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Leslie Jenkins brings over 15 years of veterinarian experience to our team. During her time in lab animal medicine, Leslie held roles in the following areas: personnel and project management, talent recruitment and retention, development of standard operating procedures, generation of budgets for sponsored research projects and grants, and she served as the single point of contact for GLP projects. She also served as a voting member of the IACUC.

Her daily responsibilities included the clinical care of various laboratory animal species including, but not limited to, rodents, zebra finches, zebrafish, swine, dogs, rabbits, small ruminants, and non-human primates. She worked closely with the research staff providing support for grant submissions and manuscripts. She also supported their work by providing expert clinical care and surgical services to help develop their experimental models.

Doctor Mary Salgado

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Mary Salgado hails from Portland, Oregon before landing in Texas for college. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Texas A&M University and she also has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. She previously worked in insurance, radio, the automotive industry and other various jobs before becoming a veterinarian. She worked as an Associate Veterinarian in private practice for several years before joining the Rollin' Vets team.

Dr. Mary's interest in veterinary medicine was piqued while working at a lab in Austin that performed allergy testing and immunotherapy treatment on dogs, cats and horses, so it naturally followed that one of her passions in the field is dermatology. She also enjoys internal medicine cases, cardiology and guiding clients with the best preventative and wellness care for their animals. In her free time, Dr. Mary enjoys attending concerts with her husband, traveling and spending time outdoors. She and her husband share their home with two kitties, Bizkits and Dezzee, and a chihuahua named Zultan.

Doctor Valeria Alva

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Valeria Alva's journey into the world of veterinary medicine began when she welcomed her first canine companion at the age of five. It was at this pivotal moment that she decided to dedicate her life to assisting pets and their families.

Her path led her to veterinary school in Mexico City, where she successfully graduated in 2021 from the prestigious Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. After graduation, she embarked on her professional career, initially working at a general practice before relocating to Houston with her beloved dog and cat, Prim and Lando to join the Rollin' Vets Team.

Dr. Alva's passion for the field of medicine was kindled during her high school years when she undertook a histology tech course. This experience deepened her love for the medical sciences. Additionally, she volunteered at a goat farm while pursuing her veterinary education, further enriching her understanding of animal care and welfare.

Sergio Amelio

Chief Operating Officer

Sergio Amelio was the previous Vice President of Finance at Valley Veterinary, a consolidator of vet practices. He is also a partner of Redevelopment Capital Partners. Before joining RCP, he was COO / Managing Partner at HippGes Iberia, the leading distressed debt and RE management company in Spain and Portugal. Earlier in his career, Sergio was a Director at Archon Group, a Goldman Sachs-owned platform specialized in real estate investments. Sergio received a BA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from The J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Northwestern).

John Sussman

Marketing Advisor

John brings 23 years of B2C brand marketing experience, focusing on innovation and new product development at Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola, Shell and Euromonitor International. During this time, he has led project teams through all aspects of innovation and new product development: strategic opportunity mapping, ideation, business modeling, feasibility assessment, piloting, launch and post-launch optimization. He has worked across a range of B2C industries, from super-premium line extensions in the haircare market, to low-calorie juice drinks, to motor oil for gas trucks.

Currently, he leads the Portfolio & Innovation team within Shell’s North America Motor Oil Group. He resides in Houston, TX with his wife, three kids and most importantly, his Goldendoodle.