Veterinary Staff
Dr. T. Robert Bashara - Dr. Bashara received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University in 1963. After two years in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, he opened the Mapleview Animal Clinic in 1965. The Candlewood Animal Hospital opened in 1985. Dr. Bashara is an affiliate member of the American Animal Hospital Association, a past officer of the Greater Omaha Veterinary Association, a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Nebraska Academy of Veterinary Medicine.
Practicing in Omaha for more than 40 years has given Dr. Bashara a unique perspective. He has watched the city grow westward, and the Gentle Doctor Animal Hospitals grow alongside it. He has treated generations of Omaha families' pets, and is proud to have continued a tradition of quality care, while incorporating leading-edge testing, equipment and procedures to the practice.
Now semi-retired, Dr. Bashara has passed his compassion for animals on to his children; one son, Dr. Peter Bashara, followed him into the practice of veterinary medicine and the other, Matt, has assumed management of the Gentle Doctor Animal Hospitals.
Dr. Peter Bashara - Dr. Pete Bashara is a 1997 graduate of Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Nebraska Academy of Veterinary Medicine, serves on the board of the Nebraska Humane Society and the Animal Emergency Clinic, and is a member of the Iowa State University Veterinary Medical Alumni Association. In 2007, Dr. Bashara was named the Midwest Business Journal's small businessman of the year. Dr. Bashara and his wife Andrea, also an Omaha native, have two children, two dogs and a cat.
Dr. Bob Krapfl - Dr. Krapfl, an Iowa native, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, with a B.S. in biology and a minor in business administration. He earned his DVM degree from Iowa State in 1995. Dr. Krapfl joined the Gentle Doctor team in 2000, increasing the hospital's diagnostic capabilities with his expertise in ultrasonography and endoscopy. Dr. Krapfl and his wife Michelle have a son, two dogs and two cats.
Dr. Samantha Ryan - An Omaha native, Dr. Ryan completed her undergraduate degree at Wayne College in Wayne, Nebraska, and then received her DVM from Kansas State University in the year 2000. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and is a past board member of the Nebraska Academy of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Ryan is also a Docent for the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. She and her husband Greg have three boys - including twins and a dog named Tux and a cat named Jordan.
Dr. Shani Henry - Dr. Henry, a native of LeMars, Iowa, completed her undergraduate degree at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. She graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine from Iowa State University in 1996 and spent the next few years practicing in Illinois and Missouri. She began her career with the Gentle Doctor Animal Hospitals in June of 2005 as a part-time veterinarian while gradually switching to full-time. Dr. Henry and her husband Rick have two children, Issac and Emma . . . and of course they have two great rescue dogs.
Dr. Miranda Thomassen - Dr. Thomassen has been employed with the Gentle Doctor Animal Hospitals for more than 11 years and held over 4 different positions before graduating from Veterinary school. She started working in the kennels for Dr. Bashara while still in high school and eventually went on to graduate from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in June of 2007. Dr. Thomassen and her husband Michael (also a veterinarian) have a year old son and a domestic shorthair named Samson.
Dr. Stephanie Jones, a Nebraska native, completed her undergraduate degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2002 with a B.S. in biology and a minor in chemistry. She then attended Kansas State University where she earned her DVM degree in 2006. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association, as well as the Nebraska Academy of Veterinary Medicine where she has been a board member since 2006. She has two cats named Kirbee and Cole.
Dr. Gruber, born and raised in Alaska, is a graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her BS in Natural Resources from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 1996. She and her husband have lived across the country and have settled in Omaha with their two daughters Ava and Sophia and their 13 year old Lab Tess.
