Meet our Veterinarians at Crystal Lake Veterinary Hospital

Thomas Nick, DVM

Dr. Nick is one of seven children raised in the nearby community of Lake Zurich. He has had an instinct for animal health and welfare from a very young age and spent his youth rescuing various creatures that he and his siblings discovered while exploring. He graduated from Ross University in 1990 and returned to the Crystal Lake area with his wife Lisa, a certified veterinary technician, whom he met while at Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine. Together they have two children, two dogs and two cats. Dr. Nick enjoys golf, biking and fishing with his family. He has been part of the Crystal Lake Veterinary Hospital for over 20 years. Dr. Nick is one of the founding partners of Companion Animal Specialty and Emergency Hospital and currently serves as a Board member. Prior to joining, he held various positions in suburban Chicago and Ohio.

Christina Bemis, DVM

Dr. Bemis has been with CLVH since 2013 when she made the move to illinois from Wisconsin. She joined us after practicing small animal routine and emergency medicine in Wisconsin’s beautiful northwoods. Dr. Tina had a career in veterinary medicine on the radar from a very young age. During college, her jobs consisted of working at a small animal hopsital in Eagle River, WI as an assistent during the summers, and a dairy barn in Madison during the school year. Dr. Tina completed her undergraduate training in Madison, Wisconsin receiving a bachelors degree in biology in 2003. She then attended Ross University, School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2009.

Dr. Bemis’ professional interests include internal medicine, anesthesia, and pain management. She also enjoys developing close client relationships and strives to constantly improve patient care. When she is not at the clinic, she enjoys painting, doing yard work, and of course watching her 4 year old son grow and learn. She shares her home with her son and two crazy French bulldogs, Gucci and Louie.

Katherine Clement, DVM

Dr. Clement grew up in a farming community where she and her three siblings were constantly outdoors exploring creeks, fields, and wooded areas. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Southern Illinois University in 1986. And then obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1994 from the University of Illinois. She has worked as both an associate and relief Veterinarian for many years. She traveled to Kenya in 2006 and 2007 as part of a human medical team to work with HIV patients in an outpatient clinic; additionally, she participated in home visits and surgical procedures.

She first joined Crystal Lake Veterinary hospital in 2017 doing relief work, and has become an integral part of our regular schedule for over four years. She especially enjoys the culture and team comradery. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES cats and is passionate about treating them. She has always had cats in her life. For years, her mother’s neighborhood was overwhelmed with dumped, stray cats. She and her sister cared for and found homes for over twenty cats and kittens. Dr. Clement currently resides in rural Dekalb County where she shares her home with eight cats. She is an avid gardener and has a special gardening partner in her former feral cat ‘Browning’ – aka Warrior Cat. She appreciates good books and enjoys the performing arts in downtown Chicago.

Jason Olech, DVM

Dr. Olech began working in the veterinary industry in 2003 as a veterinary kennel assistant and after being promoted to a technician, he began entertaining thoughts of becoming a veterinarian like his mentors. During this time, Dr. Olech enrolled as an undergraduate student at Illinois State University where he became a duly elected member of the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society Beta Lambda Chapter before graduating from Illinois State University in 2006 with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. After an arduous application process, Dr. Olech began his veterinary studies abroad at St. Georges University where he graduated in 2010 as a doctor of veterinary medicine.

After returning home, Dr. Olech began working as the on-site veterinarian for the Scott Smith All Animal Expo, which began in December of 2010 where he continued until December of 2019. In January of 2012 Dr. Olech and Gavin Brink, a herpetologist and colleague from ISU, co-founded Chicagoland Mobile Veterinary Services. A mobile veterinary hospital dedicated to providing care for disabled pets, geriatric pets, zoo animals and exotic pets that could not be easily transported to the veterinary hospital. Unfortunately, after expanding into a fixed hospital location, after approximately 8-years in business, the decision was made to close Chicagoland Mobile Veterinary Services due to economic stress. Since that time, Dr. Olech has continued his work at other veterinary hospitals throughout the Chicagoland Region.

Dr. Olech enjoys several hobbies which include alternative gardening, amateur chemistry, ham radio (Amateur Extra Class Operator – W9LCT), rifle sports, pistol sports, All Terrain Vehicle off-roading, camping, fishing & hunting. None of this would be worth anything without his beautiful wife and two young children. Together they live happily with their dog Trigger, the last surviving member of their pack. Dr. Olech is very excited to be at the Crystal Lake Veterinary Hospital and he looks forward to meeting you and your pets.

Sherry Bresnahan, D.C.

Dr. Sherry earned her AVCA (American Veterinary Chiropractic Association) certification for animal chiropractic simultaneously with her Doctor of Chiropractic degree in the year 2000. She enjoys helping animals of all species. She has trained and obedience titled her late German Shepherd and currently loves her three dogs and two parrots…most of them rescues. She is a mother of two and a proud grandmother. Dr. Sherry loves travel, theater, scuba diving, good food, family and friends. She believes that loving relationships are the basis for the health of all creatures.