Veterinarians

Anusha Balendran – DVM M.Sc
Dr. Anusha Balendran was born and raised in Sri Lanka and has lived in Fremont/Union City since 2005. She earned a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Science from the University of Peradeniya, and held the Assistant Lecturer position after graduation. She moved to Canada and obtained M.Sc. in Reproductive Animal Physiology from the University of British Columbia. She worked at the University of California San Francisco as a Junior Specialist in human In Vitro Fertilization lab for a short time. She realized working with pipettes is not what she wanted to do every day!

To chase her long dream of caring for furry families, Dr.Balendran completed the rigorous exam Education Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates Program in 2012. She has been practicing small animal medicine in the Bay Area ever since. She helped thousands of pets at several veterinary hospitals from corporate to private practice mainly in the Fremont area. Seeing many of her friends and neighbors struggling to find the ‘Pet Care with Personal Touch’ in a timely manner decided to open Golden Paws Pet Clinic to serve pet parents in her neighborhood area.

Dr.Balendran’s interests include preventative care, internal medicine, emergency medicine, soft tissue surgery, dentistry, and dermatology. She believes working as a veterinarian is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people and pets. She brings positive energy to every single pet and treats them as her own family member. She strives to address pet parents’ concerns while providing compassionate care for their pets.

In her spare time, she spends time with her family, loving husband, son, an enthusiastic teenager, and Dyno, an energetic black lab. She enjoys gardening mainly roses, cooking, traveling, watching basketball, and participating in community events.

Dr. Balendran and her closed-knitted work family are excited to greet you and your furry families. Give Paw – We love you!

Support Staff

Mary Gentrup – Office Manager
Mary, a native of Colorado, has lived in California since 1981, and in Fremont since 1985 where she raised a family of five. The family over the years included a host of cats and dogs; Sampson a stray yellow tabby who survived cancer and lived to be 23, a team of four adopted Huskies (Merlin, Magic, Kera and Maverick), and a beloved white American Eskimo (Squirt) who walked to work with Mary every day and was a main attraction at the Veterinary Clinic. Currently she cares for three indoor adopted cats (Sebastian, Leo, Brayden) and an outdoor stray (Charlotte). Needless to say, Mary loves animals, and through her 20+ years of experience working in the veterinary industry has accrued considerable knowledge about them, sharing her experience and advice with countless pet owners. Aside from work and animals, Mary loves family time and the outdoors, hiking, biking, she ran to finish the Honolulu Marathon in under 5 hours. Spinning yarn, knitting and reading, round out her time when she is in relaxation mode.

Nicole Van Aelst – Hospital Lead
Nicole is our veterinary technician that has been a part of the field for almost 10 years. From a technician extraordinaire in a private practice to a hospital lead in a corporate one she has seen many sides of the field. Caring for animals isn’t just a job to her, it’s a passion.

Some hobbies of hers include make-up, cooking, party planning and hiking. Halloween is her most favorite holiday so don’t be surprised when you see her in a different Halloween scrub and matching eyeliner everyday of October.

She is so happy to be a part of this beautiful hospital, everything we stand for and for the chance to care for your pet! She leaves her bio with this ending quote: Remember, “Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make his tail wag”.

Julia De La Pena – Veterinary Technician
Vet technician Julia has 4 years of experience in the field. Fremont local, Carrington college graduate, and fellow cat and dog lover. She is empathetic and passionate about her job. Being able to provide care and love to pets in need is what she loves most about her job.