Meet Our Doctors
Dr. Bill Kuhfus received his veterinary degree in 1973 from Iowa State University. He practiced at an animal hospital in Oswego, Illinois from 1973 until 1984, when he joined Dixon Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Bill has been on the board of a local animal shelter and is a member of the American Dental Society. He has a special interest in dentistry. Dr. Kuhfus and his wife, Nancy have 3 children. He enjoys family activities, reading and is an avid tennis player.
Dr. Phil Fassler was born and raised in Sterling Illinois. He received his veterinary degree from the University of Illinois in 1989 and his masters degree in Parasitology shortly after that. His work was with the safety of Ivermectin as a heartworm preventative in the sensitive collie breed. He first practiced at the Noyes Animal Hospital in Barrington, Illinois before joining our practice in 1991.
Dr. Phil enjoys the challenge of difficult medical cases and working with the pet owners to assure they are deeply involved in their pets care and understand the choices involved. Surgery is a special interest and he is one of our hospitals orthopedic surgeons and especially enjoys the challenge of surgical treatment of cancers that can effect the pets in our practice.
Dr. Phil has been a Northern Illinois Veterinary Medical board member since 2004 and was the board president from 2010-2012. He also became a member of the Illinois State Veterinary Medical executive board in 2010 working to improve Veterinary medical care in our state.
In her free time, she is fascinated with do-it-yourself projects, and has built some of the furniture and home decor in her house. When she is not dabbling in carpentry, she enjoys the outdoors, especially boating, fishing, hiking and running, and hopes to participate in triathlons in the future. She shares her house with Jaxx the husky, Scarlett the pitbull, Saddie the yorkie, and Emmersyn the cat.
Dr. Lauren Robinson was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science form Iowa State University in 2012. She continued her education at Iowa State and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2016. She practice for 2 years at a small animal practice in Moline before joining the team at River Ridge Animal Hospital. She enjoys working with small animals and is interested in preventive care and ultrasound. Dr. Robinson enjoys spending time outdoors whenever she can, including hiking, camping, fishing, and tennis. She spends the rest of her time at home relaxing with her husband and her dog.
Dr. Justin Hohlen was raised in Dixon, Illinois. After graduating from Dixon High School, he attended Iowa State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in animal ecology in 2017. Dr. Hohlen received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois in 2021. He joined the staff of River Ridge Animal Hospital in 2021. Dr. Hohlen wants to help the pets of the Sauk Valley area live their best lives. He has interests in exotic companion animals, orthopedics, and companion animal reproduction.
Dr. Hohlen lives in Dixon with his wife and their Great Pyrenees dogs. When not at work, he enjoys gardening, hiking, cooking, and working on automotive projects.