For Dr. Brian Hodes, veterinary medicine is truly a family affair. Not only does he own and operate Hodes Veterinary Health Center alongside his wife, Dr. Jessica Hodes, he essentially grew up in a mixed-animal hospital that his father owned in northern New Jersey. From the time he could walk, Dr. Hodes wanted to help his father in a hands-on way to better the lives of animals! That passion simply never quit, and Dr. Hodes has been caring for the earth’s creatures ever since.

Dr. Hodes attended Kansas State University for his undergraduate studies and remained at the university to earn his veterinary degree as well. After five years of practicing, he and his wife realized they needed more space to do their best work. Having outgrown their previous practice, the pair decided to make a change. With plenty of support from family, friends, and trusted clients, the Hodes opened Hodes Veterinary Health Center and haven’t looked back since!

Medically, Dr. Hodes enjoys orthopedic surgery and large-animal medicine. He also loves to interact one-on-one with other pet owners just like himself. Dr. Hodes is also passionate about education, and especially loves to mentor veterinary students to get them started off on the right path in the profession.

Away from work, Dr. Hodes likes running, playing ice hockey, fishing, volunteering for 4-H and working rodeo events. At home, he and his wife share their home with their young daughter, Bridget, as well as several pets. The family has two dogs—Miki the Red Heeler, who is Dr. Hodes’ favorite running partner, and a loveable Swiss Mountain dog named Olaf—as well as a housecat named Cricket and two barn cats, Hunter and Ranger.

Dr. Jessica Hodes is a native to the Rose Hill area. She grew up cultivating a love of not only animals and medicine, but of the caring individuals who owned pets. For her, working to better the lives of pets and their loving owners is what lies at the very heart of her profession. Dr. Hodes is proud to own and operate Hodes Veterinary Health Center alongside her husband, Dr. Brian Hodes, in order to best serve the pets and animal parents of the greater Wichita area!

Dr. Hodes attended Kansas State University to earn her Bachelor’s degree in biology—meeting her future husband, Dr. Brian Hodes, during her studies—before continuing on to the University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. During her graduate work, Dr. Hodes focused on equine medicine and surgery. During Dr. Jessica’s senior year, she was selected to serve as Kansas State University’s student representative for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky! She also completed externships at several major equine referral practices, including Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky and Glenwood veterinary clinic in Glenwood springs, Colorado.

Dr. Hodes is interested in various disciplines within veterinary medicine, including equine lameness and dentistry, reproduction, soft tissue surgery, ophthalmology, emergency and critical care, and neonatology. Most of all, she loves to interact one-on-one with pet owners and get to know their animal companions on a personal level.

At home, Dr. Hodes and her husband share their lives with their beautiful daughter, Bridget (known affectionately as Baby B). The family also has one horse, two dogs, and three cats. If Dr. Jessica finds any free time, she enjoys riding. She has shown in classical and Western dressage, and has spent many years showing American Saddlebreds. She even rode for Team USA at the Saddleseat World Cup Invitational in South Africa in 2003, and has won several world and national titles here in the United States!

Dr. Ryan Tanner grew up in Derby, where he spent countless hours exploring nature, hiking with family, and caring for a number of exotic pets at home. Those early experiences with animals made a permanent impression that ultimately led him to the veterinary profession.

Dr. Tanner earned his undergraduate degree in pre-medical cellular biology at Northeastern State University with the intention of going to medical school. While getting experience in a hospital setting for medical school, he shadowed Dr. Brian and Dr. Jessica, finding that there was a more personal, client-friendly approach in veterinary medicine when compared to many human practices. This led him to forego medical school in favor of veterinary school. He attended Kansas State University where he received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. During his doctorate studies, he was inducted into the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honors Society and received both the Anesthesia Excellence Award and the Dr. Wayne and Druecillia Burch Memorial Award for large animal medicine and surgery.

Dr. Tanner graduated as a veterinarian in 2017 and joined the Hodes Veterinary Health Center family shortly afterward. He has a special interest in internal medicine with emphases on neurology, cardiology, and endocrinology, as well as soft-tissue surgery, equine and exotic internal medicine, and emergency medicine.

Outside of the office, Dr. Tanner enjoys playing and watching sports, going hiking, dabbling in graphic design, architecture, programming and spending quality time with his family and pets. He lives in Derby with his wife, Leslie, and their lovely baby girl, Leah. The family has two dogs, Jasper and Shale, as well as tortoises, turtles, snakes, and a bearded dragon.

For Dr. Lucas Moeder, being uniquely equipped to meet the needs of pet parents and their companions is a dream come true. He can’t imagine doing anything other than bettering the lives of pets and people! Dr. Lucas is proud to serve as an Associate Veterinarian here at Hodes Veterinary Health Center.

Dr. Lucas hails from LaCrosse, Kansas and began his animal-care journey by shadowing at a clinic in Hays. He also spent a summer at a hospital in Kansas City before beginning veterinary school at Kansas State University in 2017. Dr. Lucas hasn’t looked back since! He joined the team here at Hodes Veterinary Health Center in 2021 and couldn’t be happier to help the pets and animal parents of the Wichita area. Medically, he’s fond of surgery and complex medical cases, but his favorite part of the work is forming meaningful relationships with the pet owners he helps every day.

In his time away from work, Dr. Lucas enjoys hunting and fishing, staying active by playing basketball or football, and spending time with his wife, Kelly.

Dr. Molly Jaax was born and raised in Wichita - KS, as the youngest of 3. She started her career with a mobile equine practice that helped her to cultivate her love for equine medicine and the many disciplines it has to offer. Dr. Molly Jaax is constantly excited to continue building her knowledge and expertise in the field of medicine. She really enjoys the challenges of sports medicine and also has a passion for equine reproduction.

Since a young age, Dr. Molly Jaax has always had a passion for helping animals and wanting to make them feel better. After starting to work with dogs and horses, she became very interested in ways to help animals with both traditional veterinary medicine as well as regenerative and alternative therapies.

Attending undergraduate and Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University helped her to make that dream a reality. She continued her growth in sports animal medicine and rehabilitation by attending Options for Animals School for Animal Chiropractic and getting certified through the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association.

Dr. Molly Jaax currently lives in Wichita with her boyfriend Zach, their 5 dogs, and 2 cats. She loves riding horses, training dogs for obedience and agility, and gardening!

Dr. Steven Hodes always wanted to help as many animals as he possibly could, but he also wanted to make an impact on the lives of families. He knew that working as a veterinarian would allow him to do both. Dr. Hodes is the founder of Hodes Vet Group and is now semi-retired, but still gets to make a difference in his community by helping and consulting on a regular basis!

Dr. Hodes grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey and attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio to study zoology. Next, he moved on to Ohio State University to study reproductive physiology and dairy science before heading to Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine to earn his Doctorate and become a licensed veterinarian. Upon graduating, Dr. Hodes returned to his home state of New Jersey, where he launched Hodes Veterinary Group in Mine Hill. The rest is history!

One of the things that Dr. Hodes likes most about being a veterinarian is the fact that no two days are ever quite the same. He’s also fond of complex medical and surgical cases. Above all, he likes knowing that his hard work makes a difference for the local community and the families that live here.

Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. Hodes enjoys exercising at the YMCA, weight lifting, mountain biking, and spending quality time with his family. He and his wife, Colleen, have three children: Brian, who is now Dr. Hodes’ boss here at the clinic; Tim, who lives in New York; and Alexa, who lives in Wichita. Dr. Hodes and his wife are also proud grandparents to five wonderful grandchildren: Bridget, Hudson, Houston, Sloan, and Alexander. At home, they live with one pet: Avery, an aging Labrador who shares a banana with Dr. Hodes nearly every morning.

As a child, Dr. Jackson was fascinated with science and medicine. Back then, he dreamed of one day becoming a doctor for a sports team. While he was still a freshman in high school, he met a veterinarian named Dr. Gates and, after getting to know him and seeing the work he did, Dr. Jackson knew he’d officially found his calling. Of course, given the fact that his first word was “puppy,” it does seem a bit like destiny!

Dr. Jackson attended Kansas State for both undergrad and veterinary school. While there, he became soccer teammates with Dr. Tanner, who also became a great mentor to him, both on and off the field. The two stayed in touch, and Dr. Jackson was able to shadow here at Hodes Veterinary Health Center during his final three years of vet school. He knew almost immediately this would be the place he would eventually call home.

Clinically, Dr. Jackson has a special interest in soft tissue surgery and dental procedures, and especially likes working with exotics and small ruminants. To date, the only animal that has truly bitten him has been a two-week-old kid goat. Go figure!

Dr. Jackson resides in Rose Hill with his dog, Betty, whom he adopted through the Wichita Animal Action League on his first day working at HVHC. Betty is a very good dog, albeit a total goofball. She has a passion for ice cubes and once ate a cicada, but quickly learned her lesson. In his spare time, Dr. Jackson enjoys golf, backcountry camping (which he coincidentally sometimes does while looking for his golf ball), spending time with family, and both watching and playing sports.