Thankful Thursday: Outstanding in the Field

August 17, 2023

Just like those awe-inspiring sunflowers blooming this month, our team members continue to be outstanding in the field. These messages of thanks show the impact we all have on each other. 

Danielle Gutierrez from Zippivet Arboretum, Austin, Texas, wants to recognize the Zippivet Arboretum Team: "The entire Zippivet team never ceases to amaze me. We have had an interesting month with ups and downs. The teamwork, critical thinking, commitment, and flexibility everyone has shown makes me incredibly proud to manage and work alongside each one of you."

Carla Kiser-Davis from Pacific Heights Veterinary Hospital, Renton, Washington, wants to recognize Amy Anthony, Talent Acquisition: "Thank you so much for going above and beyond in helping us find Dr. Blew! It is clear you are passionate about what you do, and we are so grateful to have you in our corner. You are amazing!"

Cherie Guidry, COS from Helping Hands Vet Clinic, Lynnwood, Washington, wants to recognize Aubrey Mills, Hospital Manager: "Aubrey has been our awesome office manager for over 3 years now and she goes above and beyond for me and the team.  She usually is a full-time tech as well as our office manager and she does all that she can to keep us going at Helping Hands.  We couldn't have asked for a better manager and tech!  She is the best!"

Danielle Lopes from Tiogue Veterinary Clinic, Coventry, Rhode Island, wants to recognize Dr. Karen Farren: "I want to send a huge thank you to Dr. Farren for not only taking amazing care of my baby Winnie on the spot for surgery to remove a bladder stone blocking her urethra but for just being a kind, selfless and amazing human being in general. Not only is she an amazing doctor but her compassion for others makes her one of my favorite people. She has taught me so much since we met and I am grateful for her every day!"

Christine Spencer from Dr. Norm's Westside Animal Hospital, Panama City Beach, Florida, wants to recognize Jane Blythe, Inventory Manager: " ‘If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.’ Jane is a light in our animal hospital, she keeps our team working together, even on the hard ones."

Kayla Miller from Carmel Mountain Ranch Veterinary Hospital, San Diego, California, wants to recognize Codey Kraft, Lead RVT: "Codey has come into the hospital and from the first day has been so helpful and friendly to the staff.  He has streamlined our inventory, ordering, cures, etc. Codey has really made the staff and Dr's happy.  Clients love him as well.  Thank you Codey for being a positive, helpful, talented, amazing Tech."

Kelsey (Kaycee) Alberti from Leland Veterinary Clinic, Mableton, Georgia, wants to recognize Danielle Mercado, Hospital Manager: "Danielle is an awesome Practice Manager. She has had to teach herself so many things to better equip herself to run a Veterinary Clinic and staff! It is due to her, that Leland Veterinary Clinic has become such a well-maintained clinic all around. Our clients are happy, our doctors and staff are happy, and our numbers are great. There is no stopping her, and anyone would be very happy and blessed to have her as an example and leader!"

Heather Walker from Carey's Pet Hospital, Swansea, Illinois, wants to recognize Kate Santel CVT, Angie Mank, Receptionist, and Faith Berner, Vet Assistant: "I am thankful for these 3 who work so hard and keep a positive attitude despite the challenges of working in a practice with no full-time doctor. It has been a difficult year but you ladies make my life better. Thank you for all you do."

Marianne Quigley from Cat Care, Rochester Hills, Michigan, wants to recognize Erika Chavez, CCS: "Erika started here almost 3 months ago. She has a great, positive attitude, and is a SUPER FAST learner! She has become a wonderful addition to our team!"

Eric Detrick from Pleasant Hills Pet Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wants to recognize Tammy Kavka, Technician: "Tammy went above and beyond for a client that was having an issue getting to the practice to pick up medication for her pet. The owner's work was on Tammy's route home, and she offered to take the medication to the client at the client's place of employment. The client was very appreciative and I was touched by Tammy's kind gesture."

Linda Layfield from Annapolis Animal Hospital, Annapolis, Maryland, wants to recognize Angel Ruckert, CCS: "Angel has been stepping up to help out and take extra hours while one of our other receptionists is out for the month.  Even though she has a lot going on personally right now, she continues to have her usual pleasant attitude and willingness to help out. She's the best!"

Lucy Smith from the OPS team wants to recognize Vanesa Rivera, Procurement: "Vanesa has helped me out so many times since taking over as RM in the Chicago area. She has been working on a parking lot project that has not been easy, and most recently, she has helped me with my in-person leadership meeting. On top of that, Vanesa might have the fastest response times out of everyone in Vetcor! I feel so lucky to get to work with her. Thank you Vanesa for all that you do!"

Linda Layfield from Annapolis Animal Hospital, Annapolis, Maryland, wants to recognize Kelly Howard, Technician: "Kelly is our dependable-can-do-anything staff member. She is truly the backbone of this practice.  Kelly does it all - the best vet tech ever, scheduler, inventory manager, surgical tech extraordinaire, and the most wonderful person to be around. Everyone loves her sweet and willing-to-help nature. This place would not be the same without her!"

Hunter Reed from Animal Medical Center of Ontario, Ontario, Ohio, wants to recognize Madi Mueller, PCA: "She is always on time, has perfect attendance, and always looks for something to do if there is downtime. She is also always eager to learn new things to help better the practice!"

Brooklyn Hodge from Karns Animal Clinic, Knoxville, Tennessee, wants to recognize the Talent Acquisition team: "The Talent Acquisition team has been so incredible and doing so much work for us! I have 3 veterinary assistants leaving for vet school this year and I have had so many qualified applicants being sent directly to me. I am so thankful for the assistance and support I've received!"

Kerry Kornish from Woodside Animal Hospital, Port Orchard, Washington, wants to recognize Bridgette Pribyl, Regional Manager: "Bridgette became my RM after the addition of PPV hospitals. I wasn't too sure how I would adjust moving to a "newbie" when I was used to working with Sean S., but Bridgette jumped right in with supporting me through some challenges that we were having. Since then, I have leaned on Bridgette a lot and she has been there for me every step of the way! If she doesn't know the answer (which isn't often because she is a wealth of knowledge!), she is certain to figure it out and get back to me right away! In addition to being a great Regional Manager, she is fun to be around. Thank you for everything, Bridgette! I look forward to a long partnership with you and Vetcor!”

Christy Layton from Timberlane Pet Hospital & Resort, Plant City, Florida, wants to recognize Dani Chaney, Associate Veterinarian: "I am so thankful to have you as a part of our Timberlane Family!! It is wonderful to have someone with so much compassion, knowledge, and drive to give the best possible care to our patients! You have been an amazing addition to our family & I am thankful for you!!"

Melissa Strycker-Grzeskowiak from Western Veterinary Clinic, South Bend, Indiana, wants to recognize Dawn Conklin, IT Support: "Dawn is absolutely amazing and a lifesaver when it comes to fixing IT problems and helps us stay calm when things don't go right. We recently had a lot of issues with our server and eventually had to replace it and along with all of that we had a lot of issues and she came to the rescue over and over again!  Thank you Dawn for all you do!!!"

Crystal Castillo from Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital, Beverly Hills, CA, wants to recognize Cesar Sanchez and Zander Rogich, IT Support: "On behalf of the Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital staff, I would like to take the time to thank both Cesar S. and Zander. Thank you for helping us fix our computers and identifying a part of the problem. Thank you for staying late in the office until the issue was solved and not giving up on us so quickly. We know how hard your job is! We truly thank you for going above and beyond for us and understanding us and our clients. Having our system down was a nightmare but you both really helped get us back on track!! Thank you!!"

Keri Laporte from Weymouth Landing Cat Clinic, Weymouth, Massachusetts, wants to recognize my entire team: "My amazing cat-loving team has been through the ringer last month. Vet shortages, busy season, losing a hospital cat, losing a lot of long-term patients. They have held it together through joy and tears and I am thankful every day for each one of them."

Angele Sumpter from Ladera Ranch Animal Hospital, Ladera Ranch, California, wants to recognize Katie Barron, Assistant Hospital Manager: "Always on point, gets tasks done early, such a hard worker, consistent, and a great leader."

Abby Fire from Penny Paws, Fort Worth, Texas, wants to recognize Analis Ruiz, Lead Technician: "I am extremely new to this practice and she has been killing it by keeping this team afloat despite not having a full-time Hosptial Manager. She has such an amazing work ethic and I am so glad to have her on my team."

David Gagnon from Kaukauna Veterinary Clinic, Kaukauna, Wisconsin, wants to recognize Sara Parker, CVT: "Sara always has a positive attitude and is always willing to jump in to help in any way. She has been a part of our practice for a few years now and immediately became one of the team. She loves her patients and appears to genuinely enjoy her job, approaching her job with a sense of humor and a smile."

Liz MacDonald from Norwell Veterinary Hospital, Norwell, Massachusetts, wants to recognize Jennifer Cole, Veterinary Assistant: "Thank you Jen for always being flexible. You are always willing to help out where it is needed, whether it is being a technician or receptionist. Thank you for being so organized and keeping us on our toes. We appreciate you!"

Dr. Jolene O’Brien, COS from Berrien Vet, Baroda, Michigan, wants to recognize Jennifer Kutch, Hospital Manager: "Jen is a fantastic hospital manager AND Licensed Vet Tech!  She has been filling in since we are currently short a technician and is still able to get all of her management work done too. She wears many hats and we all truly appreciate her."

Lauren Cross from Ridgeville Animal Hospital, North Ridgeville, Ohio, wants to recognize Maggie Kuhn, Hospital Manager: "Maggie is the rock of our clinic. She goes above and beyond to make sure the staff and clients are taken care of, and that things run as smoothly as possible at the clinic. She is an amazing HM and leader, and I am so grateful to get to work with her."

Kirby Jones from Animal Clinic of Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, Texas, wants to recognize Eric Allen, IT Support: "We installed a new phone system in February for our practice and it didn't integrate with our PA system. We have a very large building (over 7,000 square feet) and we use the PA system daily for our intra-office communication, including STAT pages, outdoor pages to communicate with our boarding staff, and many other incredibly necessary daily tasks. After the VOIP phone system didn't integrate with the analog PA system, I've been trying to get it fixed for about six months total. My team has been very frustrated, and it's been difficult to negotiate around, even with walkie-talkies, etc. Eric came to our building in May for another issue (unrelated, our server update), and I discussed the PA system with him. It took many phone calls, a vendor site visit (twice), and several weeks of emails, but it is finally fixed. My whole team is so thrilled and I'm just so thankful that he was able to dedicate so much time and attention to such a difficult problem that, in the grand scheme of IT issues, is not a huge deal but it is a huge deal to us. Thank you, Eric! Words can't express our gratitude!"

Margie Giles from Sanford Animal Hospital, Sanford, North Carolina, wants to recognize Morgan Asbill, RVT: "Morgan is just all-around amazing!  She is our Lead Tech/Surgery Tech and she keeps everything organized and running smoothly.  Morgan is an amazing technician and so very smart.  She is just fantastic at her job and we couldn't run the clinic without her. I can't say enough good things about her but we are so lucky to have her as part of our team!”

Kai Coll from Creature Comforts, Las Vegas, Nevada wants to recognize Chauncey Cummings, Veterinary Assistant: "Chauncey is an incredible team member at our practice. He never hesitates to offer his assistance to other team members. Chauncey started with our practice as a kennel technician and now that he is a Veterinary Assistant he continues to offer his support and guidance to our kennel team members. His heart shows in every interaction and he always has a smile to offer anyone in need. Thank you Chauncey for always being a ray of sunshine even on our cloudy days."

Brandy Anselmo and Kai Coll from Creature Comforts, Las Vegas, Nevada want to recognize Megan Damewood, Lead CSR: "Megan is our Lead Client Service Representative. She is dedicated to the success of her team and the hospital. Her ability to bridge the gap between departments due to her vast medical knowledge has helped improve our culture. Megan is committed to the growth of her team and her personal growth. She sets high standards for herself and is always looking for feedback and ways to continue to grow. Thank you Megan for all that you do!!"

Jessica Spellacy from The Pet Doctors of Sherman Oaks, Sherman Oaks, California wants to recognize Frank Valdez, RVT Supervisor: "Frank is amazing and it's obvious he loves what he does. He has such a passion for teaching, and he is a great leader! Having Frank on the team makes everyone better. It is a joy to work alongside him. Franks's hard work and dedication over the past 7+ years is so appreciated and is also a big factor in driving our success. Thank you Frank for all that you do!"

Jessica also wants to recognize Ashley Gonzalez, CCS Supervisor: "Ashley is simply fabulous! She has an amazing work ethic and a sparkling personality. She is always striving for excellence in everything she does. Ashley has an extraordinary ability to manage the daily tasks, while helping me with special projects, and supporting the CCS team. She is truly one of the most efficient and adept people I have ever worked with, and she makes my job easier!  Ashley is an excellent leader and she sets a great example for the team. Ashley, you never do just a good job when you can do a great job! I appreciate all the time and energy you put into everything you do.  It is a real joy to work alongside you and to see the amount of professional growth you have achieved over the last 5+ years. Ashley is very much like her favorite color pink. She is bright and stands out in all the best ways. Thank you Ashley for all that you do to help us succeed every day!”

Tiffany Lund from Creature Comforts Animal Hospital, Las Vegas, Nevada wants to recognize Ashley Erbstoesser, Veterinary Assistant: "Ashley was recognized by our team when they voted her Team Member of the Month. She is the definition of kindness. Ashley goes above and beyond in all of her actions to help her teammates succeed. She is our in-clinic lab trainer and has improved the efficiency and operation of our lab. Ashley always receives 5-star reviews from her trainees. Thank you Ashley for being the amazing person you are!"