Veterinary medicine was always my calling; I was an animal lover from birth bringing home all sorts of pets and wildlife to nurse to health. I was very fortunate to have such wonderfully patient parents that encouraged my love and dedication to animals, no matter what strange critter I dragged home.

I grew up in Colorado Springs and am a mountain girl at heart. I love everything outdoors: camping, hiking, climbing and biking. I am not really sure how I ended up in Illinois hundreds of miles from the mountain but I am enjoying my life here very much with my husband Dave and our new son Andrew.

I currently have a Chocolate Labrador and German Shorth Hair Pointer mix named Scooby. I also have a long haired calico cat named Culpepper who is an evil genius and loves to torment Scooby.

My greatest love in this field is exotic animals and I even think about getting into zoo medicine someday.

"Don't sweat the petty things and never pet the sweaty things." - Unknown