Tara

In May of 2002, my husband Erik and I relocated to Montrose Colorado from Southwest Florida. I am originally a Jersey girl, but have quickly adapted to the active outdoor lifestyle of western Colorado. My hobbies include hiking, biking, rafting, roller blading, horseback riding, garage sale shopping and spending quality time with my husband and dogs.This past year (2005), we have received two new additions to our loving home. Gypsy, our black lab-greyhound mix, stays active by going on hikes and chasing birds and butterflies. Oslo, our yellow lab enjoys getting belly-rubs and giving kisses to everyone he meets. Our dogs give us much pleasure and we look forward to the many adventures spent with Gypsy and Oslo! I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, and really enjoy working as Dr. Hooley's technician. My primary duties include assisting with surgeries and appointments, performing dental hygiene and lab work, taking/developing radiographs, filling prescriptions, and overall patient care. I am continually striving to learn new procedures and technical skills.

What I really enjoy most about my job is helping our client’s loved ones and listening to their favorite pet stories. I understand how special pets are, and how much we can learn from them. I work with a nice and dedicated staff who are committed to providing a more natural, holistic approach to caring for our animal friends.

Nancy

I grew up in California, where animals were always a big part of my life. I earned a B.A. in Anthropology from USCB. worked a few years in the business world. and then returned to the animal world I have always loved. I spent several years working at a guest ranch, tending to the seventy five horses and guiding trail rides through the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. This led to employment at a private ranch and zoo, also in the valley, where I had the opportunity to work with a variety of exotic animals. I had the lucky job of raising many of the baby animals born there, including giraffes, zebras, fawns, wolves, bear, chimpanzees, and, my favorite, two infant orangutans. I spent six years at the zoo with my animal friends, and leaving my two orangutans was very difficult!

My husband moved our family to Colorado in 1996, where we (daughter Jessica & son Tanner) began a new life, working on a ranch in Cimarron. Cattle & horses were our focus then, and I began working at Morningstar—it was great to “come to town” and see people again! That was almost seven years ago. Through the years, my responsibilities have expanded to include a little bit of almost everything: helping the doctors with routine procedures, running lab work, assisting with surgeries, emergencies and patient treatments, as well as currently being responsible for inventory and ordering all our supplies, drugs, food etc.

I love my job at Morningstar—but my favorite part? Without a doubt, that’s when the seriously ill or injured patient is well again, and is re-united with their family—that moment is the best!

Tami

I am the receptionist at Morningstar Veterinary Clinic. I have remarried, and have a daughter Marlana and a son Taylor. My family and I have 1 puppy, "Bronx", an Anatolian Shepard mix, and 3 cats:"Mr. Kitty", "Miss Kitty", and "Brooklyn Reign".

I grew up in Montrose and attended school here. After school I worked here in town and took some computer classes to further my education. In 1999 I moved to California, where I worked for Hewlett Packard for three years it was an amazing experience programming and designing networking computers. I moved back to Colorado in 2002 to be near my family. I met my husband through mutual friends; we became friends and then started to date. I came to work at Morningstar in June of 2003.

I have always loved animals and I thought I could have the best of two worlds here. I could use my knowledge about computers and I get to play with all the cute animals. My duties here are to answer the phone calls and make appointments. I also take the patients back to the exam rooms and get histories on the patients. I sometimes draw up the vaccines for patients. My favorite task at the clinic is getting to see all the patients and the new puppies and kittens that come into the clinic. I have to admit I do have a few favorite patients that come into the clinic that I get excited to see. There is a VERY special blue heeler that I love to see when he comes in to visit.

Karen

With over twenty years of experience working in veterinary clinics, I am the “Jack (Jill) of all trades” at Morningstar. Throughout the day I may be the bookkeeper, veterinary assistant, receptionist and/or kennel person. I also wear the hat of office manager, although I try to keep a low profile. My day is never boring. I especially enjoy the birds and exotics that come into Morningstar.

As if I don’t see enough animals at work, I share my home with an Amazon parrot, a cockatiel, and a canary. In my spare time I ride an Arabian horse and offer a pet sitting service to other pet lovers. You might say that animals are my life!