Refugee Canyon
VETERINARY SERVICES, INC.
Our Team Members
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Carrots, C.E.O.
He may be the smallest employee, but Carrots just happens to be the coolest cat in the Clinic.
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Carrots came to us in 2014 as a rescue from Licking County Humane Society. He needed to have his left eye surgically removed due to a possible accident making it painful and useless. When he came back for a check-up on his eye, we also performed x-rays and realized his hip had been broken, but had already healed, leaving him with rear legs that are set a little closer together than normal. We kept him a few more days for observation, but his mellow personality awarded him run of the Clinic for exercise, and he decided that he didn't want to leave us.
He rules our Clinic with an iron paw, tearing up the reception area furniture when we forget to trim his nails in time. He is, however, a Fair & Just Boss and never plays favorites with his team members; anyone can give him cuddles and pets without prejudice. He has also proven himself a very good therapeutic cat and seems to know when one of his people need extra snuggles.
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This little orange guy rules all of us with his purrfect purrsonality, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
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Brittany, RVT and Practice Manager for R.C.V.S.
Brittany received her Associate's Degree for Veterinary Technology at Kent State University Tuscarawas in 2011. She highly enjoys working with animals and does her best to make them feel as loved inside the clinic atmosphere as they do inside their homes.
Brittany is our Practice Manager and helps the Doctors stay organized and works closely with them to keep the Clinic running smoothly.
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Brittany and her husband, Ross, have one daughter named Kathleen. Of course, they also have rescued pets; Nessie, their adorable little Heinz 57 dog, and Janie, an elderly Beagle they adopted after a long-time client passed away. They also share their lives with 3 cats named Spanky, Patches and Schmegal.
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When Brittany is not at work and not wrangling her kiddo, she enjoys down time with reading, crocheting or beekeeping!
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Annette, Accounting Manager & Lead Customer Service Representative
Annette is in charge of Refugee Canyon's finances and bookkeeping, and mainly works behind the scenes now, but she enjoys working at the front desk at least one day each week. She has been a Receptionist in Hebron for over 20 years, and she knows most of our clients on a first-name basis, and has formed many friendships throughout the years.
She and her husband, Pat, have been happily married for over 25 years. Together, they have 4 adult children, Casey, Justin, Leslie and Shane. They also have 7 beautiful grandchildren that they love spending time with as much as possible.
Annette and Pat share their lives with 2 spoiled cats named Quinn, the Bengal, and Clancy, the Persian; and 2 happy dogs named Blair & Flo inside their home. Outside the house, they have 2 rescued horses named Nickie & Rocco living out their lives in luxury.
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Jodi, Kennel Manager for Pataskala & Professional Groomer
Jodi is our Kennel Manager and Groomer, but is also able to double as a Veterinary Assistant during medical exams if needed. She worked for 10 years at a Veterinary kennel in Zanesville before changing her career path and began grooming for a living. She enjoys making dogs feel better with a good groom and bath.
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Jodi is a Zanesville native, born with a passion for horses and grew up competing in Barrel Racing and 4-H. Jodi then moved on to Team Roping until she retired her roping horse. She is now riding and training a mare named Moonshine that she enjoys showing in Ranch Riding competitions. When she is not working, or on the back of a horse, you’ll find her cheering for The Ohio State Buckeyes, regardless of the sport.
Working with people that are also good friends is a wonderful privilege, but her home life is where she relaxes with her young son, Grayson. Jodi also has a "daughter" named Callie that just happens to be an Australian Cattle Dog, and her 2 horses, Moonshine & Josie, who share their barn with 3 rescued cats named Tressel, Skittles & Nada.
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Troi, Office Manager for Hebron
began her career with RCVS as Receptionist and Veterinary Assistant, but has recently assumed the Office Manager role in Hebron, while still performing these positions. She ensures that the daily operations at the Hebron clinic run smoothly with the many supplies necessary to perform the multiple daily emergencies and surgeries, ambulatory truck services, and office appointments to serve our patients efficiently. Troi is also very good at promoting and ensuring a positive workplace atmosphere.
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Troi and her husband, Allan, have one daughter named Ashley that might be more horse-crazy than Troi. Together, they enjoy supporting Ashley with her school activities, and helping her show various 4-H projects each year, but especially when she has opportunity to attend and show their Quarter Horses, Zippee and Jacob, in local shows. They have one Miniature Australian Shepherd named Hercules, who is spending his golden years being pampered.
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Troi stays busy outside of work by volunteering as a 4-H Advisor, and she still loves to ride horses whenever she finds the time.
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Amelia, MSc, CVT, Office Manager for Pataskala & Manager of Behavioral Svcs.
Amelia joined our Refugee Canyon Team in Pataskala as the Office Manager for the Veterinary Clinic and also acts as Pataskala's Lead Technician. She has a Masters of Science in Applied Animal Behaviour & Animal Welfare from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Additionally, Amelia received her Associate of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology from Argosy University in Minnesota. One of Amelia's passions in Veterinary Medicine is learning all she can about animal behavior.
As a new Ohio resident, Amelia has been exploring the area and enjoys running when it's nice outside. She also volunteers with a local animal rescue organization.
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Amelia has 3 cats, but 2 still reside in Saint Paul, MN for the time being. Her 8 year old cat, Vera, is the first one to make the move to Ohio with her. Amelia adopted Vera after being responsible for socializing her while she received veterinary care during her studies at Argosy.
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Sarah, RVT
Sarah is a 2021 Graduate of Columbus State Community College with her Associate of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology. She began her internship with RCVS, and we are happy that she decided to stay with us to begin her career.
Sarah lives with 3 dogs and 2 cats. Mia & Emma are both Golden Retrievers, Bella is a Miniature Dachshund, and Simon & Scarlet are both rescue cats. Sarah and her Mom raised Simon on a bottle because she was found abandoned in their goat barn when she was only 2½ weeks old!
Along with showing her 4-H goats at the Hartford Fair, she is also an Advisor of 4 Paws 4-H Dog Club and has shown her dogs, Mia & Emma, since they were puppies. When Sarah has a moment of quiet, she spends it with family and friends, or by reading.
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Dominique (Dom), RVT
Dominique is a 2011 Bradford graduate with her Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology. She has resided in the Lakewood area her entire life and prides herself on treating her patients like they are family. Her duties encompass any surgery, emergency, appointment, laboratory and prescription Technician responsibilities.
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Her mini-zoo at home includes a Redbone Coonhound named Hank, and a senior-citizen German Shepherd named Leo. She also has 2 cats named Bobby and I-Lean, the 3-legged 'tri-pod' rescue kitty ;)
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Dominique is an avid video-game player when she's not working or caring for her own pets. She also enjoys visiting the local restaurant scene and traveling at every opportunity.
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Mickenzie, RVT
Mickenzie earned her Associate of Applied Science in Veterinary Technology from Columbus State Community College in 2023. She has been working with us at RCVS as a Veterinary Assistant since 2020. She works in both our Hebron and Pataskala locations and is excited to be more involved with her patients.
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Mickenzie & her fiance', Chase, have been together since the 8th grade, and they spend all of their spare time and money renovating their new home. They share their home with a black cat named Salem, and an orange kitten named Jinx.
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Kate, RVT graduated in 2023 from C.S.C.C. with her Associates in Applied Science in Veterinary Technology, earning Summa Cum Laude, and wants to earn a Bachelors degree next. She is also a licensed technician Ham radio operator! She became interested in learning because her father has his expert's license.
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Kate has 1 orange kitty best friend named Cheddar that completely lives up to the orange cat stigma of being very playful, and also gets himself into trouble by eating things he shouldn't.
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Kate is unique because she actually loves math! She can also play the flute, likes to golf and go boating, and enjoys reading. She loves learning new skills, and is hoping to learn how to make pottery, and maybe even join a community band someday. Interestingly, her family tree has a branch with Alan Jackson's name attached, but she can't confirm how she's related to him. LOL
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Veterinary Assistants
Edwin hails from Peru and studied Veterinary Medicine at the National University of Cajamarca. He worked for five years after graduation in a Veterinary Hospital where he met his wife, Jessica, while she was volunteering in the Peace Corps.
After moving to the United States in 2015, he married Jessica, and they now have two beautiful twins, Benjamin & Elena. They also have three cats at home named Jake, Leonard and Oscar.
Edwin now works in our Hebron Clinic alongside our Doctors to continue his education during farm calls, surgeries and office appointments. When Edwin is not at work, he enjoys running, playing soccer and cooking his native Peruvian food for his family. He and his family also raise Quail together for their eggs.
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Jamilya originally joined us at our Pataskala team, but now she works closely with the Doctors at both locations as a Veterinary Assistant while she continues her education through Penn Foster's Veterinary Technician program. She is knowledgable in all aspects of our Clinics, and can do everything from helping the Doctors during appointments, to Customer Relations at the Front Desk, and also assists with our Boarding pets at the Kennel if necessary.
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Jamilya is a graduate of Heath High School. Her favorite things to do when she isn't studying or working, are catching up on sleep or spending time with her friends and family. Her own pets also keep her quite busy because they include 2 dogs named Dora & Gilbert, a Hedgehog named Felix, 2 Leopard Geckos named Swiper & Rafael, and a Bearded Dragon, named ... Dragon ;)
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Maria grew up in California, but moved to Ohio in 1992. She has a passion for helping animals, and came to us from the Licking County Humane Society with a lot of animal knowledge and skill. Maria is also a retired U.S. Navy Chief, serving 20 years of combined active and reserve duty.
Maria's husband, Bob, is an avid gardener, and they grow their own hay and manage a small farm together. They have a combined family of 4 adult children and 5 grand-kids. Their animal "kids" include KC, a Tennessee Walker horse and Bella, the Rocky Mountain horse; 3 dogs named Remy, the Multi-poo, and 2 Great Pyrenees brothers named Smith & Wesson. Their garden benefits from the 15 chickens they have to eat bugs, which Maria calls her little Pterodactyls.
Maria loves being outdoors running, bicycling, hiking, horse-back riding, or riding her iron horse, Harley ;)
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Addie is a Frazeysburg native, and still lives in the area to remain close to her family unit. She worked some miscellaneous jobs before finding her passion for animal research and the veterinary industry through her studies at University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) to facilitate the humane care and use of animals in biomedical research and teachings at The Ohio State University.
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Addie's home and barn is filled with a dog, 2 cats, horses, cows, chickens, and her new husband, Andrew :)
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When she has the time available, Addie loves to be camping or hiking with her dog and husband, or trail riding with her Dad. She is also crafty and loves to paint and do projects wth her Mom.
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Anna joined our top-notch team in 2022 and helps both our Technicians and Receptionists at Hebron and Pataskala.
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Anna is a Newark, Ohio native, and she shares her life with husband, Cody, and 2 Sheltie dogs named Rosie and Nellie, and a special orange cat named Castiel that rules their household with adorable little iron paws ;)
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In her days off, Anna can be found hiking with her dogs, gardening, or simply enjoying the time with family. She also loves to honor bees that she happens to find dead in her travels, and features them by creating adorable miniature terrariums.
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Reception & Customer Service Representatives
Laura works part-time in our Hebron location as Receptionist, but in addition to interacting with clients and their pets at the front desk, she also keeps our website, Facebook & Instagram pages updated with news, information and photos.
She and her husband Brian, have been married 25 years and have 1 adult son. On her days off, Laura is usually at home caring for her small herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats. Additionally, they have a Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd mix named Boyd that watches over the herd. They have a 22-year old Quarter Horse mare named Pepper that was born on their farm, and they also enjoy life with 2 other rescued dogs, 7 rescued cats, and 2 pet ducks named Tyra Banks and Naomi (khaki) Campbell. Tyra was incubated & hatched from an egg that one of Dr. Laing's ducks produced.
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When Laura isn't in the barn, she relaxes by rug-hooking, going to concerts or traveling with her family.
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Dixie joined the front desk team on a part-time basis at both of our locations. She brings 40 years of experience working with people and clients after she retired from the Licking County Common Pleas Court.
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Dixie is a Newark native, and together with her husband Troy, they have 2 grown children, and they also have 2 grand-daughters that they love to spend time with. She and Troy have just adopted an adorable black Lab puppy named Koal.
When she finds the time, Dixie loves to travel and experience new things with her family.
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Chris joined our Hebron team of front desk ladies in 2023, and she brings over 20 years of Veterinary experience with her!
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Her home is filled with a lot of rescued and adopted animals, including 11 cats, 2 Australian cattle dogs named Alice & Ranger, and 2 Corgis named Breezy & Rita. Chris also shares her life and home with husband, Dan.
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Chris enjoys meeting all of our patients and their owners at work, but when she's on her own time, she loves collecting comic books and baking. She also likes to travel with Dan looking for cars to repair.
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Sage lives at home with her parents and 4 siblings, Samuel, Olive, Pearl & Willow. She is currently a Junior in High School, and is also taking some college courses at Mount Vernon University. Sage works at our Pataskala front desk and helps maintain our busy Boarding and Grooming schedule. She loves interacting with the boarding dogs and cats while they stay with us.
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Sage's family loves all kinds of animals, and they have several fish, a Leopard Gecko, a Gerbil named Walnut, and a beautiful black Labrador named Gracie that they got from friends when their dog had puppies.
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Sage has dual citizenship in America & Canada because her mom is Canadian. She likes to crochet, sew and read in her free time.
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Kennel Personnel
Grayce lives locally in Hebron and started working with us at the Pataskala location helping take care of our boarding guests. She especially likes to spend extra time with the scared dogs, helping them feel more comfortable while in our care.
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Grayce lives with a Pitbull named Macy, and a brindle Shih Tzu named Toby. She likes to say her family is crazy, but her pets are perfect angels :)
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For fun, Grayce loves to go fishing, ride ATV's, exercise, or basically anything that she can do outdoors!
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Adjunct Staff
Erin is a 2008 graduate of C-TEC of Licking County and works in our Hebron office a few days each week in charge of custodial services by cleaning our Lobby, keeping our trash from overflowing, and keeps the bathroom nice so it doesn't look like a herd of cattle ran through it. She happens to be the resident cat-lover, and enjoys saying hello to all of the kitties in the hospital while she's working.
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Family is the center of Erin’s life, and she lives at home with her parents and enjoys visiting her grandparents, her brother and his family, or going to school events to watch and cheer for her nephews, Ben & Jack.
When she is not enjoying her human family, Erin can be found with her dog, Bailey, or her 2 cats, Mr. Lew & Allie, both rescues. She also loves to bake cookies or go to the movies with her friends.
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