Triina Barr, Certified Veterinary Technician, Receptionist.
Triina knows every nook and cranny of Shamrock more than any other staff member, perhaps even more than Doc! Triina started at Shamrock as a kennel assistant in 2001 and has gradually worked her way up through tech assistant, then certified veterinary technician, and finally lead receptionist/quasi office manager. Successfully balancing work and school, Triina completed her CVT degree from Argosy University in 2009. Her strong motivation comes from her passion to help the countless families with animal companions we see every day and make a positive difference in their lives.
In 2012 Triina welcomed her beautiful baby girl, Hayden Jean, into the world. Triina's animal family consists of Bruno and Bear, the unstoppable yellow Labradors, a very special Miniature Pincher named Penny and Goobers the tabby cat. In her spare time, Triina enjoys camping, fishing, spending time with friends and family and spoiling Penny to no end!
Jess Berg, Receptionist and Veterinary Assistant.
Jess is from Bloomington, Minnesota and worked previously in child care and computer tech support before entering the veterinary profession 5 years ago. Jess has a full animal house, including two Malamutes, Sasha and Summit and one cat, Patty. Shortly after starting work in the veterinary field Jess was tossed into intensive care for her Malamute, Sasha, when she was diagnosed with an aggressive oral tumor. After countless surgeries and blood transfusions at the University of Minnesota followed by tube feeding Sasha every 6-8 hours for 4 months, Jess successful nursed Sasha back to health. Today Sasha is a beautiful, healthy Malamute, free of her oral tumor!
Jess joined our team at Shamrock in February of 2009. She enjoys the ability her job gives her to regularly learn new skills including lab work, x-ray and catheter placement. In her free time at home with her husband, Dan, they work on countless home improvement projects, hike with the dogs, and spend time at the cabin in Northern MN.
Carrie Davis, Receptionist and Veterinary Assistant.
After eight years as a residential interior designer, Carrie's science-y left brain led her away and brought her into the veterinary field. Though it's clear to see Carrie's passion for animal welfare is really what led her away. In the clinic, Carrie is usually to be found educating clients on all those little details of good health care, easing their worries and calming their concerns. Strengthening the human-animal bond really comes second nature for Carrie.
At home near Northfield with her husband, Patrick and stepdaughter, Alexis, Carrie and the busy family “putz” around on the farm and attempt to keep their two Australian Shepherds, Cannon and Diesel, from herding the geese! After a mysterious night time carnivore sadly raided the new chicken coop last fall and decimated the population, Carrie looks forward to repopulating and even adding goats!
Brianna (Bri) Eckl, Veterinary Technician.
Bri joined the team in November of 2010 after completing her Argosy University technician internship with Shamrock. Many of our clients may recognize Bri from her other job as a dance instructor for grade school children with Jamm Dance Co. in Rosemount. Her students have competed in many competitions and won awards for choreography and overall Judge's choice. Jazz dance is one of Bri's favorite to teach and perform. We are always amazed and impressed with Bri's energy to dance after a busy day in the hospital!
Bri shares her life with Bentley, a 5 year old Golden Retriever, and Coven, the mischievious kitty found in a cold Wisconsin barn in November. Dehydrated and hypothermic (low body temperature) he was brought to Shamrock where the technicians and assistants nursed him back to health, even syringe feeding daily for 2 months! Now a healthy, cat, Bentley and him have become good friends.
Tammy Festvog, Certified Veterinary Technician.
After 8 years in the Army Reserve as a heavy wheel diesel mechanic, including one 10 month tour in Iraq, the countless animals she's cared for are lucky that Tammy choose her civilian life as a veterinary technician (as are we!). Her husband, Kaare, also a former Army Reservist, share their family with Fuzz, the very naughty cat, and Faye, a Keeshound.
Tammy's bright smile and attention to detail are omnipresent thought the day. Balancing Faye's food allergies and calorie restriction for weight loss and caring for her beloved former cat Peaches' kidney failure have given her first hand experience with many of the common problems we see in clients' pets every day. Tammy received her Vet. Tech. degree from Argosy University and joined our team in August of 2009.
Brittney Melmer, Veterinary Technician.
Brittney's ideal day would include tons of cute and cuddly new puppy visits, talking with and answering the questions of these new animal parents, honing her fantastic phlebotomy skills (blood drawing) and then overseeing the anesthetic management for the surgeries of the day. What other profession other than veterinary medicine would allow such diversity in the job! We are glad Brittney joined our team in 2008.
Brittney grew up in Rochester, Minnesota and received her veterinary technician degree from Rochester Community College. Her and her fiance, Brandon, welcomed their first beautiful baby boy, Easton, in late October 2010. Their animal family includes Mojo, the Shepard mix, Hector, the Great Dane, and Diesel, the American Staffordshire Terrier.
Casey Schaeppi, Receptionist and Kennel Assistant.
Casey grew up in Eagan, Minnesota and worked in a variety of fields prior to pursuing her passion for helping animals. Currently enrolled at Argosy University in the Veterinary Technician program, Casey has done a terrific job jumping cold turkey into the veterinary service as one of our newest receptionists. One of the most rewarding parts of her new job is seeing the cats and dogs in need of new forever homes adopted out to loving families.
Casey shares her home with two wonderful cats, Gizmo and Gabby, and Nala, her Husky/Shepherd mix, along with her boyfriend, Jeff. In their spare time they love to go to the park with Nala, feed catnip to the cats, and spend time with family and friends.
Rachel Strese, Certified Veterinary Technician.
Rachel started at Shamrock first as an intern in the fall of 2009 in her last semester of veterinary technician training at Globe College. Rachel remembers that on her first day we performed one of the more fascinating exploratory surgeries on a dog who was found to be missing one kidney and have what we thought was a ureter (the tube connecting the kidney to the bladder) backfilling with urine from the bladder. After her exciting internship, Rachel stayed on to join our technician team.
Rachel's animal family includes the two Labrador Retrievers, Rocky and Chloe, and Bessie the Rat Terrier. Rachel's cat, Kitty, adopted her when he showed up on her doorstep one summer. After spending the summer on Rachel's deck, he went to live with a family member about three miles away. However, Kitty had other ideas. Kitty ran away from his new home within days, dodged busy intersections, avoided highway 494, and in the dead of winter made it home to Rachel two weeks later. He knows as well as we do, when you find a good thing, hang on to it!
Jessica Suder, Veterinary Technician
Jessica completed her Veterinary Technician training at Argosy University and joined the Shamrock team in March 2012. Her enthusiasm for her job is infectious and she finds great reward in counseling clients about their pets' weight concerns. Obesity in our pets has become a top health issue, and teaching pet parents how to feed for an ideal body condition is top on Jessica's priorities.
Jessica has been surrounded by animals most of her life, even owning her own 46 dog sled dog team. Currently, her animal family consists of Panzer, the German Shorthair Pointer who is a canine good citizen with 3 AKC obedience ribbons, Buddy, the lab mix who prefers to be around around only the dogs he knows, and Frank, the kitty that prefers Jessica's husband, John. In their spare time, Jessica and John love to hunt and fly fish, and John gets to enjoy all the homemade candy Jessica makes regularly (Yum!).
Tory Whitten, Receptionist and Veterinary Assistant.
Tory is from Ely, Minnesota and moved down to the (barely) warmer Twin Cities to attend the University of Minnesota. Tory graduated with a degree in Animal Science in 2009 and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree to focus on the increasingly important segment of shared animal and human disease (zoonoses). As we recently experienced with the swine flu epidemic, zoonotic disease affects the human population on a daily basis and includes parasitic diseases (like roundworm) and many other viral diseases (such as rabies).
Tory started at Shamrock in October of 2008. She has actively sought to learn new skills and responsibilities, and is now the coordinator of pound and adoption animals. One of her favorite parts of working at Shamrock is helping to find a new home for pets in need. Tory shares her home with two cats, Edward and Skippy Jon Jones a.k.a. Baby Kitty and two painted turtles, Dilly and Arthur.
Pacino, Official Shamrock Animal Hospital Cat Greeter.
Pacino found his way to Shamrock in 2008 after years wandering the back woods of the surrounding Rosemount area. Tired of the mischief and in need of family planning help, Pacino came to us for help (or was brought here against his will, he won't tell). Luckily he came to the right place! After fixing his eyelashes that rolled inward and finding and removing his undescended testicle, Pacino has made leading unsuspecting clients to the treat jar a subtle work of art. He especially enjoys batting pens out of people's hands while they're writing and sitting on the receptionist's papers. Though true to his post bachelor lifestyle form, his favorite place is sleeping in his basket passing the days' hours. Pacino has certainly found his home for life.
